CreativeRace

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m Alex, MD and owner of personalised clothing manufacturer Banana Moon.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CreativeRace, and what were your goals?

We initially signed up for SEO, PPC and Digital PR services, and further down the line added paid and organic social media activity. Our goals were to grow brand awareness and drive sales. We were also looking to be positioned as a sustainable choice for our customers.

SOLUTION

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

After a competitive pitch, we decided to go with CreativeRace as their integrated nature was a great fit to provide the services we required. We were also impressed with their response to our initial brief, which was considered and outlined a brilliant strategy. It was clear that the team were passionate about the potential partnership.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

After kicking off with a discovery meeting, we began working with the SEO and PPC team, working to grow our search visibility and improve our web content. One other key action point was to understand our different audiences better. With the help of the social media and strategy teams, we dug deeper into these audiences and what matters to them. On the back of this, an organic social media strategy was implemented to help us join the conversations that matter to our audience. We later added paid social to support our social media activity.

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

We’ve worked with a number of people – Performance Director, Head of Digital PR, Head of PPC and more. We’ve also got an assigned Account Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Results have been very positive, and we’ve seen success across all services that we work together on. The anxiety hoodie campaign specifically was a perfect blend of something which fits our company values and harnessed our creativity and expertise. CreativeRace conceived this impactful project for our talented team of apprentices to make a truly unique industry product, and the end result is absolutely fantastic. The interest in this product line has been astounding, and it's been amazing to see how much reach the campaign has secured.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I find the workflow very effective. CreativeRace are proactive and happy to come forward with suggestions. We have regular catch ups with the different teams, helping to keep everyone in the loop about performance.

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

They’re always very friendly and enthusiastic. I feel very supported, and I know my brand is in safe hands. As mentioned, the integrated nature of the business means that we can work on different projects and services in a streamlined manner, making it quick to activate new campaigns and initiatives. The fact their performance team has an experienced creative studio behind it is a great bonus.

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

Nothing springs to mind. Looking forward to further success!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Manager at VIP SKI. VIP SKI specialise in luxury ski holidays and operate over 50 luxury chalets, CLUB Chalets and luxury ski hotels in 5 ski resorts in the northern Alps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CreativeRace, and what were your goals?

We were re-launching the brand after company administration following the Covid Pandemic. We were looking for a Digital Agency to provide digital strategy, support the brand relaunch, whilst attracting the right type of customer and maximising performance. However, we were faced with the challenges of ongoing travel restrictions, uncertainty of seasonality throughout the pandemic, and a hyper-competitive market.

SOLUTION

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

After interviewing several agencies I chose CreativeRace based on their passion for the brand, industry knowledge and cost estimate.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

We held discovery meetings online to share our brand history and to discuss short term and long-term business plans. They then conducted thorough audience research in order to form a marketing strategy to target the right customers and those with a high propensity to convert.

They introduced Digital Strategy and SEO, with the aim to reduce the site’s footprint to match the new and more focused proposition. The work carried out included setting up redirects, removing internal links, and generally ‘shrinking’ the website. Once these initial changes were implemented, they shifted focus to PPC, to start driving volume and bookings with the aim to further invest in SEO at a later date, post year one.

Together we later introduced a third-party tool, Ruler Analytics, which gave us a level of insight required to show the true value of PPC. Two months into the campaign their Digital Strategy team adapted the approach and strategy, taking a fluid approach to budget, and adding Paid Social into the mix to increase brand awareness and bolster the top of the funnel leads.

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

We initially worked with the Sales Director, Performance Director, Strategy Director, Head of PPC, and Head of SEO. We were then assigned an Account Director, Account Manager and Social Media Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The introduction of Paid Social, alongside the other digital marketing channels and changes in the market, resulted in an uplift in users to site, bookings made, and revenue generated. Although results and stats are incomparable due to the change in service offering, the Digital Strategy contributed to 18% of the overall business revenue, in a six-month period. We're already seeing a positive impact on next season's targets, as 35% of the revenue generated since December is for the 22/23 season.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have weekly meetings to review campaign performance and identify opportunities. We communicate on Trello and Basecamp to ensure all team members are kept in the loop and all comms are logged. Whenever I have questions, they are responsive to my needs, and when we identified opportunities they are quick to implement.

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

The enthusiasm for the brand is clear, and we feel extremely well supported. It just feels like my marketing team has grown by four members.

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

I am absolutely confident that working together moving forward we will optimise the campaigns further for greater success, and explore other channels to test.