Berkeley Communications Group

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Head of Communications at Codility, a leading technical hiring platform. that evaluates the skills of developers and enables companies to build and grow high-performing engineering teams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

We wanted to continue showcasing our thought leadership but to a wider audience which meant targeting even larger media outlets at double the speed to increase our brand awareness.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Berkeley Communications helped us establish relationships with top media outlets and placed us in some of our dream publications. They helped us find unique story angles for pitching and got us placed in major trade publications and media outlets. They also helped us monitor and capture our coverage and track our reach.

What is the team composition?

Robin O. (Associate Director) is our main point of contact, and she has been great. She has brought on some new team members to support her, and our account and we’ve already seen a positive outcome from having such a dedicated team.

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

I found them through a Top 10 PR Media Agency list. We decided to hire Berkeley Communications based on their storytelling capabilities and their ability to shape content in a way that is relevant and helpful to reporters and journalists. They also have an amazing team led by Robin, whom I’ve been working with ever since I signed on with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We spend $10,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in Q3 2021, and our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the first quarter of our engagement, we’ve tripled the amount of coverage we received. The pace at which we churn out bylined articles has increased for our thought leaders. The pace of HARO queries, which stands for Help a Reporter Out, has also increased, and we’ve been submitting those in a very timely manner. They’ve also helped us land on a number of top-tier publications, such as BBC, TechCrunch, Dice, CIO, and SHRM.

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent in project managing multiple media inquiries, byline articles, and speaking engagements. We work really well together—both sides are very supportive and clearly care about the success of the other, which has played a vital role in the success of our partnership. In terms of communication, we communicate via Slack which works great for tight deadlines and we have a Zoom call on a weekly basis.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m really impressed by how much they care about maintaining the authenticity of what our company is about from the story we want to tell to the authentic voice of our leadership team in telling it. They understand what we want to achieve and go above and beyond to ensure that we’re successful. We’ve found a true partner in Berkeley Communication. They care about our success as much as we do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything to improve on — they’ve offered us way more support than we ever expected. When we presented them with other projects that weren’t within their scope of work, they pulled in team members to help us out in terms of giving us guidance. We really appreciated that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to provide Berkeley Communications with clear goals, guidance, and as much information as possible so that they can do their best work because they WILL deliver but not unless they have the support and knowledge of the company they’re representing. I have experienced companies expecting their PR agency to just “do PR” without setting clear goals, providing enough guidance or information for the agency to work with and that makes it frustrating for both sides.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My organization offers enterprise businesses work management software, and my position is senior marketing communications manager, looking after the international region.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

We wanted to raise awareness of our brand and establish the category of work management in Europe.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Berkeley acts as a hub agency for me that manages other agencies in my network that focus on different countries in Europe. Additionally, they act as my UK agency.

They also run a press office program for me, creating thought leadership content and looking for feature opportunities in the media. I work with their content director on possible angles and topics each quarter, and they go away and draft the content based on that messaging. Then, I’m responsible for the approval process, giving them feedback on the first draft, and when I’m happy with it, we’ll send it out to whoever we’re attributing the article to for final approval. These pieces are submitted to media outlets like trade magazines and online publications.

Occasionally, they help create social media copy too.

What is the team composition?

It’s changed a few times, but I believe we’re working with four people right now: an associate director who oversees hub management, a senior account manager, an account manager, and an account executive on the UK side. There are also 2–3 people in each country they oversee.

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

I invited them to pitch as part of our selection process. They were one of eight agencies I spoke with and one of four to participate in the pitch process. Berkeley Communications demonstrated the deepest understanding of our industry and the most creativity in bringing that to life in front of people who weren’t aware of us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend £45,000 (approximately $62,000 USD) per quarter.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve quadrupled our coverage — before working with Berkeley, we were gaining low coverage numbers. The coverage we get now is 60% in tier one media outlets. Berkeley exceeds the coverage KPIs set for them quarter after quarter.

