Common Thread Collective

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of TrophySmack. We design and manufacture over-the-top custom trophies, championship belts, championship rings, and related products. We do everything in-house and sell through our website and other e-commerce channels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Common Thread Collective?

As we were growing as a startup, we decided that we needed help with paid marketing. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Common Thread Collective helps us with search engine marketing and social media marketing. We first had some initial discovery calls before the team quickly started managing our paid marketing efforts. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with two teammates: a Google Ads manager and a social media manager. We also have a primary contact and a business development specialist. I’ve met a few more people at the company, but I only regularly interact with the paid marketing team.

How did you come to work with Common Thread Collective?

We were introduced to them by a mutual connection.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between $7,000–$10,000 each month. This doesn’t include the ad spend, which has totaled over $100,000 in August 2021 alone.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in May 2021, and it’s ongoing. We just signed an annual contract with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had reached a plateau when working with other vendors, and our partnership with Common Thread Collective has been critical to our continued growth. They’re extremely good at what they do, and they’ve knocked it out of the park. In the last month of our engagement, we actually sold out our merchandise. We’re delighted with their work.

How did Common Thread Collective perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is excellent. The team gets things up and running fast and offers fantastic communication. We have weekly calls with our Google Ads manager and social media manager. Additionally, we have a Slack channel with everyone working on the project, and they’re very responsive.

Common Thread Collective always makes sure we’re happy, and they’re very interested in how well they’re doing. They actually perform surveys every so often to get feedback about their team’s performance, and we’ve only ever given positive feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Other vendors we’d worked with didn’t have the capabilities that Common Thread Collective has. They’re just a team of experts who are dedicated to their craft. They’re dynamic and able to execute and launch new efforts to keep up with our growth, so it’s been a seamless and quick process. Additionally, their prices are also fair and match the quality of their services.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think there’s anything they could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Common Thread Collective will ramp your sales up, so make sure you have the inventory to respond to the demand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of online strategy for a pet supply company. We have a successful product on Amazon, and we also sell direct-to-consumer (D2C) through our own website. 
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Common Thread Collective?

After a successful campaign selling one of our brands on Amazon, we wanted to launch that same product in a D2C channel through our own website. As a big part of this campaign, we needed to create and retain a customer base through paid advertising. 
 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Common Thread provided ad buying services on Facebook and Instagram, managed our Facebook advertising account, and created the initial creative assets that we could use in those ad campaigns. Recently, we expanded the scope to include Google Ads, as well. 

They are also continuing to help us manage these accounts and ad campaigns and create new assets as necessary. 

What is the team composition?

Initially, we worked with a creative team, which was a one-time engagement to develop assets. There were 4–5 people working on this team. In terms of managing the paid campaigns, we’ve worked with just one team member, an expert buyer who manages our Facebook account. 

How did you come to work with Common Thread Collective?

A few of the partners who run Common Thread are very active on Twitter, where they post a lot of good content about D2C advertising. I became familiar with them through this content before I started working as director of online strategy. Once I took my current role, Common Thread was one of the agencies I contacted about working together. 

How much have you invested with them?

At this point, we have invested around $50,000 with Common Thread. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Common Thread in June 2021, and our engagement is ongoing. 
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Right from the start, the ad account that Common Thread manages has been a positive for our business. Focusing singularly on Facebook and Instagram, we were able to launch some limited creative and scale the budget up quickly, all while maintaining a positive ROI.

This is very difficult to do when first launching a new ad account on Facebook, so it’s quite impressive that Common Thread was able to effectively manage scaling our monthly advertising spend from $0–$100,000 with a positive ROI.

How did Common Thread Collective perform from a project management standpoint?

There were a few hiccups during the creative aspect of the engagement, but the ad-buying strategy has been smooth. Common Thread was very responsive to the concerns we had — they inspected their internal processes and discovered some issues, which they were then able to resolve for us.

