Disruptive Advertising

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the director of digital marketing for Venafi, an IT security technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have a very small digital team at Venafi so we decided to bring on Disruptive to help us with our PPC campaign execution and strategy.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to decrease our costs per lead and find the right balance of types of ads (display, keyword, remarketing, brand search) to give us the most valuable leads for the money we spend.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were already using a SEO consultant that we'd been very successful with. They recommended Disruptive to us and we signed up right away because we were impressed with their professionalism and expertise.

Describe the project in detail.

We first met with Disruptive to completely redo our inherited SEM campaign. The first thing we needed was to make sure that we were tracking everything properly. Disruptive helped us set up proper tracking before we made substantive changes. Once that was set up, they built a brand new PPC campaign from scratch, including building it so that testing for all campaigns could easily be tested and changed on a weekly basis. We then embarked on years of weekly testing, constantly refining our programs to bring the costs down and the value of leads up without ever hurting our lead volume more than 10% based on changes and tests.

What was the team composition?

We have an account manager who is our main point of contact, and we rarely need contact with anyone else. Our account manager pulls in anyone that we need but that's mostly unnecessary.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because cost per lead was the most important thing for Venafi, we focused on it relentlessly. We have now succeeded in making our PPC campaign the lowest cost per lead of any program at Venafi. Disruptive was able to do this while not affecting the quality of the leads coming in through massive amounts of audience testing.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They are great. We have a regular cadence of meetings and rarely have any need to communicate between our meetings. When necessary, however, they are very responsive. They always deliver on what they promise and are great at communicating progress.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The thing I find most impressive is their knowledge and professionalism. I have had three different account managers while working with Disruptive but there was no time or expertise lost when we had to change to a different account manager.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I haven't noticed any areas for improvement while I have been a customer of Disruptive. They have been great through multiple account management changes and various business initiatives.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Collective Intelligence is a content marketing tool geared to help teams generate better content. Some of the best content resources every company has is its employees/customers. At Collective Intelligence we believe in harnessing that feedback and utilizing it to better understand and improve your customer journey. I am the head of Marketing and Sales.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired them to jump-start our online presence. We are a small start-up that needed to generate more leads and help us build some landing pages.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals for this project are very simple. We are trying to get 35-50 new trial sign up and at least 1-2 closes per month.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected them by doing some research for the most cost-effective digital agencies in the United States. They are a primer google partner and have won several awards. After we saw that and their reviews it was a no brainer.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We needed to start building our lead generation engine. The traffic we were getting was small and no one has ever heard of us. Disruptive Advertising was tasked with getting us found for keywords on google and brining in highly qualified prospects to our trial.

What was the team composition?

There is a whole team dedicated to your account. Our account manager Preston has been great staying on top of our account and bringing new ideas to the table. I know there is a few other watching our account and helping.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still in the first couple of months of using them but they are looking to hit their goal ahead of schedule. Which is more than I can ask for.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow has been smooth. They are on top of everything and willing to listen and implement my ideas.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The results. At the end of the day, that's, how you judge an agency and they have been delivering the results and setting real expectations since day one.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of OP2 Labs LLC, and we develop, manufacture, and distribute health and nutritional supplements to both medial and retail.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We had a gap in our marketing advertising program that we were looking to fill. In the past, we had worked with other SEO or online digital advertising companies and didn’t find much success.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Disruptive Advertising manages our online advertising platforms. This includes Google Ads, Google Express, Facebook, Instagram, Yahoo, Bing, and Amazon. All of our channels are within their wheelhouse. Their team develops our graphic content, optimizes our content, and monitors our various ads. They launch new content capabilities for us as well. 

They manage our complete ad budget. We trust Disruptive Advertising enough to allocate them an increasing monthly budget and let them manage it. Their team also manages our R&D spending, which we use to test new ideas or concepts within our existing platform. They conduct this research based on ideas that our team generates internally. 

What is the team composition?