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

They are good at hitting deadlines and communicating when things might need extra time — setting expectations is a strong suit of theirs.

Berkeley Communications uses our work management tool, but other than that we don’t use any systems. Generally, communication happens over Slack, email, and Zoom. We’re in touch daily.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Berkeley Communication’s work ethic stands out. They don’t stop until they deliver results. Whenever a target is set, they keep pushing until they meet it. A lot of agencies would say that they tried to hit the target but it didn’t work out, and they’d do so out of fear of over-servicing — and I’m not saying Berkeley over-services, but they don’t stop pushing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been quite a lot of team changes. A lot of those were out of their control — people changing agencies or being promoted — but I would have kept the same team throughout in an ideal world. Berkeley has made these transitions very smooth, however.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep communicating and be clear on what your expectations and KPIs are. If you do those things, you’ll get a good ROI.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and managing director of a specialist tax consultancy for the UK commercial property market and accountants.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

We hired them to help us clarify our internal and external messaging while solidifying our position in the market. We were already quite well-known, but we needed to broaden our exposure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did some research to understand our company and our market. They asked us questions and we gave them some background on how we viewed ourselves in the market. They facilitated a conversation with our entire team. Then they helped us adjust our messaging.

What is the team composition?

We spoke with six people. Chris (Communications Director) led the conversation, Claire (Content Director) refined our messaging, and Matt (Creative Director) was our designer.

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

We researched the best marketing companies in the UK. We were looking for a team with experience on a national basis.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about £17,000 (approximately $23,000 USD).  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2020 and we still work with them on and off.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, the responses to our material improved and we’ve seen more online engagement. Berkeley Communications clarified and simplified our message while successfully capturing who we are, what we do, and what our market is. As a result, we’ve been able to position ourselves in the market well.

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

They did use an online tool, but we usually resorted to email and video calls to communicate. We had regular meetings and check-ins as well.

My team responded very well to their work. They liked that they were involved from the outset.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They considered our story and were able to help us communicate it to our audience. Their storytelling capabilities are exceptional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It took them some time to understand our business and the subtlety associated with our market. However, they were able to address that rather quickly.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Believe in the process and engage in the story. Make sure that they understand your business and your market.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I worked as the lead for editorial content and communication for a financial services company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

They were our retained PR agency for the United Kingdom, working on press release distribution. A large part of their work with us was thought leadership and coverage in trade publications focused on our targeted retail audience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the time, there was a lot of bad press that popped up when people Googled our company. Our team was hoping to change the narrative by counteracting it with good press about our retail solutions, technology, and innovations that change the way people shop. The goal was to introduce thought leadership and push any negative articles further into the background. 

We were targeting a very strong retail audience and wanted to get our work in front of the eyes of decision-makers. Whether it was through by-lined articles or comment pieces in targeted trade publications, they made sure we stayed visible in the retail industry.   

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of four. 

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

When I worked in the agency world, I would sometimes collaborate with their team for clients. I’ve always been aware of their work. Someone from their staff visited our office and left a business card. We weren’t happy with our agency at the time, so we were open into reaching out to change agencies.

They already had good references in our market and experience with crisis management, understanding how to react to bad publicity effectively. We started working with them on a trial basis but continued the relationship.

How much have you invested with them?

We were spending about $8,000 with them each month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2019 but had to terminate our relationship in June 2020 because of internal challenges. It was a relatively short-lived relationship, unfortunately.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In a five-month period, they generated 14 thought leadership pieces and 120 press mentions. That was amazing. 

They were confident in taking on the challenge of guiding us through a crisis while getting some good coverage online about us. Their creative storytelling skills made everything easy to understand, even in our complex tech space. They have a great, reliable team that really understood where we were coming from.  

When approached by our subsidiary, who was searching for positive publicity, it was easy to recommend them. They ended up working together, and I know that the managing director was very happy with that short-term relationship as well. 

