20nine

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former CMO of Beeswax, a cloud-based bidder-as-a-service media buying firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 20nine?

We wanted to create a clear message that would resonate with our target customers strongly, while attracting off-target customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

20nine provided us with branding, marketing strategy, and positioning services. They helped us develop a seamless platform that hit our target audience emotionally, while ensuring the focus was on the message.

They interviewed our senior management, customers, and key stakeholders to understand how we were being perceived so that we could build a set of language to project the future of Beeswax.

As for the deliverables, they provided some visual assets, such as our website and pitch decks.

What is the team composition?

We worked with account managers, messaging strategists, content writers, and graphic designers.

How did you come to work with 20nine?

We came across 20nine through a referral in 2011.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested a little over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2011–September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The company was acquired by Comcast and I believe having a clear message and something that resonated in-market was an important factor in that success.

How did 20nine perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked extremely well from a project management perspective, met all our deadlines, and consistently stayed on budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with their creativity and technical understanding of what language will resonate with our target market.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would suggest getting your executive team on board with the project, because it’s very important that all key stakeholders work together for the results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner and president of Mid-Atlantic Sports Construction. We do design-build work for athletic facilities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 20nine?

We had a very outdated website, so we needed to create a new one. Often, owners are unsure who to contact to start a project, so our goal was to build a site where they could reach out to us earlier in the process. We needed help building the new site and creating a better marketing strategy, so we engaged 20nine.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

20nine created our website from scratch, and they handle our marketing campaigns. I gave the team pictures of projects we had completed, and they included those on the website. Aside from providing those pictures, they did everything from a marketing and development standpoint. They created a content strategy for us and produced all the visuals, videos, and testimonials. 

They also developed our tagline and continue to create new content for the site. They help us with social media marketing through Google Ads and LinkedIn. A few years ago, they moved our website to WordPress and did a major update. They made it very easy for us to upload pictures of new projects via WordPress. We continue to partner with them to maintain and update the site as needed. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 4–5 team members and Greg (Owner & President). There’s a team member who writes the copy and another who handles the pictures. 

How did you come to work with 20nine?

We found 20nine through a referral. Someone gave me a list of three companies, and I connected with Greg, and it was a positive interaction. I felt comfortable, so we moved forward with the initial web development and marketing project.  

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested roughly $100,000 in the partnership. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2013, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

I don’t have any data or metrics, but I know they have contributed significantly to our success because we’re extremely busy. When I point customers to our website, the feedback is incredibly positive. They say that the website is professional and articulates who we are very well. 

Potential customers see the video testimonials and assets that 20nine puts together, and they learn about who we are, which informs their decision to partner with us. They created a website that delivers a strong message, and we have been successful because of that. I’ve had no problem investing funds in the partnership because we see a significant ROI.

How did 20nine perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything has gone very well, and they deliver projects within budget and timeframe. They’re very easy to work with; any time I reach out with questions, they have answers. I know they partner with larger companies, and we are a small fish, but they treat our account with equal importance. We communicate via email, text, and phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I am most impressed with the creative approach that 20nine has. They have great copywriting skills, and I’ve been pleased with how they represent our company. They don’t know much about our industry, but they listen and learn, and develop creative strategies to promote our business. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing 20nine could improve on. I’m very happy with the relationship.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to hire them. They’re very good at what they do, and they’re very creative.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the global leader of internal communications at Accenture.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 20nine?

We were tasked with introducing a new performance management process, which was an enormous undertaking. We had to change how a global organization of 400,000 people measured performance. We needed help coming up with a strongly branded marketing experience to win the hearts and minds of the organization to achieve this change.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with 20nine to develop a visual identity for the performance achievement program we were launching. They created a comprehensive brand platform to introduce the new process, which included a series of color schemes, visuals, messaging, a toolkit, and beyond. They created a lot of communications collateral for the launch and integration of the process. There was a lot of template work involved.

The project was done internally for our organization and involved digital, print, and in-person communications content. They created the digital content for our internal social media platform, website, and other communications channels. The organization is so large that the audience reach was very vast. 

The 20nine team developed content that they amplified over the company's digital, physical, and human channels. They created a program launch video and two campaigns totaling 20 videos. They created an internal learning board with helpful resources regarding the program. They also built an online persona for our internal social media platform. 