We typically communicate with Common Thread via email and Slack. We also have a weekly Zoom meeting to share any updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about working with Common Thread is their openness to communication and desire to satisfy our needs. They’ve put a lot of effort into making sure that we are happy with their performance.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only issue that we faced with Common Thread was in the quality of initial creative deliverables due to a misunderstanding. They were very open to understanding and resolving this issue so that improvement has already been made.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be proactive with their team. It’s important to always communicate business goals — you can’t be hands-off when working with external agencies. As their client, it’s vital to communicate with any agency about business needs and necessary changes. 
 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital commerce manager at a 102-year-old LED, lights, multitool, and personal protective equipment company. I run our direct-to-consumer business, but I also support our e-commerce channels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Common Thread Collective?

Despite our company’s over-100-year-old history, we only started focusing on the direct-to-consumer market 3–4 years ago. We’re still taking the first steps of natural growth. We had worked with another agency, which helped us take our company to a decent level. 

However, we wanted to go a step further and continue the substantial growth of our direct-to-consumer business. We had the retail presence and brand recognition, but our digital presence still needed improvement. That said, we decided to partner with a more established digital marketing agency. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Common Thread is our paid acquisition and customer retention agency, and we are working with them on three separate channels: email, Google, and Facebook. They are providing us with various services, and most of them involve content creation. They create and execute email and Facebook advertisements, and they also help us evaluate our campaigns.

The content they produce for us has written and visual elements. Occasionally, they rework video content, but they also make their own 10–15-second videos. They create original content every quarter — to date, those have been exclusively videos.   

Common Thread produces live-action videos, and they have a lot of user-generated focused content, which is of higher quality than an iPhone video. However, since we’re doing social advertisement, they try to retain a natural feel on their shots. 

Additionally, they have continuously built and refined our website’s pop-ups using Justuno. 

What is the team composition?

We have worked with around 8–12 people. We have an account manager who’s present in every conversation. They’re aware of every meeting, and they handle reporting. Additionally, they resolve high-level, niche tasks. We also communicate directly with project leads whenever we need to go into detail about something.

How did you come to work with Common Thread Collective?

They were recommended to my boss.

How much have you invested with them?

They have a base fee of $25,000 per month, and we give them a varying budget to use on our paid channels, which is around $30,000–$40,000 per month each for Google and Facebook.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Common Thread’s email campaigns have resulted in a few hundred additional website subscribers a month, amounting to a 10%–20% uptick. 

Their ability to produce content has been incredible. We’ve doubled the email we sent and maintained a consistent performance the whole time. They have certainly overproduced, but without jeopardizing our output. 

Previously, we had 8–10 email campaigns per month. With Common Thread’s help, we’ve jumped to 18–20 campaigns while maintaining our higher-than-industry-average metrics. Overall, they’ve done an excellent job of upping our content production.

How did Common Thread Collective perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack for general communication. Common Thread sends daily emails, and we also talk over the phone. They’re very accommodating when it comes to communication. 

We meet with Common Thread weekly for 30 minutes through Zoom. They do an excellent job of allocating one-on-one time with our team. When needed, we do a 30–60 minute deep dive into the specific initiative we’re working on.

Common Thread is a very collaborative company — their key officers are even present during our Zoom meetings. They give a small team vibe, and we feel they are very focused on our account — they make us feel like we’re their only client. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Common Thread is, by far, the most digitally-focused agency I’ve worked with. They have their own app, which helps us report on several metrics and bring everything together. We don’t have to jump into 40 different resources and cherry-pick information; we just use their platform, and we can see how our campaigns are performing. 

They also give us industry benchmarks so we can see how we're performing against their other clients. It’s been helpful for us to know that we’ve been doing well in certain metrics. 

Common Thread’s other strength is communication — they're the best communicators I've worked with so far. They set up a system where we feel very comfortable reaching out to their team at any point during the workweek. Their communication skills and ability to foster a healthy team environment are impressive.

Common Thread’s team is very personable. I know they have many clients, and I understand that they work in a fast-paced industry. It’ll be easier for them not to pay attention to so many clients. Despite that, they do an excellent job of developing a community when you work with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Anything that’s performance-based is completely volatile. I wouldn’t fault them if our Facebook campaign doesn't perform well in one month. 

