Booyah Advertising

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of brand and marketing for a hotel group. We manage five hotels and residential properties in Colorado and Idaho.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Booyah Advertising?

We needed help with our digital marketing efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Booyah handles all our digital marketing. When they first started working with us, we provided them some onboarding materials. Currently, they manage our display ads, paid social, paid search, and SEO efforts. They also design creative assets for some of our properties.

What is the team composition?

We have about eight people working on the project, including an account director, an account supervisor, four specialists who work on the different areas of marketing, and a few coordinators who work with the specialists.

How did you come to work with Booyah Advertising?

I wasn’t part of the selection process. They’ve been our partner for a long time.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent probably over $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January 2013, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are happy with the continued yearly increase in our conversion rate. 

How did Booyah Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is satisfactory. They’re very flexible and match their reporting style to our needs. The Booyah Advertising team is happy to go above and beyond if we need additional reporting, have questions, or want their point of view on different ideas and projects. To communicate, we primarily use email, and we also have biweekly calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve seen great results, which is the most important metric for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Over the years, we’ve experienced some amount of teammate turnover, but Booyah Advertising has really improved how they handle the changing of team members. They’ve helped us understand when people would have to rotate on and off the team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be an active client and ask questions. Make sure that you also give them as much information you have on your audience and your goals. The more you participate in the process, the better the results will be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the associate digital marketing manager of The a2 Milk Company, so I help attract traffic to all of our digital media. We’re in the food and beverage industry, selling consumer packaged goods.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Booyah Advertising?

We initially hired Booyah to help us with paid media.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve been working with Booyah for several years. Initially, they helped us with paid media, but they’ve taken over all of our paid advertising channels since, including paid search display, paid social media, and paid TV spots.

Among these efforts, they focus on paid search and discovery on Google, paid social media ads on Facebook and Instagram, and CTV national spots, some of which are targeted down to cities. They also manage our skippable and bumper ads on YouTube.

We have an annual media flowchart that helps us set up every paid media campaign and its budget. From there, we break everything down by category and discuss how to approach paid media through our marketing funnel, from awareness consideration to conversion. Additionally, we have a bimonthly call with Booyah to discuss any changes in our strategy, budget, or marketing objectives.

Currently, we’re launching a new campaign, but they will take it over in a couple of months since they’re great at knowing copying parameters for what we’re looking for.

What is the team composition?

We work with around 5–7 people from Booyah’s team, including an account manager and managers focused on each category.

How did you come to work with Booyah Advertising?

I wasn’t on the team when my company hired Booyah, but I believe that our marketing team was looking for media agencies in Colorado and found them. However, I was responsible for increasing their scope later on. I wanted to have all of our paid media efforts under one umbrella, so we pulled our paid social media from our then creative agency because Booyah better understood the optimizations that needed to be made.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around May 2017, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since launching our paid social media campaigns, we’ve increased every single KPI that we track. This includes the increase of our impressions and ad recall rate, as well as achieving complete video views on YouTube.

As for paid search, we track our ads impressions to ensure that we’re the top search term when someone searches for a2 Milk, and we always come on top, which is great.

Our CTV efforts are just recent, but we’re starting to see strong results, and we’re optimizing that program. Additionally, our Google Discovery ads are recent as well, but we’re seeing good results and driving top-tier clicks to our website.

How did Booyah Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

We typically use SharePoint as our main hub of information across all of the teams involved in the project. It contains our biweekly meeting agendas, flowchart, and media spend. Basically, it hosts all of our information.

Every two weeks, we have an all-team meeting to review the live paid media campaigns and discuss optimizations based on our results.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Booyah is very knowledgeable and experienced about the type of media that they’re running. Whenever I have a question, I always get a very detailed response, which I appreciate.

They’re also very technical with their terms, and they help us find out what’s driving success and what needs to be improved.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if Booyah improved their organization. Sometimes, some specific requirements don’t get fulfilled, and things fall through the cracks, so we need to go back to them and remind them of our requirements. However, this is minimal, and I imagine that it is common with teams of this size.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear about the type of media that you want to run with them and what you’re looking for as a result. Additionally, be very clear about your budget, and define how you’re going to track the success of your campaigns. Once you give all that information to Booyah, they’ll do a really good job turning that around and presenting a plan that works for you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

The company is a Web conferencing and webinar software operation located in Denver, Colorado.

What was your role and responsibilities?

I was the senior inbound marketing manager. I was in charge of the inbound marketing process, overseeing everything from paid search to blog content, social media, SEO [search engine optimization], and advertising.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Booyah Advertising?

The company had done only a limited amount of advertising and marketing – mostly things like trade shows. My goal was to build up the paid search aspect of the company as well as the SEO [search engine optimization].

Please describe the scope of their work.

We were trying to raise our organic traffic on Google and also raise our organic conversions and have people signing up for free trials or live demos. On the paid search side, we had looked at trying to do the same thing, as a quicker way to get leads coming in. Our biggest goal was to drive more leads to our sales team from the inbound marketing side.