They worked on many other projects and continue to do so, extending beyond internal work. The project I worked with 20nine on was the internal launch of the performance achievement program. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with 5–8 people, including Greg (President & CEO), the content development team, the design team, the strategy team, and project managers.

How did you come to work with 20nine?

Accenture was looking to bring in an agency to help launch this very important program, and they asked if we had any recommendations. I referred 20nine to our organization because I had partnered with them in my previous role and was impressed with their work. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $1 million–$2 million over several years.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our company started working with 20nine in Spring 2016, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

They had incredible metrics, among the highest the firm had seen for a program launch. We tracked the number of opened emails and sites viewed, which were all on the high end of the spectrum compared to other engagement programs that rolled out.

We also tracked the views on their videos, and they had 20,000 plays on the program launch video. The videos for each campaign had over 30,000 plays. The internal resource board saw over 34,000 visits. Their social media persona gained 14,000 followers, making them among the top three followed accounts within the organization, only ranking after the CEO and another C-suite member. The learning board they built saw 35,000 completed modules for performance achievement.

It was a brilliant program because they captured the number of performance discussions between managers and employees, and that’s how we measured impact. They facilitated over 14,000 completed tasks for our meaningful conversations component. 

How did 20nine perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager liaised with one of our team members. We kept a stringent budget and met weekly to discuss status updates and costs of each component of the project. We used a project management tool like Basecamp or monday.com. We also used Slack and Microsoft Teams to communicate, which kept us on track. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understand purpose-driven organizations and are very good at obtaining the project’s value proposition and articulating that concisely and compellingly. They worked diligently to understand what made our brand unique and how we could differentiate ourselves. I would engage them again in a heartbeat. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing they could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to go in with a clear idea of what makes your organization unique, and they will amplify that. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO and Founder of The Fox Hill Group, a marketing management consultancy for tech start ups. When I hired 20nine, I was CMO of Fluent (Nasdaq: FLNT), a provider of performance advertising solutions for enterprise consumer brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 20nine?

The company was in hyper growth mode (50 - 250mm in 3 years) and had just been acquired. Our branding hadn’t evolved in the 10 years since the company was founded, and we needed to project an elevated look and feel for our prospects to experience “the new Fluent” as an enterprise level provider of performance marketing and advertising solutions and the dominant player in our space. My goal with the project was to enable our sales team to sign deals faster, and at million dollar plus contract values from day one (versus slowly growing accounts from 10s of thousands and then up from there, which was the usual case)

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I asked for referrals within my network based on brand work I observed and admired. We narrowed it down to two premium providers. 20nine won because they were more risqué in their approach / willing to push the envelope vs the same old stuff you see from tech companies.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Our work with 20nine was extensive and ongoing. Based on quantitative and qualitative research, 20nine came up with mood boards that set the stage for our new logo, color palette, and overall visual identity. From there they built us a killer new website, a TV-grade entertaining commercial for the company (not a boring explainer video), and an ad campaign that included 2 Ad Age cover takeovers. Lastly, 20nine conceptualized and produced an exceptionally creative brand launch event / experiential activation. The ad campaign and event won numerous awards, and was critical to achieving our goal (7 figure deals out of the gate)

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Multiple professionals spanning account management, creative strategy, design, development / coding, etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We continued to scale, we “looked the part” when it came to selling mega deals to large brands and notably signed a 7 figure deal with a 1 million dollar prepay with one of the worlds largest publishers 2 weeks after the brand launch. Our solutions were transactional in nature so our new brand played a huge part in making this happen (ie, we didn’t have an extensive consultative sales process).

