Disruptive Advertising

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and CEO of an online men's training brand that sells strength accessories and apparel since 2010.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Disruptive to manage our Facebook/IG and Google advertising channels. We wanted a team to manage both of these channels so that they could work better together and help us spend our budget more efficiently between the two channels and scale where there were opportunities.

SOLUTION

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

We selected Disruptive because of all the great reviews we read and their reputation for starting our as one of the best Google Advertising Agencies in the country. They went into our accounts and were very confident they could scale our Google side because it had performed so well over the past 5 years. We ultimately decided to go with them because we felt confident they were going to help us expand our advertising efforts and that they had the experience to make it happen. Their communication on calls in the beginning were great so that gave us confidence. They also communicated to us that we would have a manager for each channel, an account manager and a creative asset - so the value of the team was there.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Disruptive was hired to manage all of our advertising efforts on the Google Platform - specifically Search SEM, Shopping, Youtube etc. They were also tasked with managing our Facebook/IG Advertising which included building out campaigns, setting up funnels of different ad sets, creating 1 video creative a month, writing copy for the ads and overall managing the budget and spend. They were supposed to monitor both channels to optimize ROI across the advertising channels based on revenue coming in to our Shopify website. The minimum return we had expressed was a 3X ROI. Before we began they had identified an opportunity to scale the spend of the Google platform 3X - so that was part of the project as well.

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

We worked with mainly two people. We were told we would have an Account Manager, Facebook Ads Manager, Google Ads Manager and Creative Manager. When we began we worked with the Facebook Manager almost exclusively for calls and emails. We did not have an account manager and we were never in contact with a creative person. This was the first red flag.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within the first 3 weeks of working with disruptive all of our major performance metrics (KPIs) has dropped to all time lows. Our Conversion rates sank by 50%. Our time on the site dropped by 40%. Revenue sank by 20%. Cost per acquisition on Google increased by 12x. Our traffic had doubled and tripled on some days but it was very low quality traffic with a large percentage coming from outside our demographic (India). They had completely demolished what performance we had from before working with them.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We would have a call weekly at first and then it pushed out to every two weeks. Email correspondence was fast at first and then it slowed down after we started to have problems. As mentioned earlier - we did not have an account manager. Only when we started to raise concerns were we in contact with their VP of Paid Teams.

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

We were initially impressed by their communication and their understanding of our goals. They claimed to understand how the channels needed to work together and how the end goal of a business is to bring in revenue - not to show stellar stats on an ad set. After working with them - we were not impressed and to be honest - quite surprised by how negligent their management was.

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

Pretty much every area they could have improved on.

The team we were assigned did not know what they were doing. They did not look at our historical data or take our input seriously. They wasted our budget with cookie cutter strategies that have proven not to work. They recycled old ads with inaccurate offerings and tried to run settings from 2018. We all know the Facebook platform has changed very much since then.

Our Facebook manager didn't even read the copy in the ads he was turning on. When new ads were created they would copy one line of copy from an Instagram post and run it on all the ads. There were no call to actions, value propositions or any other copy proven to be effective in paid advertising. They had setting that had Facebook spending budget to bring low quality traffic from India to our website. They bombarded Google Ads with so many major changed it completely tanked and they did not revert any of it. They just let it run, waste our money and hurt our business.

When we contacted their management to ask for a new team the response we received was that they were at capacity and they had no other managers who could take us on. This company has 100 employees and they could not assign us to a better team. Their VP of Paid Teams stepped in himself to work on our Google Account. The first changes he made was to introduce negative keywords that blocked our branded terms. Google sent us an email warning us that our ads were not running properly because of his changes.

The whole experience was painful and extremely damaging to our brand. When we finally fired Disruptive - they refused to give us a refund for the most recent billing that had occurred 10 days prior. They stalled in fixing the situation because they knew our next billing cycle was coming up. Overall this company has very bad practices and their team is inexperienced and lazy.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on May 7, 2021.