The only area of improvement I can think of is their documentation. They do a really good job with PowerPoint, but it's not always overly detailed. If we create an email or Facebook campaign, they don’t document it in their report. Having screenshots would be helpful, so I can easily share their reports with my supervisor. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Common Thread does an outstanding job of explaining details. They’re very data-focused, but sometimes, their data requires prerequisite knowledge. You should have a general understanding about email, Facebook, Google, and their associated metrics. You don’t want to go in there cold. 

Common Thread is a step up from an entry-level agency,  but they’ll put you in a position where you can be very successful. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and creative director of Caskata. We design and manufacture a brand of home decor and accessories primarily for tables. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Common Thread Collective?

We wanted to develop the B2C growth potentials that we saw emerge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our company audited our social media buying efforts and decided to work with two agencies to help me. One was focused on growth, while the other provided a more well-rounded service. In the end, however, we weren’t getting the results we thought could get. 

Moreover, we were navigating through a pivot at that time. We had been a wholesale company with small online retail; it was a 75%-25% split. During the COVID-19 pandemic, those numbers reversed, and we clearly saw an opportunity to grow more online. I’d also reached the limit of my knowledge, so we needed professional help in terms of growth and paid media. As a result, we hired Common Thread. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Common Thread’s deliverables revolve around achieving a specified return on ad spend (ROAS) that we find reasonable. Our goal is to grow our ad spend and audience while delivering better results in a responsible fashion that propels the business forward. At present, we’re exploring their other offers, specifically email retention services. 

What is the team composition?

I mainly interact with their Facebook, Instagram, and Google media buyers. 

How did you come to work with Common Thread Collective?

I was a listener of a podcast by Andrew (Former VP of Growth), and I researched who he was and where he worked. Then, I started watching some of the webinars that Taylor (Managing Partner) put out. After that, I became a subscriber of the admissions program by Common Thread. I thought they provided real value, so I hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $150,000–$200,000 in this partnership. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. I started talking to them long before that; I circled around them until it made more sense to take the leap as our business grew. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a dramatic improvement in our ROAS and revenue. August 2021, which is typically a slow month, has been more profitable than December 2020. Common Thread’s work in those aspects is driving the increase in large part. 

How did Common Thread Collective perform from a project management standpoint?

Common Thread has done a great job at project management. They send out a biweekly questionnaire to check out how we feel about their experience. To communicate, we mainly use Slack and emails. We also have a weekly Zoom call. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Common Thread takes a holistic brand approach to their clients’ businesses; they understand the balance between paid media, organic traffic, and owned resources. Overall, I’ve learned a lot from Taylor about running an e-commerce business as I have about marketing. 

Moreover, their team is great at marketing; their holistic perspective on a company makes their marketing management so powerful and impactful. E-commerce is a unique beast. Those of us who are thrusted unwittingly but happily into this space see a void in the marketplace — that void needs the holistic knowledge that Common Thread shares on a regular basis. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be nice to occasionally touch bases with their senior management to give some feedback or thoughts on the engagement. For context, Common Thread welcomes customers using a series of inspiring materials. However, it’s better if we can see the faces behind those materials looking into the specifics of our account. That way, the experience will be authentic and personal. 

That being said, the team is doing a great job, and I give them consistently high marks because of that. In other words, this isn’t a criticism; it’s just a way to gild the lily. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Bring an open mind and do your homework so you can hit the ground running. That way, you’ll understand what Common Thread is talking about, and you’ll make informed decisions. We’re a small company, and doing our homework has been to our great benefit. We understand what we’re asking them to do on our behalf, so we can evaluate the suggestions they make. Simply put, Common Thread is sophisticated and smart. As a client, you must be as well-prepared as they are. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a health/fitness brand

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Common Thread Collective?

Hired CTC for Paid Media (Social and Google) as well as creative asset creation.

SOLUTION

How did you select Common Thread Collective and what were the deciding factors?

Interviewed different paid media agencies

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

Contracted CTC to run our paid media, creative asset creation and growth strategy.