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly calls where they shared a progress tracker as well as regular coverage updates via email. If we ever needed anything in particular, they’d send separate, more specific reports as well. We met for quarterly reviews as well, which they put together more detailed reports for. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their openness to giving genuine feedback and challenging me was impressive. Many agencies will just go along with whatever the client wants, but they really brought something new to the table. I appreciated their recommendations and efforts to build an open relationship. We brainstormed together and could be honest about our expectations and feedback. They brought a helpful attitude to the table surrounding storytelling and thought leadership.

I always feel like they understand exactly what I want to achieve as well as my mindset about PR. That made them a uniquely strong fit for our team. While that might not align the same for other companies, they really connected with me about how they think about PR.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

On certain projects, we could tell they had more junior people working on a deliverable. It was rare that they turned in something that missed the mark, but they were always willing to revisit their work and put a new spin on something. When we had feedback, everything always turned out well. In the end, they always returned to us with something strong. The feedback loop worked well.   

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to challenging them and play to their strengths. If we focused even more on their strength for storytelling rather than our press release plan, we may have done even better. Let them develop stories and be creative. You’ll benefit from giving them space to be creative.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the campaign director of IDF (International Diabetes Federation) — a nonprofit organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

We sought a team to provide support for various initiatives, which included an annual campaign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Berkeley Communications supports strategy, PR, and creative efforts for our annual World Diabetes Day campaign. During the first year, their team performed research, running consumer surveys to help identify symptoms of Type I Diabetes. They also provided content to help increase PR coverage.

During the second year, they helped us tell the story of the Global Diabetes Atlas using the new data. They created video content that told the stories of people with diabetes and their families from around the world.

What is the team composition?

About five people from Berkeley Communications regularly work with us. Other teammates also work on various tasks as needed.

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

I previously worked with Berkeley Communications while I was with another company. As I was pleased with our engagement, I invited them to pitch for this project. Ultimately, their team won the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2017, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They run successful campaigns. Since we started to work with Berkeley Communications, we’ve received more PR coverage, which has included front page features. We’re happy with their work and the results it provides.

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

During campaigns, we have regular meetings such as kick-off and mid-campaign meetings. They keep us informed and accommodate any changes we request. We use Basecamp, and the communication’s good. They’re available and responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Berkeley Communications creates great work and helps drive PR coverage. They accommodate changes as needed, which ensures the best working relationship and communication.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is concern that if we wanted to engage them for more projects, they may not have the capacity to scale up without compromising their current level of support.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s helpful to let your company's decision-maker work directly with their team. I’ve found that their team listens and wants to accommodate their client’s needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior marketing manager for Europe for PFS, a global e-commerce solutions provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

When I joined the company, we shifted our approach to targeting Europe specifically, opening up those channels of communication for the company. 

I wanted to achieve some initial brand awareness in relation to positioning ourselves as a leader in our field. I wanted to find a company that would provide a good working relationship as an extension of my own team, who could also grow alongside us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I talk with the team on a pretty much daily basis, and they’ve been an extension of my team. We have brainstorming sessions wherein we plan for the year out, and Berkeley brings their thoughts, ideas, and understanding of what the media is looking for. 

We’re contracted to a set number of things per month. We’re looking for a certain number of placements in terms of media coverage. We also measure that by segmentation, and I have an internal target number of pieces of coverage that we want to achieve globally. 

What is the team composition?

My core team comprises four people, although I’ve initiated several projects with the team, so I’ve probably worked with over double that since initiating our relationship. 

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

Caroline (Client Engagement) reached out to me via email, and the timing was perfect. It all seemed to work really seamlessly. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our retainer is around £6,000 (approximately $7,900 USD) per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Globally, we’re meeting and exceeding our target. We’re looking to reach 75 pieces, and we’ve more than smashed that this year. I’m confident we’re going to keep succeeding with Berkeley Communications.

