ACRONYM

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in the marketing communications department of a hotel chain, in the corporate office for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. I take care of anything digital-related: websites, emails, co-op campaigns, SEO, and PPC, for the communications side for the hotels, as well as the corporate side.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Acronym?

We needed help with our PPC and paid social campaigns for our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

We first had to make sure we were really targeting the right person at the right time, and in the right place. In general, we always do co-op campaigns, where we group different worldwide hotels together, and target specific markets. Acronym worked on three different campaigns for us. One on the GCC market, another on the UK and European market, and another targeting Europe and Russia.

Acronym supported the campaigns through PPC, display, and paid social. For paid social, we did test out different things and also ran Carousel ads as well as Canvas ads. While the Canvas ads were great in helping to build awareness, we realized that the Carousel ads were much better from a conversion standpoint. Acronym also suggested we change the strategy for PPC. Instead of doing PPC on the landing page, they targeted off the individual property pages, as well as the landing page. It was trying to capture people in the early buying stage.

For paid social, they set up different audience groups that were targeting off participating property pages as well as the co-op landing page. It was for friends of fans, and fans of the hotel’s Facebook page, as well as individual property Facebook pages. Lastly, smart audience and behavioral targeting, hitting the luxury affluent travel for all the co-ops in general. In paid social, we realized that re-targeting has had the highest booking numbers.

In terms of keywords, Acronym suggest them and we either approve, or ask them to add or remove some. We just recently starting testing in-stream video ads. Acronym always keep up with what is new, make sure we are aware of it, and advise us accordingly.

What is the team dynamic?

We are mostly in touch with Farah, who is our main contact for our region. Even when she is on holiday, she replies to me within minutes. We also have direct access to her manager, Rebecca. We have definitely built a good working relationship over the last couple of years; we really work well together as companies.

How did you come to work with Acronym?

Acronym are used worldwide by the whole company.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Acronym in 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results we have had with paid social and display have been mind-blowing, and we are making more money now. It is something that the other regions have picked up on now, and are going to start doing next year as well. We are extremely pleased with the results. 

For one of the campaigns, our ROAS [Return on ad spend] year-on-year growth was 1,340%, the revenue year-on-year growth was also over 3,000%, and the number of bookings was over 2,000%.

For the GCC campaign, we saw a year-on-year increase of about 2,000%, and for bookings, it is about 600%. The return on average spend is around 800 to 900%.

For the UK and EU, we saw an increase of about 153%, the revenue increase was 143%, and the return on average spend went down, which was 27%.

How did Acronym perform from a project management standpoint?

Acronym are also a part of a lot of our internal meetings. If we have a conference that has to do with marketing, someone from Acronym will usually attend, which is how they always keep up to date with the direction our company is going.

We are very lucky that Acronym are so familiar with how we work, and are extremely involved in any changes. We have weekly update calls, and I communicate with them on a daily basis. It has been really great, there is no confusion, and their communication is very clear whether it is by email or on the phone.

We receive our reports on a monthly basis, and we will usually have a call to go over that information. We also have a bi-annual review with the agency where we will sit down together and go through everything in detail. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m always impressed by Farah — her passion and the fact that she gets just as excited as we do when our campaign does really well. This has been great for us as we know she is always looking at new ways to approach things when she sees something isn’t working. She will come to us and give suggestions. It is a whole trial and error process, but there is an honesty that we have between us. Acronym are very open and don’t try to cover anything.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Acronym really stepped up their game this year, and have provided us with amazing results. We are very happy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a manufacturer of lawn and gardens supplies for five core brands. I’m currently the digital marketing manager, responsible for our brand and search initiatives, both paid and organic.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Acronym?

We were trying to create synergy between our paid and earned placements, as well as increase the number of answer box results across our five core brands.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with SEO by looking at new content opportunities that we weren’t currently ranking for, as well as ways that we could move our existing content into the answer box results. They worked to make our content more authoritative in the eyes of Google, and also did backlink outreach.

From a technology standpoint, they helped us create a better pathway for search engines around our URLs by making sure all the technical aspects were in working order while we were migrating to a new CMS.

They also helped us increase our overall traffic from SEO while preparing for the future through voice search initiatives. They helped with our answer box results by trying to achieve those placements for high-volume lawn and garden terms.

How did you come to work with Acronym?