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They provided excellent clear communication and on-time delivery of assets. Everything was executed flawlessly.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I mentioned before that 20nine is risqué. There are a lot of shops when you get to this price level that are considered tried and true in our industry (SaaS martech and adtech) but the output is conservative. 20nine understands that advertising is about emotional connection and it doesn’t matter if you’re selling a pair of sneakers or a multimillion dollar ad platform - there is a person on the other side who you need to make a connection with and get excited about what you’re throwing down. That’s why I chose them and they came up with really phenomenally creative work that pushed the envelope while staying true to what we were marketing. And the entire industry noticed.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I actually wish that they sold me harder upfront. As in, by the time we had our new website up and Ad Age covers ready to go I wanted to do an event, but hadn’t planned for one in our original plan. They had recommended it but didn’t forcibly sell it at the beginning. We ended up pulling off an event that was something amazing and that folks will never ever forget, but it wasn’t part of our original plan or budget as a result of them being a bit low pressure up front. But by the time it was time for us to do an event, given the quality of what they produced to date, the entire exec team (even the head of finance) was pumped to spend on a next level launch event to yell from the hilltops about the new brand 20nine built for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CEO of PointRoll, an advertising technology company that helped advertisers with their online creatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 20nine?

We needed a company that could help us with our rebranding efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

20nine handled the complete rebrand and relaunch of the company. This involved developing new strategic positions, strategic messaging, brand voice, and website.

The biggest challenge that we had with the relaunch was taking customer information, customer sentiment, and the outlook and needs of the market and synthesizing all that information into a brand campaign. 20nine did strategic work for us in developing that story, which involved conducting extensive interviews with our customers, internal stakeholders, and partners. They also did the design work and messaging work across our sales materials, website, and events.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Greg (President & CEO) and 10 other people from 20nine, including a design lead, a strategy lead, an executive creative director, a client services director, an art director, and an engagement lead.

How did you come to work with 20nine?

We found 20nine through a referral.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $300,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2013–January 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The company was successfully repositioned, and it ended up increasing its growth to 30%–40%, ensuring a successful exit for the business.

How did 20nine perform from a project management standpoint?

20nine performed well in terms of project management. They were essentially an extension of our team — there were weekly status calls, and they worked in our office a couple of times a week throughout the engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I've worked with a lot of different strategy agencies, and 20nine was the best at distilling complicated situations and needs into a very marketable, differentiated, and simple message. They also had a rare combination of being able to strategically build a messaging infrastructure and also creating some of the best design work that I've seen yet.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no complaints. If I was a bigger company, I’d definitely hire them again.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing and member experience for an automotive company. We provide roadside assistance, travel, and insurance services to members located in central Pennsylvania.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 20nine?

We needed help with our marketing and member experience initiatives.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

20nine has developed a brand guide, a new product launch marketing strategy, design services, and paid media support. Using our company insights, demographic information, and focus group results, 20nine has helped us create a brand guide to connect our brand to our local audience. The team has also created digital advertising campaigns throughout the year.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 2–5 teammates from 20nine.

How did you come to work with 20nine?

We found 20nine through an online search. We chose them over other options because they were a great culture fit and had an excellent portfolio.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with 20nine in September 2024, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

20nine's work has increased our digital marketing reach, audience size, and ROAS. The team's work has also helped us exceed our new product sales projections by close to double.

How did 20nine perform from a project management standpoint?

20nine delivers on time. We communicate through virtual meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

20nine has really gotten to know our company and our members and taken those insights to build our strategy and refresh our brand.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder & CEO of Enigma Networks

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Cybersecurity 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 20nine to accomplish?

• Build a website
• Begin to build a brand

SOLUTION

How did you find 20nine?

know Greg

Why did you select 20nine over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from 20nine were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

design and build webite. created multiple themes to pick from 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Gorgeous website. Some initial branding. We look like a Series A company as a result

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Very responsive. Work was timely. Even accelerated towards the end 

What was your primary form of communication with 20nine?

In-Person Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their design and creative chops were impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement or something 20nine could have done differently?

no

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Pet360 was a content and ecommerce pet industry leader selling both products while providing education via authoritative content. I was CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 20nine, and what were your goals?

We were a company operating PetFoodDirect (ecommerce) & PetMD (content) and our plans were to combine those two concepts into a NEW concept combining commerce + content + community. We hired 20nine to help us figure out how to bring those together, key points for differentiation, and what brand to create.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

RFP into the community.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

included research, investigation, design, brand creation and overall consumer positioning.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

the breadth of the organization of 20nine worked on our project with its many facets.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We launched the 'new' brand Pet360 and it was a great success.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

weekly meetings and ongoing checkin points as we developed the brand + positioning while we gathered and conducted research.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their ability to create something positive and meaningfully new out of nothing.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

no - it was great.