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

Berkeley Communications is really good. Everything is well organized. On the whole, project management has been fantastic, which is what’s kept me going back to them on projects rather than looking elsewhere. 

We don’t use project management tools — usually, the process for our projects will be very much research-led. We’ll talk about objectives, measurements, and things like that. If we have an idea, we’ll run with it and run with it quickly. We also have quarterly business reviews to review what’s worked, what hasn’t, and where there are potential areas to expand into. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with the fact that Berkeley Communications has met the objective of becoming an extension of our team. It can be difficult to establish such a close client relationship. Having the ability and willingness to do so has been immeasurably successful. I’m really thrilled at that, and for that reason, we continue to work together.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing would be on the timeline piece. I work very quickly, and I like to keep things moving along. Sometimes, the updates are less frequent than I would like, and sometimes there’s a little bit of a lack of communication around timelines, but that’s also down to me and my expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You get out what you put in as a client. Berkeley Communication is willing to be flexible around your requirements, but you need to put in equally as much work to achieve what you want to achieve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the PR and social media manager for PPRO, a B2B company in the financial services industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

We needed a PR partner and, initially, some branding.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Berkeley Communications provides a full PR package. They do content creation, press releases, and articles. They also brief and host interviews and do administration consulting, planning, monitoring, reporting, and more.

The current focus is to create more awareness for our topics, as well as communicating to potential clients that we are experts in our field. They engage with media and press, always looking to add new media.

What is the team composition?

There is a core team of three people we interact with regularly, with more people joining in as needed.

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

Our line manager brought them with her when she joined our team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around June 2016, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is very good, especially when it comes to creating content. We measure the number of clippings, as well as the coverage score to measure quality. We get along well with the team members and are extremely happy with what we get from them.

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

We do quarterly reviews, having a revenue and outlook session to analyze what went well, and what needs to change. We communicate almost daily.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I value the long-term partnership we’ve built. We work well together and have built trust. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had some issues with the team set-up being unstructured a while back. We discussed it with them, and they made the necessary changes.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work closely with them. Be open, and address fears or concerns directly. Keep their team updated on any internal changes.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work with a cybersecurity company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

We work with Berkeley Communications to find ways to disseminate information and educational content humanly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we initially hired them, we were looking for somebody to elevate our voice to take our spokesperson’s profile from where it was and then be a leader in the space.

What is the team composition?

Most recently, we had a team of about five people.

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

We put out an RFP looking for a PR agency. Their team responded, and they were the outlier because they were the smallest agency. Despite that, they demonstrated that they had done the research and understood our brand. Berkeley Communications also was able to demonstrate best how they were going to take our business.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2010.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen consistently good results. We’ve received recognition in numerous outlets.

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication style is good. The project management is great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their human approach to storytelling is noteworthy. It’s very much the people that make the agency and the relationships. That’s one of the reasons we’ve been so successful with Berkeley Communications is because of the relationship we’ve built with the team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. If there’s ever an issue, we can address it with them, and they will remedy it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them as part of your extended team rather than as an agency. Engage with them like you would your team. Build that relationship to get the best out of them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior vice president for sales and marketing at IDEX Biometrics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Berkeley Communications?

We needed help with renaming our company and branding.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There are other companies called IDEX, and as we were listed as IDEX, we had to make sure that we kept some of our old identity but made it clearer what it was we did. We also worked with them with a lot of collateral that we could use to explain how you’d use a biometric smart card in payment, in access control, in ID, and in IoT.

We specifically target card companies. We knew which companies we wanted to talk to. Berkeley Communications came up with subject matter they thought would interest those partners. This included education about cards, surveys about what the consumer thought about a biometric payment card, accessibility, privacy concerns, and more. 

When COVID-19 hit, we had a continuing but reduced engagement.

What is the team composition?

Caroline (Client Engagement) is our main contact.

How did you come to work with Berkeley Communications?

