Ars X Machina (formerly Media Matters Worldwide)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior marketing manager at Mountain Hardwear, an outdoor apparel and equipment company that is owned by a large sportswear parent company. I oversee all digital and social strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Matters Worldwide?

We employ a shared services model with our parent company, but last fall, they began giving several of their subsidiaries more autonomy and ownership last fall. My company took over all e-commerce and digital advertising duties.

One of my first tasks was finding an agency that could help us with digital advertising campaigns. This was the first time that Mountain Hardwear was taking on digital advertising internally, so we needed to trust whatever agency we hired. Also, we had to onboard them in the fall, right before our busiest, most revenue-generating time of the year. Therefore, we needed to find a media agency that all internal stakeholders would sign off on, and then get them up and running before we reached such a pivotal time of the year. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Media Matters Worldwide strategizes and executes all of our digital marketing channels. They oversee our paid search channels and programmatic display advertising. The team is also responsible for our paid social channels, which includes Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and various other channels that they’ve pitched to us, run strategy around, and executed.

Their creative team provides feedback on ways we can optimize our ads to be more efficient. Although they don’t work directly on our website or e-commerce platform, their insights influence our design and content decisions.

What is the team composition?

A great aspect of Media Matters Worldwide is that they have various teams of strategic experts who specialize in different digital channels. I work with the paid search team to ensure that we’re working on a tactical level and getting updated copy. I also engage with the paid social team to find ad creative, generate test links, and approve display and outgoing social. On each of these teams, there are 1–2 people that we work with closely.

We engage with Denise (Media Director, Media Matters Worldwide) and Jyll (Project Management Lead, Media Matters Worldwide). Jamie (VP, Strategy and Operations, Media Matters Worldwide) is great from a strategic level, and she has a wide breadth of knowledge, from creative to tactical. She helps us pitch our seasonal and quarterly strategies and outline what channels we’re going to be on. She also assists with budget allocation and creative. Finally, at the highest level, we work with Josy (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Media Matters Worldwide). She’s plugged into many of our discussions.

How did you come to work with Media Matters Worldwide?

I did some discovery and looked at several agencies that offered a variety of services; some had specific concentrations, like paid social, while others were full-service. When we found Media Matters Worldwide, I had a good experience learning about their company and meeting their team.

How much have you invested with them?

We give Media Matters Worldwide an annual budget of just over $1 million. This covers media spend, internal fees, and various other costs.

What is the status of this engagement?

My company began working with Media Matters Worldwide in August 2018, and our work together is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Much of what Media Matters Worldwide does ties directly to our e-commerce platform’s performance, and we’ve been very happy with their work so far. The digital campaigns that they’re running on different channels are positively impacting overall site traffic and revenue.

How did Media Matters Worldwide perform from a project management standpoint?

They deploy an incredibly robust reporting and analytics platform, which they’ve given us full access to so that we can see on macro to micro levels how their media is performing. They’re one of the only agencies I’ve ever worked with that provides such a full insight into media performance; nothing is hidden or extrapolated.

Media Matters Worldwide is readily available at every stage of the process. When we map out strategy around a season or specific timeframe, they compile detailed timelines so that we know when we need to deliver assets or feedback to them. They’re also very clear about when they’re going to deliver anything to us. When we’re busy with a campaign and want to make changes or put out new creative, they’re responsive and update things promptly. We communicate via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their readiness to be present sets them apart, as does their ability to communicate seamlessly. Their reporting and analytics have been invaluable. They want to help us understand our media performance and how that connects to our goals.

Media Matters Worldwide is also a great thought partner. They’ve shown a desire to learn about our company, business goals, and industry. They strive to have a full picture of our brand so that they can make the most impactful strategic decisions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing stands out. We have a collaborative relationship, so shortcomings fall on us as much as they do on them.

Any advice for potential customers?

This is the type of partnership where you get what you put in. You should engage with Media Matters Worldwide and let them know your brand, strategy, and goals; they’ll run with that knowledge.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of account management for a Los Angeles-based marketing and advertising agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Matters Worldwide?

We had a new client that needed a media planning agency. We’ve worked with them before, so we brought them onto the project based on their proven capabilities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our agency is in charge of facilitating the relationship between Media Matters Worldwide and clients. For us, they are in charge of providing OOH (out of home), digital, and print media for our branding efforts. They also come up with an annual media plan, which we examine every quarter. We decide on how to tweak the plan during those quarterly presentations.

For clients, their team constructs creative media plans to drive up engagement. Our facilitation helps to ensure that clients attain the results they want. Clients also ask Media Matters Worldwide to bring non-traditional media ideas to the table. That opens up new opportunities for them.

What is the team composition?