SOLUTION

What was your process in selecting Booyah Advertising with which to work?

We had started looking at local agencies because we wanted an agency in the Denver or Boulder area. We had looked at Google and had done our own research. We had referrals from people in the industry and from some of our vendor partners. We sent out RFPs [request for proposals] to about 10 different agencies and, from there, we whittled it down to three, including Booyah.

We had discussions with the people who were willing to come into the office and meet with us face to face. Our goal was to find someone who was putting in a content approach and a little bit more of a white hat approach on the SEO side. The other agencies we looked at had more of an automated approach where you didn't get a lot of personal solutions while Booyah had a more personal and unique approach. We selected Booyah based on the interactions we had with them. They were the ones that we were most impressed by.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they've done for you?

The SEO project was $2,500 a month. We also had a one-time audit fee that was around $5,000, which included reporting, content updates and auditing.

When did the relationship begin, and is it ongoing?

The relationship started about two and a half or three years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or general feedback to show the success of their work?

I would definitely say that they had a strong operation and provided a lot of well-documented and tailored analyses and recommendations. They didn't spend a lot of downtime in the first month that we started with them, so I was very impressed that they were ready to go right off the bat.

I would give them a lot of credit for working very well with a lot of the stumbling blocks and obstacles that were part of our internal organization. We had access to certain things spread out among a lot of people, and they were very good at working through a lot of that. In my past exposure with agencies, that's sometimes the biggest stumbling block. They're very flexible, and they can work with a lot of the internal structures that companies sometimes come with.

They're very big on performance. We started with zero visibility in terms of rank and exposure on terms like "Web conferencing," "webinars" and "audio conferencing," all of which are relatively competitive. They got us from zero to the first page on some very short tail keywords. We were in the top three for Web conferencing, and number one for audio conferencing, within a six-to-12-month period, which is exactly where they had estimated we would be.

They more than tripled our organic search traffic. We went from having a very small amount of traffic from people searching just for the company itself, to people that were coming in to us not knowing who we were, but knowing we were at the top of the results. This also doubled the amount of leads that we got.

They doubled the amount of leads that we got through our free trial, which caused us to grow our inside sales team by 100 percent. They did a fantastic job on the SEO side, and we had a huge uptick in revenue.

On the paid search side, it was the same thing. We started out at a $3,000 cost per action on our paid search when we did it internally. When we handed it to them, it was about $150, and they took it down to $40, so they greatly reduced the costs we were seeing from our lead search efforts. They actually made it an affordable thing, which allowed us to have a budget available for that.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes Booyah Advertising stand out compared to other companies?

They're very concerned about making sure that your needs are being taken care of. They try to avoid being a maintenance kind of agency, where you don't hear from them after the results are in. They're always looking for new opportunities. They're very invested in their account management. You definitely feel like you can reach out to your account manager, or the experts they have on the team, to get some feedback. They're not big on promising the world to you; they'll give you very real results that they're comfortable with.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

We experienced a large amount of turnover in our account managers on the paid search side. This was not so much the case on the SEO side, but on the paid search side. We had several account managers in the first couple of months, which made things a little complicated.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

Make sure you have your goals laid out in your head because it will make everything a little bit faster. As well, make sure you have a good idea of what it's going to take internally to get your logistics through, so when they give you recommendations you have the ability to make the changes.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are a homebuilder in the Texas region, and we have three different brands.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I am the digital marketing and e-commerce director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Booyah Advertising?

I was looking to start up a paid search program that was more efficient than the one I had inherited. The previous company we had worked with was great for small businesses but was no longer appropriate for a mid to large-sized homebuilder. I could not find anybody in the Dallas area that was reliable and could give me the analytics and depth of insight that I wanted. I had worked with Booyah previously, so I went back to them because I knew the quality and manner of reporting they could give me.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

We started out just doing a paid search campaign, and we had no true benchmarks. Essentially, we had to deconstruct everything and start from the beginning. It wasn’t like there was any kind of reporting or benchmarks that they could build on, so we were kind of running blind. They started up the campaign, and we did a lot of daily testing, improvements, and optimization. Eventually, I realized that I wanted to hand them some creative and display management, retargeting and a couple of other programs. It’s grown from there, and they’re managing quite a bit of my digital marketing at this point.

What was your process in selecting Booyah Advertising with which to work?

I had previously worked with them. I was looking for somebody I could trust and who I had a good experience with. I’ve worked with a couple of other agencies here in Dallas and in Austin. None of them gave me the clarity and the visibility that Booyah did, so I trusted them. I’ve even had instances where we had some serious disagreements with them, but they were clarified, we moved forward and a bad situation turned into a good one. They were very trustworthy, so I went back to them because of that.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

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

When did you start working with them, and is the relationship ongoing?

On this project, I started with them in February 2014, and we are still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or general feedback from the project?