Acronym was ranked as one of the top search agencies in an article. We did also went through a formal RFP process. We looked at multiple vendors, but we felt like Acronym truly understood SEO. They looked at SEO through a search-specific lens and also understood user intent. Having worked with other players who use user intent as an add on, their guidance and knowledge didn’t feel as strong as what Acronym was offering.

We have worked with other companies where there is a lot of turnover. We are a very seasonal business, and most of our business occurs between April and June. We needed somebody who understood seasonality and the nuances of our business in order to execute well. Losing that knowledge causes us to have to spend a lot of time getting new people up to speed.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $200,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July or August of 2015, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, our search traffic is up 10% across our five sites, year over year. Our category doesn’t grow as quickly as others, so a 10% year over year increase is quite good.

They have done some content optimizations for us where we have seen an increase in visits by over 5,000%. We’re really pleased there.

The CPC’s [cost per clicks] are much more efficient because they restructured our account. It varies across brands and based on category, but it’s down about 25%. Our budget has been much more effective.

In 2016, we increased visits through answer boxes by over 1,500%, and increased our purchase intent conversions by nearly 1,000%.

How did Acronym perform from a project management standpoint?

We actually have an account director who I speak to every workday morning, so they are very responsive. There's typically a weekly touchpoint with the larger team, but they're also available if something comes up.

Another thing that sets them apart from others is that they have an alias, so everybody within the account has visibility to the communications.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The depth of their expertise is impressive. They also have a top-notch client base, which really lends itself to our business as well. They have a unique perspective around digging deeper into the verticals than I've seen with other providers.

They have great technical capabilities, and the service is very responsive. We get the feeling that we're the only client, given their personalization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When they do provide a due date, keep it in mind or ask them for updates if there is a delay. They get busy.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was updated on May 8th, 2018 by the client. New content is below.

Could you please confirm your business the title of your role there?

I was the digital manager of our lawn care company until March 2018. Our organization supports an umbrella of five core brands. Recently, I transitioned to the digital media manager.

Would you mind describing the business challenge or overarching goal you were trying to address when you approached Acronym again?

We were trying to ensure stability during the upcoming increase in voice searches. Last time, Acronym helped us with paid search. This new project targeted higher answer box rankings. We specifically targeted our lawn care website.

Could you detail the scope of their work?

We were trying to win answer box results to attract higher volume shorter queries such as over-seeding and longer-tail queries for our step-by-step lawn care how-to guides. Acronym identified queries that were right in line with these goals. The team helped us achieve our desired results through content optimizations and backlink auditing. They thoroughly researched how to make our content more consumer-friendly than the current answer box winner.

Was there a specific recommendation they made or challenge they overcame that you'd like to highlight?

Much of Acronym's work was based on how we could produce more consumer-focused content that showcased our expertise so we could become the category leader. Their recommendations and guidance prioritized quality and value over metrics like word counts. Together, we defined the essence of our consumers’ questions to better provide them with adequate insight and detail. We achieved the answer box goals that offer the results upfront on Google, which increased both traffic and click-through rates. These major successes entice our users to further engage with our site.

Just to clarify a few logistics, when did you start this voice search work with Acronym?

We started this ongoing project about a year ago. Since then, we've continued to expand this goal and make it a priority. This work has produced more online real estate and new listings for our company. We've tried to carry that strategy through to our other brands, as well.

Are there any other statistics or general results you'd like to share that speak to the impact of Acronym's work?

Our number of pages visited from voice-driven queries rose 266% across 40 themes. About 31000 pages on our website’s hit targets. Clicks on the answer box rose 1,500%. At the time, we didn't have an e-commerce platform. Our major key performance indicator (KPI), which was focused on "buy now" or "where to buy," rose by 1,050%.

You touched on this last time, but has anything about their project management style changed since we last spoke? You mentioned that you speak with an account director every weekday morning. Do you have anything else to add?

We’ve established an effective meeting cadence. Communication has been key throughout our partnership, especially since we're located in different states. Acronym helped us overcome the challenges of being a very seasonal and high-volume company. Our workflow has been smooth since the start of our work together.

In terms of what you find most impressive about Acronym, last time you said it was their depth of expertise, top-notch client base, and their personalization. Has that remained consistent?

In addition to those strengths you mentioned, I admire how well deftly they stay ahead of the curve. Even now, they're in the minority of vendors with the acumen to focus on voice search. Their level of innovation has definitely put us in the ideal position for now, and they constantly seek out cutting-edge techniques to excel in the search space.

Any areas for improvement? Last time you suggested asking them for updates if there's a delay because they frequently get busy again.

No, I don't think that this time.