To facilitate client relationships, we work with Taji (Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Media Matters Worldwide) and Maxine (Media Director, Media Matters Worldwide) who is the day-to-day lead. 

How did you come to work with Media Matters Worldwide?

I’m not sure how my company originally partnered with Media Matters Worldwide or which of our accounts worked with them in the past, but my agency intermittently engages them on new business pitches.

How much have you invested with them?

Our clients pay Media Matters Worldwide directly, we just manage their relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve engaged with them since 2017. Clients sign their own annual contracts with them, though.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We typically get the desired results from their work. I’ve heard that clients want more unique media ideas than what they’re currently presenting. But, all of their content has performed well for clients so far.

How did Media Matters Worldwide perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very thorough and great at holding themselves to a schedule. During our day-to-day operations, we usually communicate via email. We also have status calls on a weekly basis and can call them as needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Media Matters is a team of excellent project managers that can really drive timelines forward. They’re programmatic and have a high level of expertise—they really know what they’re talking about.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As I said earlier, some clients wish they would bring some more ideas to the table. It would be great if they could demonstrate a sounder knowledge of the LA market. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very specific in communicating what type of results needed from Media Matters. With any type of media agency, it’s important to be clear with project goals. But, Media Matters Worldwide has done a decent job and know what they’re talking about.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the VP of digital and e-commerce at e.l.f. Cosmetics. I oversaw all digital marketing, e-commerce, and gross marketing proponents.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Media Matters Worldwide?

We hired Media Matters Worldwide to help us with performance marketing, specifically driving traffic and sales to our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Media Matter Worldwide was responsible for all media strategy and buying; strategic acquisition planning; and driving traffic, sales, and growth. They also did PPC through Google and Bing Ads.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account manager, a media planner, and an analytics team member. My team also engaged with Josy and Taji (Co-Founders and Managing Partners, Media Matters Worldwide). Other behind-the-scenes team members did paid search and paid social.

How did you come to work with Media Matters Worldwide?

Someone at e.l.f. Cosmetics was friends with Josy. When we began talking to them, we were very impressed by both Josy and Taji, so we hired Media Matters Worldwide to be our full-service media vendor.

How much have you invested with them?

Media Matters Worldwide was responsible for between $2 million–$4 million worth of media, and they charged about 10% of that.

What is the status of this engagement?

My company began working with Media Matters Worldwide in July 2015, and the engagement was ongoing when I left e.l.f. Cosmetics in April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

e.l.f. Cosmetics don't disclose growth on e-commerce because they're public, but I can say that Media Matters Worldwide drove growth in both site traffic and sales.

How did Media Matters Worldwide perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Media Matters Worldwide provided a very personalized service. From an account management and customer service perspective, we were very happy with their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be clear on what your objectives and goals are, and then continue to have hard conversations as things come up.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the Director of Marketing for Byer California, a fast fashion brand. The company is a multi-million dollar B2B fashion manufacturer that wanted to venture out with their own label. I was brought on to build an e-commerce business and brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Media Matters Worldwide?

From the ground up we needed to build brand identity and audience for the new Byer California brand. We brought on Media Matters to handle our full paid media strategy, from search to retargeting to social.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals at first were to just build awareness and drive traffic to the site. Of course, we had a plan to turn those visits into conversations and we had a target conversion rate. There is a lot of competition in the fast fashion world, so we needed to be strategic in how we spent our money. The owner of the company was an old fashioned B2B sales person who didn't understand technology or what we were doing. We needed to be able to communicate the plan and the results in a very easy to digest way, and MMW were great at that.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

To be honest, for this project I didn't interview any other vendors. I had used them at my previous job and had a long run of success with them, so I didn't have to interview other companies. I originally selected MMW due to their knowledge in the space, their efficiency in strategy and reporting, and tactics. They proved themselves while we worked together at Giro and so I hired them again. I would hire them again as well, but currently I am doing smaller contract positions.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Know that there was a lot of competition in the space. We focused on retargeting campaigns that allowed us to also build brand identity through our display ads and content. We also focused our strategy on building our social media platforms' likes and engagement. We had a lot of great photography to work with for our paid media campaigns.

What was the team composition?

It was myself, a social media manager, a creative department of two, plus I was able to hire out for a PR firm and a creative director externally. From Media Matters I got both the owners attention and a couple of planners.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

To be honest, I don't remember the numbers. I just remember that we rapidly got on the radar and started selling, which, now that I have tried to build other e-commerce business from scratch without the support of a media plan, it was effective. They were able to target the right audiences efficiently and quickly and start building customers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Strategy and the ability to jump into the business and figure out what was needed from a tactical way. Reporting. I found that the reports were concise and exactly what I needed to justify the spend and effort to upper management. They are very smart women who are easy to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None, but I haven't worked with them in a few years.