There isn’t a single team member I’ve met that I haven’t had a great deal of respect for because of their expertise. They know their field, and they know what they’re working on. My account manager on paid search is very knowledgeable. When she speaks, I know she knows what she’s talking about. If I have any questions, she pulls out the reporting, and we go through it together. That’s the same for everyone on the team, so I have a lot of respect for the quality of the people who are working on my campaigns and my account. We went from an inefficient campaign to one that is running much more efficiently than it was a year ago. Because of our success, I will continue to run our campaigns through their agency.

Is there anything unique about Booyah Advertising that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

It’s absolutely the visibility that they give us. We meet on a biweekly basis. I get biweekly reporting, and I get a weekly update of where my campaigns are. I can ask for more information and I do. For example, if I said I wanted a tweak done next week, that tweak would be done, and I would see that it was done. They’re very detail oriented and very willing to give me all the details I want to see. Their willingness to share information and give me visibility makes them trustworthy and makes me comfortable with them running the campaigns. I know my money is well spent.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

Have your information together. The more information you give them, the more they can get up and running. The more you empower them upfront, the faster you’re going to get an efficient campaign.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for a ski town in the United States. 

What are your role and responsibilities?

I’m the economic development manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Booyah Advertising?

We engaged Booyah to work with us on marketing the non-ski months in the town: May through October. We wanted to position the town as a year-round destination.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

They’re doing all of our digital marketing. The scope of their work includes paid media management, Web design, Web tools and tracking, and email database services. They are also doing a video effectiveness study.

What was your process for selecting Booyah Advertising with which to work?

We issued an RFP [request for proposal] and received several proposals. We had a committee from our board review the proposals. Booyah was one of three finalists. We had each of the three do written and oral presentations, and Booyah won the contest.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

They charge us a management fee of around $4,000 and an hourly fee for Web services of $125 an hour. The email database fees are included in the media budget. We also pay $125 an hour for email building and campaign management. The video effectiveness study cost $10,000. We also pay travel expenses.

What is the status of the relationship?

We have been working with Booyah now for three years, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or general feedback from the project?

We have KPIs [key performance indicators] in all our contracts. We asked Booyah to increase site visits to 260,000 this year and increase orders by 1,000. Each year we have worked with them, they have met or exceeded our goals. They are very diligent about daily monitoring of our campaign for effectiveness, efficiency, and results. They make changes as necessary to pull out poor performers and increase good performers.

Is there anything unique about Booyah Advertising that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

They have a team approach, which we prefer. So, we are very involved with them up front and all through the process. We’re involved in monitoring, decision making, and planning.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

Their team members change frequently, which puts a little more pressure on the client. It takes time to bring the new team members up to speed.

What advice would you give to a future client of theirs?

Be very clear and direct in what your expectations are, so that the lines of communication remain open throughout the process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We’re in the mortgage business.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I’m the online marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Booyah Advertising?

We had a paid search campaign running, and we were trying to improve the performance of that campaign. We were looking for partners to help us achieve that improvement. We needed performance metrics, not just front-end metrics like clicks and visits. We were looking at the entire conversion path, from first click to the finished product. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

One thing that they helped with was the account structure. There were a lot of inefficiencies in the way the account had been set up. There were issues with regard to mapping, and there were keywords, which were matching up against search queries that were not correct. The customer funnel from search to ad to landing page was not optimized. We changed the account structure in order to achieve that smooth flow for our customers, which really helped improve the front-end metrics for us. We also tied the back-end conversion data with the front-end data, and we were able to optimize campaigns for our KPIs [key performance indicators].

What was your process for selecting Booyah Advertising with which to work?

We initially spoke to all the major paid search optimization platforms. In the initial conversations we had with them, we came to like their approach. They did an account audit for us and then presented us with their findings, issues, and recommendations. We thought that audit was really well done, and that’s how we got them onboard.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

We’ve spent somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000 working with Booyah.

When did you start working with them and is the relationship still ongoing?

The relationship started in the summer of 2013, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or general feedback from the project?

We have seen a lot of improvement in our results. We reached our profitability targets for our online campaigns, and the optimizations we did in partnership with Booyah were instrumental in meeting those objectives. They have very strong technical skills, and they’re good with developing an overarching strategy and aligning that strategy with the goals of the business.

Is there anything unique about Booyah Advertising that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

They understand numbers very well, and they understand what drives the business, what metrics are needed to track the business, and they work to reach those objectives.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

I can’t think of anything. It’s been a good approach overall.

What advice would you give to a future client of theirs?

In general, I would say to anyone looking for paid search vendors that it’s more important to have the right agency partner than the right software platform. The software platform helps, of course, but it can only take you so far. I think strategy and technical implementation are much more important.

Specifically about Booyah, make sure that they understand your business objectives and provide them with as much insight into your business as possible because that will help Booyah make decisions around online marketing or marketing in general.