We spoke to about three companies. What resonated with us with Berkeley Communications was the storytelling ability they had. They were coming at it from a slightly different but more appealing way for us. That was backed up with thought leadership pieces and developing the collateral for our market. They felt in tune with what the company needed. We liked the people as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018 and the work is ongoing.  I’ve personally been involved with the project since June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In May 2017, IDEX had about 1.1% of the share of biometric news stories in the UK. In April 2019, we made up 22% of the voice for biometrics in the UK. In the space of a couple of years, they helped us to transform us from having virtually no brand equity, coverage, or voice in the biometric industry to having over a ⅕ share of the voice in biometrics. 

How did Berkeley Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a quarterly face-to-face review where we look back at what we’ve achieved. They’ll propose thought leadership pieces for the coming quarter. We worked with them on what press coverage and media coverage we were gaining, what was important to us, and what our key targets were in the coming quarter. We basically worked with them to build a plan that we refined each quarter to get better coverage and to be clear about what we provided and to whom. There was always a clear plan. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I learned about Berkeley Communications is as things came up, it was just wonderful to be able to pick up the phone and ask an experienced person on the other end what I should do. A classic example of that would be that we have a very aggressive Twitter community that follows fingerprint biometrics. The way we responded to those tweets was with the guidance from Berkeley Communications. I could rely on them for good advice at the right time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My mind jumps to price but they were competitive in their pricing. It was a good value for money.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The quarterly meetings and agreeing on a plan are important. Having experienced people on hand to guide you for unplanned activity helps you manage those emergency situations very well. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

About Zyxel: Focused on innovation and customer-centric technology and service, Zyxel has been connecting people to the Internet for over 30 years. Our ability to adapt and innovate with networking technology places us at the forefront of the drive to create connectivity for businesses and home users. I am Channel Director for the DACH region at Zyxel (Germany, Switzerland and Austria)

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Berkeley Communications?

Initially, we were looking for rock solid press office services.

What were your goals for this project?

Beeing supported quickly, efficiently and with zero fuss in all communcation issues we need for the German market - PR, text and social media.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

There are a lot of PR companies that work in our industry, which all seem to use the same strategies. We considered quite a few different agencies and held a competitive pitch. The decision came down to relationships. Berkeley Communications was on the same wavelength as us.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Initially, we were looking for rock solid press office services. Berkeley Communications delivered this quickly, efficiently and with zero fuss. They manage all media relations, content creation and product reviews for us in the DACH region and ensure we never miss an opportunity.

The team at Berkeley are also great at suggesting approaches we hadn’t considered as part of our PR programme such as social media strategies.

They manage our social media accounts such as LinkedIn to generate awareness with the right target audiences and to build relationship with potential customers.

What was the team composition?

On a given day, there are three members on the team but they also can bring on additional resource such as content creation, senior strategic support or media sellers when we have a big launch. I also appreciate that they hold regular brainstorms internally to come up with new and proactive ideas so I get the benefit of the creative ideas of everyone in their team, not just those working on my account.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since Berkeley Communications came in, our LinkedIn followers have pretty much doubled. More and more people engage with our posts every month and follow our accounts.

Due to the posts and services their team provides, website visitors have also increased every month. We’re getting more traction with key press members.

Through our collaboration with Berkeley Communications, we have developed better relationships with crucial journalists who seem to publish most of what we put out.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have a weekly call to go through assignments, any deadlines or outstanding actions.

In addition, I know they are always at the end of the phone so can get regular updates should I need them outside of our scheduled calls. I like that they don’t just sit back and wait for me to send them information.

To move us forward, they never shy from chasing and prompting us so we don’t lose momentum or miss an opportunity.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their greatest quality is that they’re always pushing us. Berkeley Communications is always putting new ideas on the table. Rather than us going to them, their team is moving us forward constantly. We’re enjoy working with them because they keep delivering value.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can’t think of anything at the minute. As long as they keep pushing up, generating great results and coming up with creative approaches I’m happy.