Thank you for your honest feedback about your experience with us. We regret that we haven't been able to meet your expectations and we would appreciate the opportunity to further discuss the issues you have encountered. You should've received an email to schedule some time next week for us to discuss these concerns. Knowing how we failed to meet your expectations, allows us to understand what our next steps are to resolving any issues. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an e-commerce business that sells personalized art.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We hired Disruptive Advertising to create and manage our Facebook and Google Ads campaigns.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They mainly helped out with PPC services.

What is the team dynamic?

I’ve worked with one account manager, one creative expert, a Google expert, and a Facebook expert.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I interviewed with several agencies, but a big factor was reading their reviews on Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $16,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

There is a nice onboarding process where we speak with different members of their team. They answered a lot of our questions, along with weekly meetings. It ended up not working out the way I thought it would.

During onboarding, we were supposed to discuss our customers, angles, and demographics. We were supposed to come up with strategies, but that never really happened. There were some early disappointments I chose to look past.

How did Disruptive Advertising address the challenges that arose?

I believe they were trying to hide the fact that they were performing poorly during our weekly meetings. We always heard positive news, and the data they showed me suggested we were doing great. But, in actuality, we were losing money with every single sale.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

In advertising, the core metric is the return on ad spend – for every dollar that’s spent from my account, which is their responsibility, how many sales am I getting? And that metric has been beyond terrible.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

I like the fact that they have four specialists that handle their respective domains. Those are nice communication areas to have on the surface.

In what specific areas can they improve?

Their expertise in advertising was beneath what I was led to believe. I thought they would have an insider look into marketing during sales calls, but their approach was beneath my own.

They’re employing outdated strategies, and their commitment level was also lacking. They haven’t been able to follow up on their promises, and there have been very few touches on my account. Even now, they’re not very involved.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Clients need to understand that they’re a large agency that will assign you newly hired staff that aren’t necessarily experts. They also need to understand that they have to look at their own metrics to analyze their data and measure their performance that way.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on April 30, 2021.

Hi Peter, 

I am sorry to hear about your poor experience with us. It's frustrating when things don't go as planned and I understand why you're disappointed.   

It sounds like we didn't do a great job in the beginning to establish the time and partnership dynamics we needed to work together successfully. You mentioned overlooking several red flags and we must've not done a good enough job at making sure you felt confident with our strategy, reporting, service, and the expertise level of the consultants assigned to your account. 

As you know, ROAS oftentimes takes more than 1-2 months to work on. We don't love long contracts either, and there's a reason we set them up that way at the beginning of our partnership before going month-to-month, which we all prefer. I understand there were some cash flow issues you were experiencing prior to working with us; while your revenue in March increased ~15%, the ROAS dropped and was quite a bit worse compared to February. We failed to understand priorities here, as well.  

I can assure you we weren't hiding or hand-picking metrics for reporting. In addition to our custom reporting, we provided real-time reports where you were able to see all of the performance KPIs at any time. 

It's important to us that we do the right thing. We waived the 6-month contract and appreciate you getting back to us to pay your final 30-days. If there is anything else we can do to help further reconcile this situation, please reach out to us and let us know. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of NeeSee’s Dresses. We’re an online modest clothing boutique for women.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

Our advertising was all over the place because multiple people experimented with ads. We spent a lot of money on ads that didn’t produce much of a return.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We consolidated our ad initiatives under Disruptive. Their team now manages our Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Pinterest Ads, which is a recent addition. Disruptive updates our website and then runs tests to assess the results. If an update doesn’t work, they’ll adjust it. For example, their team made changes to streamline the website's look and checkout process.

We have weekly meetings to review my requirements. Their team oversees all of the analytics, so they report on our ad spend and progress towards goals during the meetings.

What is the team composition?

