Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Intellicampus, an AI-powered platform that serves as the cognitive layer for all institutional data in an educational institution. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

As we entered a very crowded EdTech market with every competitor claiming they were "it", we needed to separate ourselves from the "wannabes" and hype. We needed our thought leadership to stand out and be recognized in the market. We needed our target to see us for how different we were from the noise. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) provides ongoing corporate messaging, media pitches, media training, award submissions, and brand positioning. The main focus was to get our name out there with the big brands, and our thought leadership into the minds of our target buyers. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 teammates from Communications Strategy Group (CSG®). They work seamlessly together, but we get their varied approaches, experience and capability as a blended team.

How did you come to work with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

We found them through a web search. We chose them because of their deep industry roots/knowledge, media relationships, and history of strong outcomes. But most importantly, we selected them because of the meeting we had with one of the founders and the team he selected to work with us. Once we met the people, we knew they were the ideal fit for us. 

How much have you invested with them?

It's an ongoing monthly retainer relationship. Well worth the investment. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2025, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen organic media mentions, a byline in a major industry publication, various media placements, and podcast and other interviews. We’ve had three earned placements, two secured interviews, 27,966 organic placements, and an AVE of $610,000 in 90 days. Our ROI on PR spend is on target.

How did Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) perform from a project management standpoint?

They have world-class project management. The team is highly organized and well documented. They have exceptional follow-up and proactive engagement with us, subject matter experts, and the media. We communicate through virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps. We have also had one in-person working session with them at their HQ in Denver. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The people. They are smart, proactive, and they clearly love what they do. They are genuinely excited about our success. They make us feel like our startup is really on to something, and that gives us the assurance they are pitching us to the media in the same way. If they are excited about us, the media will be excited to talk to us and our customers. That's the most important part of PR. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. They run like a Swiss watch. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of content and creative marketing at StarRez, a student housing software company. We provide innovative solutions for on-and-off-campus housing management, resident wellness and experience, and revenue generation. Trusted by 1,100+ institutions and 2,000+ properties worldwide, StarRez supports more than 4 million beds annually with its unified platform, delivering seamless experiences for students and administrators.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

We needed to elevate our brand presence as the leading solution for on- and off-campus housing, conferences, and events. We also wanted to increase awareness of our success and impact, demonstrating measurable outcomes and real-world benefits through stories from our champions. Moreover, we wanted to establish our subject matter experts (SMEs) as credible thought leaders and enhance their perceived authority and influence among higher education and student housing audiences. Finally, we wanted to position ourselves as a leader in student housing innovation and increase awareness and credibility of our AI solutions and expertise among key audiences.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) has been very proactive in learning our business and helping us time and launch key messages to the right audiences through thoughtful execution and partnership with industry publications and our SMEs (both customers and internal leaders). The team has created 19+ earned media hits, six press releases, various award submissions, and industry conference session proposals. Moreover, Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) has created bylines, storylines, podcast opportunities, and other materials. All of these have been thoughtfully produced.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 2–5 teammates from Communications Strategy Group (CSG®).

How did you come to work with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

We found them through a referral. We chose them because they were close to our geographic location, had a great culture fit, and had company values that aligned with ours.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) in July 2025, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a higher share of voice in our desired markets, referral traffic, and 15+ backlinks from reputable industry publications. We’ve seen up to 95.10% on-campus share of voice and up to 34.10% off-campus share of voice, enhancing brand awareness and thought leadership for our company.

How did Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re extremely reliable and communicative. They keep us up to date on all published and pending media opportunities. They proactively reach out to our suggested subject matter experts and are resourceful in how they combine our existing content with new content from the interviews they conduct. They’re also very responsive via Slack and easy to work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They feel like a true part of our team. They know the industry and come to the table with great suggestions. They’re always willing to accept feedback or change directions. They seem truly invested in our success and are the best PR team I’ve had the pleasure of working with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m very happy with our Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and editor-in-chief of Draw It to Know It, LLC, an education company. We provide medical and biological science education using drawing as a vehicle for learning and memory retention.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) to accomplish for your company?

We needed help with our direct-to-consumer marketing strategy and implementation to produce significant growth very quickly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) implemented marketing analytics, developed social media image-based ads, managed our marketing budget, and developed social media marketing architectures for Google and Meta.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2023–January 2024.

How did you come to work with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

They were referred to me. We chose them over other options because they had high ratings, their pricing fit our budget, they offered good value for the cost, and their company values aligned with ours.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $45,000.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 2–5 teammates.

How did you communicate?

We used virtual meetings, emails, and messaging apps.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) greatly improved our ROI and visibility in general. We increased our social media marketing ROI, website traffic, lead generation, and customer engagement by 35%.

How did Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a phenomenal job and were always on the spot with feedback and work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They did a fantastic job of walking us through their actions and educating us on how they were implementing what they were doing and why. The team was extremely intelligent, thoughtful, curious, and generous with their time. They were genuinely eager for our success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Sr. Manager, Marketing & Communications of OCI Energy

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

OCI Energy is a leading developer of utility-scale solar projects and battery energy storage systems that power the grid with clean energy for a sustainable future.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) to accomplish?