We work with three members of the Disruptive Advertising team in addition to our account manager. There are likely more individuals who work on graphic design or content development teams that I don’t interact with. 

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I received a referral for Disruptive Advertising, but what set them apart was their approach. It’s easy to tell the difference between an organization that knows what they’re doing and is experience versus one that doesn’t. Disruptive Advertising definitely knows what they’re doing. 

They were the first company that we approached that both presented their process and capabilities to us, but also took the time to interview us back. Disruptive Advertising took the time to assess our capabilities as well, making sure they felt they could deliver upon their given goals and objectives within our industry. This showed me that they were a very performance bound company.

The second indication that they would make a good fit was their willingness to elaborate on metrics from prior customers. Disruptive Advertising presented us with detailed data. Not all of it was good but it was honest. They were also able to explain the variance of why certain things happened for clients when they weren’t as successful. 

We also met their entire team, including the individual who would become our account manager. The whole experience showed that they were a professional company. I had a good grasp of their past performances thanks to the data and they seemed eager to partner with us. 

How much have you invested with them?

At this time, we have invested about $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Disruptive Advertising began in May 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since partnering with Disruptive Advertising, our return on ad spend has consistently been in between 2.5–3x return. Our conversion rate is between 2-3%, which is higher than the industry average. Additionally, our website revenue has grown 24% month over month. 

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

Disruptive Advertising leaves the agenda up to the needs of the client. They format and structure meetings however we desire. Each week, we have a one-hour meeting and they allocate time for each of the platform experts to speak to their relevant metrics. Not only do they deep dive into the specific metrics but they also cover aggregate metrics. 

We interface with the different members of the Disruptive Advertising team to talk about new strategies or ads or new target audiences and demographics that we want to focus on. Their team is very responsive. They’re a very efficient and effective agency. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by their organizational structure. Disruptive Advertising has designed and built their company for success. Their corporate culture is performance-driven, and that’s a very noticeable aspect of their company. They are very process-oriented, but not so rigorous that it impacts their ability to innovate. 

They’re also very skilled at recognizing talent. Disruptive Advertising has a very keen eye for experts in the industry. They attract, hire, and retain very knowledgable individuals. Their team adjusts to our needs. When we started working with them, they did not focus on Amazon advertising. When we told them we wanted a comprehensive program, they ended up hiring someone who was an Amazon expert to fill that gap.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They are the only organization I’ve ever worked with that I could say that about. Everything about them is solid. I’ve had no hesitations or reservations about continuing the relationship. They’ve been a fantastic team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to be engaged, even as a client. Even though Disruptive Advertising is a phenomenal company and they have a lot of great capabilities, they’re ultimately better served from knowing and understanding your industry. This is best achieved by the client staying engaged over time. Think of it as bringing on a new employee and getting them up to speed through an indoctrination process and getting them familiar with the company. 

It also helps to be patient. As with any marketing goals or objectives, nothing happens overnight. As a customer, invest your time in the process. Help your marketing agency understand your goals and vision for products and services, and they will best be able to deliver.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the president and CEO of Premier Health and Safety, a leading first aid and safety training program that provides American Red Cross training classes for all industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I hired Disruptive Advertising to redevelop our online marketing strategy so we could grow our business from a local service to a regional one. We'd used a couple of different marketing companies in the past but really had no luck until we teamed up with Disruptive.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase the size of all classes by 50%. This goal was reached and surpassed quicker than I could've imagined. We also wanted to add and run new classes in new, untouched geographic areas. That goal was reached as well.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We researched a number of companies, and Disruptive stood out quickly. They didn't tell me that they had a silver bullet when we talked. They gave it to me straight and truthfully, they managed expectations and still over-delivered. 

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After selecting Disruptive, we had a lot of back and forth as they tried to learn about our business, customers, and goals. From there, we started creating content, which also took a lot of back and forth to get right. The challenge we had was that the Disruptive team schedules time to work on our stuff but it often doesn't line up with our time/schedule. This results in their team waiting on us for a while to give feedback, which could delay our ads by as much as a week. Once our team from Disruptive learned about us, how we speak, and what we offer, the whole flow became very natural and productive, however.