I’m in close contact with 4–5 people from Disruptive. However, there are probably closer to 7–8 people working on the project.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

My husband and I searched Google for companies that could help us with advertising. I contacted three agencies and interviewed all of them but liked Disruptive the most. I appreciated their organization and the information their team provided on their reporting process.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $70,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2020 and have consistently worked together ever since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I brought them aboard in 2020 when sales were slightly down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, we saw exponential growth. We’re in a better position than even Disruptive expected for us. I’m more than happy with all of their work.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

In addition to weekly calls, we email throughout the week. Disruptive emails their monthly plans, which I review and approve by logging into a platform. If I have a question or last-minute request, I can also text one of their team members. They’re really organized, which is nice. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re incredibly organized. Disruptive assigns specialized team members to each part of the project. For example, they didn’t assign a person with a lot of Facebook Ad experience but minimal Google Ads knowledge to manage the entire project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no. Their team has done such a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Stay in communication with them. That’s an area where I had room for improvement. Participating in weekly calls and answering their questions helps Disruptive to do their best work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Vinyl Status, a sticker manufacturer out of Redmond, WA. We service over 100,000 customers a year and growing thanks to Disruptive!

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising?

We originally hired Disruptive to manage our Google Ads, and quickly brought them on to manage our FB Ads, Email, and CRO campaigns.

What were your goals for this project?

Our main goal was to get the right people on the bus to maintain long term success on all channels.

SOLUTION

How did you select Disruptive Advertising?

We originally got 3 independent audits from Digital Marketing agencies but Disruptive stood out as a leader in the space.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Our scope includes complete Google Ads management. That involves maintaining healthy CPA’s, and hunting for new opportunities/keywords in the space for expansion. FB Ads management involves full management of campaigns, budget optimization, and ad creation. Email involves buildout for one campaign per month, and ongoing flow optimization with A/B testing and monitoring. CRO involves testing one variable per month to find small tweaks we could make to increase conversions. We’ve been successful on all fronts.

What was the team composition?

I have been working closely with TJ (CRO), Jordan (FB) Katie (Email), and Joey (Google). When we hit a rough patch, executives were looped in to address concerns. Having professionals in their field manage their respective channels is very effective.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since beginning our work, sales have increased by 120% and our conversion rate has increased by 25%

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our project manager (TJ) does a very good job at communicating effectively and drives initiatives forward. Weekly and Biweekly calls are great for communicating needs and results.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Disruptive has a very skilled and diverse team that has vast knowledge in digital marketing. The space is ever evolving and they stay on top of it.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As with anything, speed is always something that could be improved but you can’t rush quality. Getting initiatives out of the incubator and executing faster is always preferred.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company specializes in the sale, rental, and service of laboratory equipment across the United States. I'm the ecommerce developer overseeing all aspects of our ecommerce strategy, technology, and execution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our primary goal was to improve our Google Ads campaigns and increase conversion rates on our eCommerce site over a specific period of time. We hired Disruptive Advertising to lead our PPC strategy, manage campaigns, and perform conversion rate optimization (CRO).

SOLUTION

How did you select Disruptive Advertising and what were the deciding factors?

We wanted to work with a company that primarily specialized in PPC so Disruptive Advertising was a perfect match for us. Based on Disruptive's case studies, reviews, and strategy discussions we were able to quickly make a decision and sign up with them.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Disruptive Advertising laid out a clear plan for creating more efficient Google Ads campaigns designed to increase lead quality and conversions. The PPC management was a success and we decided to also sign up for Disruptive's CRO service to increase our conversions even further.

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

Disruptive Advertising assigned marketing consultants (Jenae Frick, Jaren Jolley) to directly manage our PPC campaigns and data analysts (Taylor Bishop) to perform conversion rate optimizations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, Disruptive Advertising was able to considerably improve our lead quality and increase requests for quote by 82%, resulting in higher revenue compared to previous periods.

Our Google Ads shopping campaigns were made more efficient and as a result our cost per conversions have decreased by 23%. The CRO implementations increased our monthly online purchases by 29%. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Disruptive stepped up to help us to strategize ways to increase our sales by recommending new ideas and campaigns.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

The communication was detailed and open. Bi-weekly conference calls to discuss strategy, upcoming changes, recommendations, etc. At the end of each week we also received quick email summaries about our campaigns' performance and other deliverables.