How many resources from the Common Thread Collective team worked with you, and what were their positions?

5 people on their team, considered a "growth team" package.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their performance in our paid social ads was extremely poor. They were not able to even break a 1x ROAS in the FB ads manager account. The creative work they did for us was not performing in the account either, contributing significantly to the poor results. Their team was slow to respond and didn't seem to have the capabilities need to drive strong results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We met on a weekly basis to run through a report out of the week prior. Unfortunately, that meeting was nothing more than reading off a spreadsheet. They responded quickly to messages, but weren't able to make meaningful changes in a timely manner that impacted our account.

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

Nothing. The performance was poor across the board and their stated company values/mission don't align with their actions.

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

They seem to have biten off more than they can chew, losing lots of clients in the process. CTC needed more improved talented across the board and much better leadership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a men’s jewelry business. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Common Thread Collective?

This jewelry business had been around for several years as an established venture when we purchased it, so we wanted to scale it to a larger level. As a result, we hired Common Thread. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Common Thread predominantly helps us advertise on Facebook and other social media platforms. They’ve also developed some content for our ads, but they mostly take what ad we supply and then find the right audience for them. 

Common Thread also gives us suggestions around what we can do for the business, and we’re trying some of those now. One such suggestion is working with other external vendors to develop more content. Our next step is to follow through with those suggestions to see if they give us better results. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Chris (Client Strategy Manager) and Orvelin (Owner & Shareholder). Chris is the project manager, while Orvelin is the main media buyer. They then collaborate with the rest of their team, resources, and media buyers. 

How did you come to work with Common Thread Collective?

I was searching for vendors on the internet, and we were attracted to Common Thread because they’d worked with bigger players in the jewelry industry. Meanwhile, we wanted to work with companies that had worked with other men’s jewelry brands to see if they could also help us. 

Upon researching them, our team had professional interactions with Chris. In our vetting process, we checked their communication, professionalism, and organizational presentation. They were on point and had all the good qualities of the agencies we used in the past without the frustration. As a result, we transitioned and decided to work with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $5,000 a month on their services. So far, we’ve spent around $25,000 in payments to them. We also spend between $10,000–$15,000 a month on Facebook advertising. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around May 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our cost per purchase has started to decrease while working with Common Thread. We’ve tried to reduce this cost before with other agencies and internally, but we didn’t achieve the same results.

In the meantime, we’re still waiting to see if Common Thread’s plans will lead to something that will truly push our business forward. If everything they’ve planned comes to fruition, then all the hard work they’ve done to target audiences for us will be worth it. 

How did Common Thread Collective perform from a project management standpoint?

Common Thread’s project management is great, and their professionalism in this area makes them stand out. To communicate, we use Slack and emails. We also have weekly Zoom meetings to keep everyone accountable. Moreover, the manager and ad buyer are highly attentive to our needs. Every time we send a message, we hear back from them within a few hours. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Common Thread’s professionalism and communication distinguish them from other providers. On top of that, while they’ve assigned a dedicated media buyer to us, we also receive guidance toward profitability from their managers, coworkers, and other media buyers. They work with other companies in the same industry as us, and that’s also beneficial to us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re looking to work with Common Thread, be diligent about it and follow up with them because they mean business. They’re busy, so you won’t always get the first opportunity to work with them. On top of that, you must meet their energy because they’re truly energetic and communicative when it comes to sending data, making presentations, and conducting weekly calls. In other words, approach the partnership with a serious mindset. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Online Education. Managing Director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Common Thread Collective?

We needed someone to manage our Facebook Ads.

SOLUTION

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

We were told that each ad buyer only had 2 clients and we would be tapping into the collective talent of the agency. Both turned out to be not true.

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

After a kick off meeting, they developed an overall strategy. They then set up Facebook campaigns.

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

We worked with an account manager and an ad buyer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads but didn’t even break even.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Not very good at all. Poor communication, missed meetings and missed deadlines.

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

Nothing.

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

Leadership. Honesty. Integrity.