• Transform our company overview slide deck, making it modern, professional, graphically appealing, and easy to understand.

SOLUTION

How did you find Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

OCI Solar Power was on the verge of rebranding to OCI Energy, and we needed to update our  longstanding, very basic, and boring corporate overview presentation. We took our concerns and hopes to CSG, and asked them to create and design a slide deck that included a little about our company, projects, milestones, pipeline, and team. CSG delivered 33 slides and exceeded our expectations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

After many virtual meetings, brainstorming sessions, and editing, we received a corporate overview presentation containing 33 beautifuly-designed, modern, and professional slides that exceeded our expectations. Our business development team has used the deck in more than a dozen meetings with potential clients and partners. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

CSG is a dream team! Although Karen was our main point of contact, we also talked to and met with John, Emily and Dan. Together, they answered all our questions, met all our demands, and exceeded our expectations, delivering a presentation that looks great, is easy to manage, and makes our team feel good about the information they are sharing.

What was your primary form of communication with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

CSG's level of service was unmatched! Not only did they promptly respond to all our questions via phone, email, and text messages, but two of the team members traveled to Anaheim, CA to meet with us during an industry conference. Meeting them in person solidified our respect for and relationship with CSG.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) could have done differently?

n/a

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Marketing Officer of ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

ASCD is the largest professional development organization serving educators and instructional leaders in K12. It provides evidence-based resources and solutions to build teaching and learning environments to elevate education and boost student achievement. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) to accomplish?

• As part of a significant organizational restructuring, ASCD engaged CSG to serve as an outsourced marketing communications solution while the organization rebuilt its marketing team.

SOLUTION

How did you find Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

Referral

Why did you select Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

In absence of a full marketing team, CSG took over the marketing and marketing operations activations to accelerate the organization’s growth of its publishing, events, membership and consulting solutions, as well as launch the organization’s newest innovation, Witsby, a professional development learning platform.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Events: One of the hallmarks of ASCD’s work (and revenue) is its annual conference. CSG was engaged to accelerate registrations back to pre-Covid levels via paid digital campaigns. As a result of CSG’s omnichannel digital campaign, ASCD saw event registrations skyrocket by generating 1,360 registrations.
• Publishing: With ASCD leading professional development for educators, CSG assisted with creating ongoing awareness for key authors and thought leaders, generating purchases for 40 new book launches, and maximize the impact of their quarterly catalog. With the catalog alone, CSG helped generate $850,000 in revenue. 
• Witsby: CSG developed the Go-To-Market strategy and launched their professional learning and development application, working closely with sales to deliver warm leads via regular webinars, advertising, and email marketing. CSG generated hundreds of sales appointments in the first two months of the campaign. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Project management is one of CSG’s strong suits. So much so that they helped build out the project management capabilities for us at ASCD as we brought on more team members internally to handle the work. 

What was your primary form of communication with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

Virtual Meeting

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

CSG is a talented team of people that knows the K12 industry extremely well, which allowed them to have impact immediately and ongoing. That expertise combined with their passion for the industry—and the work ASCD does—along with creativity and buttoned up processes allowed them to deliver the results we were looking for.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) could have done differently?

I can’t think of anything where CSG could improve. They were able to bring order to what was a chaotic transitionary time at the organization. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I'm an executive at the University of St Augustine for Health Sciences

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Educates students at the Graduate level in Health Sciences degrees (PT, OT, Nursing, SLP, PA, etc)

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) to accomplish?

• Increase Thought Leadership Position
• Drive Brand Awareness

SOLUTION

How did you find Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

Referral

Why did you select Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned
• Experience in Education

How many teammates from Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

CSG was hired in January 2023 for PR Services to drive brand awareness and increase the University's thought leadership position. Deliverables were a robust PR strategy and plan by month to increase impressions. 

We added Social Media marketing to the scope of work in April 2023 to leverage synergies from PR and because of our success with CSG PR Services. The goal of social media is to drive engagement. This scope began with a full assessment of the University's social media, the development of a strategy and a monthly social media calendar/deliverables.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Impressions for PR Engagement for social

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They're exceptionally well-organized and skilled in project management. Very responsive to our needs and all deliveries were on time.

What was your primary form of communication with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Exceptionally well-organized and strategic thinking organization with experience in higher education

Are there any areas for improvement or something Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) could have done differently?

We've worked to streamline our communications because of the bandwidth of the client

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Marketing for a Fiber Broadband Start-up.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

We needed a smooth transition of an acquisition of an existing asset and expansion into greenfield territory. This required standing up owned social media properties, PR, and various content needs.

SOLUTION

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

CSG came highly recommended from our branding agency.

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

Following several kick-off meetings, the first project was to create a meaningful town hall for existing employees about our acquisition of Vast Broadband. Running in parallel was setting up our Public Relations Strategy and the execution of the strategy. Vast social media, FB, LinkedIn and Twitter was redesigned and CSG helped us move the social from advertising to content posts. About 6 months later, CSG created new social media properties( FB, Insta, LinkedIn) and was responsible for a designing and writing the the content posts.