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

We've worked with other agencies before but Disruptive is the first one who felt like an extension of our team. Every person we worked with was knowledgeable about marketing strategies and all their decisions were backed by data and research in our industry. Taylor, Jenae, Jaren, and Jace were all wonderful to work with.

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

None that we can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the corporate communications manager for a gastroenterology practice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We wanted to increase our PPC results. We worked a little bit elsewhere but never had a concentrated effort on it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an initial meeting and a rep assigned to us. Disruptive Advertising uses Google for all PPC efforts. They do line ads and some display ads as well. So I can see what they’ve done, they developed a spreadsheet that shows who is coming in, their name, their phone number, and then I can attribute whether it turns into an appointment for us or not. This turns into some manual work for me because they can’t see our electronic medical records (EMR).

What is the team composition?

Chris (Marketing Consultant) is currently our representative and main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I did a search for them and we interviewed a few companies. We liked their approach better, so we picked them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested approximately $18,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2018 and the work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our results are probably four or five times better than what they used to be.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very receptive and cooperative, working with us on certain language. We usually communicate through email and have a monthly meeting to check on things and see if there’s something we specifically want to focus on. If  I email Chris with a change I need, I usually hear back within a day or two.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really know what they’re doing in their industry and know how to look at trends and make changes, even if those seem counterintuitive to someone like me. Because they’re focused on one area, they have it dialed in quite well and have been able to guide us when we’re asking for something that isn’t going to work. If we give it a try, then they show us results and tell us what they think will work better. They are always actively making changes so that we get the best numbers for the end of the month.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Last March, we tried a Facebook program and I think they assigned someone who was brand new to us because they didn’t really understand anything. We weren’t on the same page at all with them in understanding our business or audience. We did that collaboration for a month and cut it. We also didn’t like how they always brought up our limited budget, but they haven’t mentioned it again since we brought it up.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you’re trying to achieve and give them a little time to dial in the details of the campaign. I think it would be hard for them to get the feel of your company on their own, so you have to be cooperative with them in that way.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Coordinator for an addiction treatment center. We provide a full continuum of care for clients struggling with substance abuse.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Disruptive Advertising to manage PPC for our digital marketing efforts to help us reach a wider audience, convert leads, and deliver our ads across a variety of platforms.

SOLUTION

How did you select Disruptive Advertising and what were the deciding factors?

We became familiar with Disruptive's strong skill set, accomplishments, and were impressed with their other partnerships.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

We discussed our goals and they recommended an initial strategy for our PPC. The build out the graphics and copy for our ads and get our feedback regularly. The process is very collaborative!

They manage our ads across a variety of platforms and make adjustments along the way. We have weekly meetings where we get updates on performance and lead conversion. They provide us with all the reports we'd like to see so we can accurately measure our progress. We appreciate how attentive they are with us as a client.

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

We work mainly with Shannon (Strategy Lead) and Christine (Marketing Consultant). We also work with Colin to implement back end tracking.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since implementing our PPC strategy, we've seen our ads reach a much greater audience, convert highly qualified leads, and solidify our brand appearance. We are continuously impressed with Disruptive's dedication to our company and goals.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We email regularly and have weekly meetings. The meetings are always very insightful and provide us with an in depth picture of our performance. They are quick to respond and react. Our goals are constantly being nurtured and timelines are met.

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

They are very knowledgeable and understand what we want to accomplish. They always come prepared with solutions and initiatives to improve our performance. We really enjoy our weekly check-ins because the team is friendly, helpful, and adaptable!

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

Nope! We truly enjoy working with the team at Disruptive and are pleased with our experience.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a social media, blogging and digital marketing consultant.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I found Disruptive when searching for PPC firm to work with a client.

SOLUTION

How did you select Disruptive Advertising and what were the deciding factors?