What was the team composition?

I have a team that works on my type of business. Kaden oversees the team communications and handles our social media advertising. Chris handles our Google Ads.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Nothing but success! For a two-week period where our finances got tight, I shut down ad spends and our revenue shut down instantly. That says it all.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The only challenge is the lining up of schedules. Once I have a better handle of things, I will be assigning staff to work with the Disruptive team, which should make things flow more naturally.

The one thing I will say that has been a challenge is that I'm used to being able to speak to my developers at any time. The team at Disruptive is busy and I can't always get a hold of them when I need to.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The knowledge, the desire to learn about our business, and the flexibility. We aren't just any old client. We feel like we're very important to them. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

I wish there was a marketing 101 class I could go through with Disruptive so I understand their process better. I am new to digital marketing, and a few introductory lessons would have helped. Luckily, information is easy to find online if you do a bit of research.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Ignite Spot. We provide outsourced bookkeeping, CFO, and tax services to businesses throughout America.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Disruptive Advertising to manage our PPC campaigns.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to generate an additional four to five clients a month.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I was very impressed with their website, reviews, and the technology they use. When I spoke with them, I was also very impressed with how personal they were.

Describe the project in detail.

On a monthly basis, Disruptive Advertising is paid a flat fee to manage my PPC campaigns as well as do some A/B testing on my website to improve conversions. They send me a report each week showing our progress towards our goals and we have a phone call every other week to discuss.

What was the team composition?

There are four people working on our account. Two of them are managers which I haven't connected with outside of the initial onboarding call. The other two are my hands-on account managers. One does PPC and the other one does A/B testing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, we have cut our cost per conversion down by half of what we thought it would be and we are getting a lot of great leads coming into our system. The team at Disruptive is working hard to qualify the leads by using negative keywords and writing tighter copy. They are very proactive at making the account better every day.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Its been very easy for me. In the beginning, I had to get some code installed on my site. That wasn't difficult, but I do have a background in web. After that, they did everything. All I've had to do is show up for phone calls and talk to leads.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The people. My account managers care about the project, are good at their job, and are very efficient.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As of yet, not really. They seem to have done this so many times that they think of improvements before I do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Manager for an events company that puts on fun runs across the country. We are in sixty-plus markets a year. I help in driving revenue through B2B and B2C by maximizing our reach in each market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We started as a small brand that didn't have much knowledge of digital advertising. We turned to Disruptive to help us build out a strategy for Google Ads and conversion optimization.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase the number of people registered for our races. We also wanted to create a marketing strategy that made sense for our brand of fun runs.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We looked at different companies that offered to manage digital advertising. We went with Disruptive Advertising because of their commitment to making data-driven decisions and their openness with us.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They have managed our paid search ads on Google Ads and Bing. They also provide us with reports as needed. They have helped us manage millions of impressions over the years.

What was the team composition?

We have worked a number of different people as Disruptive Advertising has grown through the years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They have helped us to grow multiple races into national brands that have had hundreds of thousands of participants. They are always helping us to reduce the cost per result we want.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have had weekly phone calls with the person managing our account. We also have consistent emails back and forth.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

How much they care about our successes. They are great people that are easy to get along with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

When things get busy it can feel like they don't look at your account as much. But that is something that happens towards the end of the year when the advertising industry is going crazy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a digital marketing analyst at the Golden Nugget Casino & Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We hired Disruptive Advertising to help us stay competitive in a crowded hospitality and tourism region. We felt that we needed to expand our digital advertising to stay ahead of other casinos and hotels.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We rely on Disruptive Advertising to manage our PPC campaigns through Google Ads. Our account manager maintains that account in accordance with what we want to spend per day, per month, and per contract year. All the while, he makes sure Google and its algorithms accept the content we put out there. We hope that these efforts foster high-quality ads on the first page of Google’s search results.