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

We worked with a dedicated Senior Associate and a Social Team during our engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have successfully released and gained coverage of dozens of press releases. Communications Strategy Group was instrumental in coordinating a handful of TV interviews.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We meet bi-weekly for an hour status meeting. Overtime, the meeting time averaged 20-30 minutes. CSG was very responsive using email. And, at one point in time, they worked through a weekend with us.

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

They are easy to work with and were able to get up to speed quickly.

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

I would have liked our social strategy to evolve a bit more and the frequency of posts to increase. They were great with providing coverage of our press releases and interviews; however the social dashboard although was not presented on are regular basis.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an investment manager based in Chicago, dealing purely in equities and fixed income. We were founded in 1981 and we’ve been around for 40 years.

I’m the chief development officer and I oversee our 11-person distribution team as well as sit in our executive committee to help determine different strategies, initiatives, and projects for the firm. I’ve been acting as interim CMO since April 2021.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Communications Strategy Group?

We are a very efficient and slim organization of about 40 people. We have a two-person marketing department, and that’s counting me, so we outsource most of our marketing activities except for our core functions. Any type of collateral that we utilize is almost always created externally. 

As our business goes through a massive internal undertaking, we have a need to communicate this transformation out to the marketplace. We do not have the skillset or bandwidth to do so internally, so we worked with CSG.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There is a long list of things that CSG does for us, but a major task they’re helping us with right now is redesigning our website. We’re looking to launch it in time with our company’s restructuring. For our external town hall meeting, CSG is also preparing all of the materials that we need to get in front of our investors and the community. 

CSG is heavily involved in determining strategies as well. They’re helping put together our internal sales modules and have their fingerprints on basically everything. 

What is the team composition?

We’re working with around five people from CSG: 2–3 project managers, one dedicated writer, one editor, and one website-focused personnel. What’s good about them is that they have a single point person who can either handle the tasks that come up or figure out who in the team can take on it. 

How did you come to work with Communications Strategy Group?

We went through an RFP process. We decided to go with CSG because of their expertise, depth of bench, and cultural fit. We’re a quirky organization and are a bit different than most investment managers, so we needed an agency that could run simultaneous initiatives and projects for us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged them in May 2021 and we’re still working with the team. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We tend to say a lot as on organization so our pieces have often been too long and overwhelming for our investors and internal audience. CSG, however, has helped us frame our statements in a shorter way. The internal and external feedback on that work has been overwhelmingly positive, and a lot of it has been unsolicited.

How did Communications Strategy Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly calls, obstacle calls, and email communication set up with the CSG team. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

CSG gets the job done correctly and on time. On top of their good quality work, they’re very reliable and unafraid to speak their minds. We operate in a vacuum and tend to have a certain opinion that’s not aligned with industry standards, so it’s helpful for them to tell us so. They educate us based on what they’ve seen with other clients or approaches. It gets things done fast when they bring in that fresh perspective. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of any minor hiccups that we’ve had with them. Even the mundane stuff has been easy. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend that you work with the particular project manager that we’re working with, but I’m sure they have others on board who are just as good. You should also seek CSG’s strategic advice early on since the team is very good with that. However, you could also take the same approach we did, which was to get more comfortable with them, see some of their work, and build trust in that relationship first. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner and the head of sales and client relationships at Spruceview, an investment management firm that delivers outsourced CIO solutions, private markets funds, and commingled strategies. We also manage discretionary investment management sleeves for various pension funds, endowments, foundations, and family offices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

We hired CSG for their web development services. The website was for informational purposes for clients who wanted to know more about us and our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

With CSG, we wanted to revamp and refresh our existing website. They initially looked at it and analyzed how we could freshen it up for future use. Together, we came up with additional copy, which we implemented on the website a few months after the initial engagement. We used Wix to build the website from scratch. 

Moreover, CSG provided us with designs in terms of photographs, videos, and other content. The videos were stock footage of metropolitan skylines in cities like New York, Boston, Denver, and Mexico City. Meanwhile, the pictures were done by a professional photographer within Spruceview, and CSG simply put them on the website. 

At present, they’re helping us revamp our PowerPoint slides to refresh our presentation decks. We’re in the final throes of wrapping up this part. 

What is the team composition?

Around 3–5 people work with us, and John (Senior Director) is our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Communications Strategy Group (CSG®)?

CSG was recommended to us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $20,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2020, and the website engagement finished in July 2021. Our ongoing PowerPoint engagement will probably be completed in September 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have no quantitative metrics yet since the website’s relatively new. However, anecdotal feedback has been highly positive. End users like the site’s easy navigation. Overall, the site is set up and organized well. 

How did Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) perform from a project management standpoint?

CSG’s project management is great. The team is timely and delivers within due dates and time frames that are either set by them or collectively set by us. To communicate, we use emails and video calls through Zoom. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

John has great ideas with respect to website content and layout. Their design team and writers capture what we’re looking for in terms of our value proposition.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. We’re truly happy with CSG, so I can’t think of anything else they can improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have any problems referring clients to CSG. I have a strong sense that CSG will deliver for them as they’ve done for us.