They had the best proposal and I could tell they were out to do a great job based on research and expertise.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

They run Linkedin, Google, and Facebook ads for a client. Their strategy is sound based on the unique industry and they adjust at each step of the process (even recommend we lower budgets in certain areas saving the client money on fees). They base decisions to pivot on results which they explain in great detail.

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

4 - sales and then a three member team who managed the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are getting qualified leads.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Communication was excellent - very responsive.

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

This was a unique company to run ads for as we had no previous metrics and there are very few others in the space. As we move forward it because clear that Facebook ads were not a good fit and the staff actually recommended stopping them even though Disruptive would then need to drop their monthly fee. On top of that, they are professional - answer questions until you understand. Most importantly they deliver results. As my client is growing they are keeping Disruptive due to service and results.

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

Can't imagine

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior marketing manager for an organization that focuses on emergency preparedness, distributing products that help untrained people respond to emergencies. We sell products like AED defibrillators and bleeding control kits. We’re also a nation-wide CPR trainer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

Our organization was looking for a partner that could help us with conversion rate optimization (CRO) and advertising. That included managing any sort of PPC or paid media.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Initially, Disruptive Advertising analyzed the tone of our ads and provided data to help us determine which approaches would be better. They’ve since continued to run our paid search ads, whether that’s in shopping or social media. They also provide CRO services for our e-commerce website. 

What is the team composition? 

We work with 5–6 people. I have contact with the project manager but also have the flexibility to reach out directly to whoever is working on a specific focus. 

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

At the time, we were with a company that just wasn’t working out for us, so we set off to find a partner that was more analytical. I searched on Google and read through a lot of reviews before I saw Disruptive Advertising. It seemed like they had really great feedback from everyone. 

We went with them because it just felt like a naturally good fit. Their team was open and got back to us when they said they would. They’re very methodical, too. Even before we said we’d partner with them, they were quick to understand our situation, provided recommendations, and advised us on best practices. It was a show of good faith that they really wanted to see their customers do well.

How much have you invested with them?

At this point, we’ve spent $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2021, and the partnership is still ongoing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and owner of Savage Gentleman, a lifestyle brand. We make leather goods and apparel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We’re working with them to facilitate our marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provide all the creative assets and content and they manage our PPC ads across Facebook, Google, and YouTube.

They also handle email marketing. They work closely with us to fine-tune our messaging to make sure it is on-brand and is targeting the right audience.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with three people. Nate (Marketing Strategist) heads up our account and is focused on Facebook and Instagram. Then we work with Joey (Director of SMB Sales), who specializes in Google and YouTube. Finally, we work with Caitlin (Marketing Consultant) and Katie (Team Lead) on email.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

Either they reached out to us or my partner found them through a mutual friend. My partner introduced the idea of working with Disruptive Advertising, so we sat down and had a conversation with them. They gave us an audit of what our company was doing at the time and how they felt like they could contribute. Looking at the numbers they presented, it was a no-brainer to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in November 2020 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our company is growing and is doing well due to their support. We’ve had them aggregate what we’ve been spending on the ads across all of the platforms and what we’ve been getting in return. Even factoring in their management fees, we’re getting a return on ad spend.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, they’ve done really well. We’ve had a few miscommunications, but that wasn’t entirely their fault. A few times, things haven’t according to plan, but they’ve been very diligent and fair when resolving those situations.

We use Slack as our predominant means of communication. Occasionally, we transfer things by email or upload assets to a shared Google Drive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They work with companies of all sizes across a variety of industries. That gives them a lot of industry knowledge and experience to draw from, and that sets us up for success.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They work pretty autonomously, which is a plus, but they could check in with us more, specifically in regards to the design and copywriting details. I think they’re trying to avoid hassling us, but I would be happy to collaborate with them more frequently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more organized a company can be, the better Disruptive Advertising can do their job. We’re a bit more scattered, which makes their job more challenging. If we had better procedures, they could be more efficient.