The relationship with Disruptive Advertising began before I started in my role. From my understanding, we didn’t have a dedicated internal role for these services, so the production, preparation, and marketing of digital ads were always out of our hands. With that in mind, I would assume that Disruptive Advertising was hired and tasked with simply getting us on the market, and then we’d grow from there.   

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three representatives so far. The first two left the company, and the third one has been with us since November 2018.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I’m not sure if other vendors were considered or not. Disruptive Advertising had a longstanding relationship with one of our sister properties, which has a director of digital marketing that had worked closely with them. I imagine we selected Disruptive Advertising based on that recommendation and their company’s expertise in the hospitality and tourism sector.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost so far, including our Google spend and Disruptive Advertising’s fee, has been around $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Disruptive Advertising around October 2015, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We run a few Google Ads campaigns because we want to make sure we track a multitude of topics that other properties may not be looking out for. When I first started in 2018, we weren’t putting a lot of money into what I would call a “competitor campaign." We describe that as a set of keywords and search terms intended to mooch business from competing properties in the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As I started getting a better understanding of how our digital placement was functioning, we were able to put some more money behind the competitor campaign. That campaign helped us be a bit more visible when people happen to be searching for one of our competitors. We hope that they would instead click on one of our ads and ultimately decide to book a hotel room with us instead of our competition.

We’ve seen some good results with that strategy, but our most significant result has come recently. For the longest time, we were running a campaign called “Enhanced Cost Per Click,” or ECPC. That method allowed our rep to monitor our account and manually adjust bids to make sure we were getting in front of as many people as possible at profitable times.

So far this year, we have increased hotel bookings and conversions by 1,000% month-over-month, and we’re not even done with July. Disruptive Advertising’s recommendations have gotten us more quality impressions, which means a higher level of clicks, which then translates into a better reputation with Google. We are appearing higher on search pages and spending less money to get there.  

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

Our first account manager was everything we could have asked for in terms of being professional, responsive, and proactive. Our second rep was not nearly as ambitious, however. We’ve found our stride again with our current representative, who coincidentally trained our original manager. He works nonstop in the same ways as his mentee, so we’ve been very successful since he took over. We have weekly calls, and our rep is always eager to hear our ideas and challenge us to try new strategies. We are knocking metrics out of the park based on his recommendations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our account manager has a knack for customer service at a level that is higher than most other industries. Our rep always makes it a point to keep us in the loop and apologize when we don’t hear from him for day or two.

 Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Our rep makes working together very easy. He gives us great updates and tells us what’s working or not working.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should let them drive the engagement. It’s a humbling experience to go into something thinking we know everything only to find out we don’t. I’m not the best as far as digital marketing and advertising go. I was able to learn a lot by letting Disruptive Advertising do their thing and utilize best practices.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a C.E.O running a LLC company which deals with the sales of telecom products throughout USA.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

For the digital marketing where through call only adds we could generate sales of the relevant services nation wide.

What were your goals for this project?

To generate sales, maximize the revenue and achieve the set targets.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had been through a pretty good research where I listed down the agencies based on reviews and the nature of workflow. This one managed to make a place under the shortlisted three and finally after a thorough discussion based on the quality and commitment to work, I on-boarded.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After the onboarding process, we had a meeting where we dive in to a detailed conversation and explained the nature of project, I was crunching around. Moreover, I shared my thoughts on the objectives and the way I wanted to take this further keeping in view the quality and consistency required. I was acknowledged gingerly and they related to all my needs while presenting their solution. We had several meetings afterwards resulting in different experiments which turned out to have a positive effect on my business. However, some experiments resulted otherwise and were adjusted accordingly without any delays.

What was the team composition?

I am in contact with the marketing consultant and the manger. Beside that, there are any faces which I am un-aware of. However, they have been helping us in various aspects throughout.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had met the set targets for quite a couple of months and have experienced a reduced call cost accordingly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They had been pretty responsive throughout. I never experienced any/all delays. They've acknowledged and addressed each and every one of my inquiries.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The commitment and dedication to work I would say is the most impressive quality.

Are there any areas for improvement?

So far, they have met my expectations. It has been a roller coaster for me but they have been there throughout for making everything smooth and streamlined with effective suggestions and creative ideas.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing director for three companies that Disruptive manages PPC for:

1. RaiseRite—our local Wisconsin concrete raising contractor
2. HMI—We manufacture concrete raising equipment, foam & train individuals around the world to start their own concrete raising company
3. Foamjection—We provide leads to our contractors around the US and Canada

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Originally, just PPC, and then they introduced us to the benefits of site testing and conversion rate optimization (CRO). 

What were your goals for this project?

Our simple goal was to increase leads. We had no idea how much money we would save at the same time—literally thousands are being saved! Therefore, we used our cost savings to hire Disruptive to perform website testing

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them on google. Simple searching best PPC management. We had cold calls with two other companies and ultimately chose DA. DA made a great first impression, so I repitched the summary to our owners and they told me to test them for three months.

Describe the project in detail.

When we hired DA, we told them they would have a three-month test to prove their services to increase our decreasing leads per month. After just two months, we were convinced to give them another one of our accounts to manage. At five months, they were managing all three businesses' PPC campaigns for us.

What was the team composition?

We originally worked with Jeff Allan on our account updates but now we can reach out to our specific team leaders depending on if its Google tweaking or site testing. The team grew over time. I now have three main contacts: Jeff, Casey, and Jake. Casey manages our PPC and Jake manages our site testing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So many great highlights! We've cut our cost per lead by 50% and we're currently spending 70% less on PPC then we used to. Simply by having a set management fee. Our leads are up on all three accounts as well!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team has been seamless to work with. Emails throughout the week and regular phone calls every other week keep us organized

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Aside from the results, I really trust their knowledge and price for management of our accounts. Our old vendor was never open about how much the management fee was and how much was being spent in our Google account. We never saw budget back or rolling over.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We hope we see leads continue to increase as time goes on. We can never have too many leads. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We primarily focus on DoD government contracting, and a little on the civilian side. We recently invented a new technology to help our projects. I'm a co-owner of our company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We hired them as our principal digital marketing agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They do digital marketing on Google, Bing, and Facebook. Their work encompasses SEO, keyword optimization, AdWords, content marketing, and social media marketing. They've created a series of ad campaigns, all with specific funnels and targeting. Some of our ad campaigns focus on different things like video, education, et cetera.

What is the team composition?

I've worked with a team of about four so far. Two of them are specialists in Google and Bing, and the others are managers who jump in as needed.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I found them on Google before they became Disruptive Advertising. I contacted between ten and fifteen companies, but I decided ultimately to use them.

How much have you invested with them?

To date, we've spent somewhere between $5,000–$7,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around the middle of May 2019, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not only are they awesome to work with, but they've also done some incredible things for us. We've seen 300% gains in revenue from ads, and we're averaging over six times the amount we spend on ads each month. Traffic to the site has almost doubled in the last month alone.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

They're on top of their game and do very well. They take our company very seriously, and they follow up consistently and in a friendly manner. They're a phenomenal company to work with.

We do a weekly brief to discuss how everything is doing. They give their recommendations, and we make requests. They're almost like having a whole marketing firm working for us at a remote location, and they're very easy to get ahold of.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We really strive to provide old-fashioned customer service, and they work exactly the same as we do. They truly care about their customers, and they do what they say they can do. They're also fairly inexpensive for the work they provide. We see a huge return on ad spend over what we pay them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I'd be interested to hear about other alternative ways to market. Other than that, I can't think of anything they should improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do what they ask of you, and make sure to give them the full picture when you start working with them. Describe your unique market to them, and that information will help them with their targeting. They take everything we give them and make it better.