Disruptive Advertising

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and CEO of iLash Inc. We distribute eyelash extension products including tools, glues, and anything that’s related to professional eyelash extensions. The extensions are placed by licensed technicians.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We were trying to make our PPC campaigns more efficient through Google and Facebook. We were spending a lot of money on this effort but wanted to make sure that we were getting the best bang for our buck as far as the number of clicks we were getting.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with an in-person meeting that went into our business, customer base, and goals. There was a lot of evaluation before we started implementing them. They also offered other digital marketing services that went beyond PPC in an effort to help our business and website.

What is the team composition?

I work with four different people. One who is responsible for social media, one for works with the PPC campaigns, someone who is in charge of customer analytics, and another who focuses on email campaigns.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I’ve used a lot of different companies over the years. I wanted a company that was more localized, so I could meet them more in person.

How much have you invested with them?

Throughout our different projects, we’ve spent somewhere in the $50,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Disruptive Advertising began in January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Disruptive Advertising has done a professional job for us.  All of their team is specialized in different areas, which has been helpful. They’ve continued improving and meeting our return on ad spend, which was our main goal.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’ve performed great. Along with being extremely knowledgeable, their team is easy to communicate with and responds quickly to questions. Their office is about 30–45 minutes from us, so I can easily meet them.

I found that during our initial talks, I’ve only had to meet with them once or twice in person. After that, we primarily speak during conference calls. The team at Disruptive Advertising is dedicated to their accounts. They do their best to stay on top of things.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Most companies only offer PPC or SEO services and don’t push other options on their customers. With Disruptive Advertising, customers start with what they’re interested in before building a rapport. The option to integrate multiple services outside of the initial scope at any time is excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing that I could think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

An in-person meeting is great in the beginning, even if flying is involved. That goes with all companies because starting off the relationship with a more personal connection is a benefit in the long run. I would also evaluate your budget because they’re willing to work with you in that regard. I would recommend Disruptive Advertising for any company.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an account manager at a a tech company based in Silicon Valley. We have over 15K+ employees globally and I oversee the relationship with some of our top tier advertisers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have a shared customer with Disruptive and worked with the Disruptive team to define strategy and execute on the client's primary B2B marketing initiatives.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to alleviate bandwidth constraints on the client's side and grow the business while maintaining quality of execution and insights.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our shared client selected Disruptive as their vendor, but we fully support and have pitched them to other business lines we have relationships with because of the quality of their work and communication.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Disruptive has taken over the complete management of the marketing campaigns, performance, and most recently the budget pacing. The team we work with, Kezlie, Katie, and Kaden, have been true consultants and partners throughout the process - asking great discovery questions, providing their insight and expertise, and always keeping everyone in the loop with that is happening.

What was the team composition?

Saunder is the primary lead and has helped develop and execute the strategy. Kezlie, Katie, and Kaden have been the front-line experts when it comes to the execution, suggestions on how we could do more/better, and also the delivery of results.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Disruptive team has helped grow the client business, meet their KPIs, and assist us in continuing to build a long-lasting relationship centered on trust and transparency.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

In many ways, the Disruptive team feels like an extension of us. We trust them implicitly with their recommendations and have an open channel of communication where we can brainstorm and collaborate effectively together.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

How incredibly smart and hard working they are, especially for their age.

Are there any areas for improvement?

B2B is hard an very different from B2C. It takes a vastly different approach and what works there doesn't work for B2B. Most agencies aren't great at this, but Disruptive is learning fast.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a water filtration e-commerce direct to consumer startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We had recently terminated our relationship with another agency that failed to create an honest relationship with us. Disruptive Advertising was brought in to do credible PPC and search engine marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the time, we were still developing our nationwide product, preparing for its launch. Because we’re a bootstrapped company, we wanted to find ways to increase revenue. Our expertise isn’t in marketing, so they guided us through their process during the project.

We didn’t have hard requirements. In our discover sessions, we fleshed out plans to use ad revenue to cover operational expenses. As a startup, we had tight constraints on that front. Their team was also tasked with picking up the pieces from our previous partnership.

They continue to handle and grow our paid advertising on Google to drive more revenue to our business. They’re in charge of our Google AdWords account.

What is the team composition?

Our primary point of contact was Clayton (Marketing Strategist, Disruptive Advertising), our account manager. We interact almost exclusively with him in our advertising efforts. He’ll occasionally bring someone else from the team onto calls, but they’ve made an effort to keep us with a point of contact.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

After doing a Google search and getting background information on possible partners, we vetted five agencies for how well they would represent our business. In our conversations with them, Disruptive Advertising floated to the top. We noticed their salespeople were operating with integrity and character, which we thought was indicative of their company culture. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about $41,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in August 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we started our work with them, we’ve increased our ad spend 10x and received 12x the revenue in return. We’ve been able to focus our concentration on unit economics because they’ve optimized our unit cost per acquisition. While it’s difficult to contribute all the impact to a singular channel, they’ve been a huge benefit to our company. I’ve even referred friends to them, which is a big testament to their abilities.  

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very strong. It’s been nice having a single, responsive point of contact in our account manager. Especially given our novice level of marketing understanding, it’s important to get quick answers to our questions over phone and email. They were always able to provide insight into the more technical aspects of digital marketing. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a sense of high moral character and always follow through on promises. If they’re unable to complete a task, they communicate that to us before it becomes a problem. Because of their honesty and integrity, we’ve been able to treat them like an extension of our business. The conversations I have with Disruptive Advertising personnel use the same tone and transparency as discussions with my internal team. Their ability to operate with integrity speaks volumes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No partner is perfect, but we’ve built an honest, true relationship. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re not going to let you down, so treat them as an extension of your team. You’ll be able to maximize their value add by informing them of your weak spots. They have plenty of institutional knowledge and can provide great insights. But, if your experience is wildly different from mine, don’t be afraid to move on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager and owner of a financial media firm. In addition to my media channels, I also sell online courses that provide a technical analysis of cryptocurrency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

I was initially driving sales to my product through my YouTube channel by referring viewers and subscribers. But I knew there was still an untapped part of the market to explore, so I hired Disruptive Advertising to support me with video and display ads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Disruptive Advertising manages my Google Ads and YouTube ads, setting up the accounts and running several campaigns on my behalf. That includes display ads, video ads, and another piece that I’ve created myself.

We’re currently testing different approaches along with a dynamic remarketing campaign. Their team tracks performance through Google Ads and sorts through the analytics to determine what works best.

What is the team composition? 

Madelyn (Marketing Consultant, Disruptive Advertising) is my main point of contact, but I believe she works with about six other team members to help me out.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I searched on Google for various marketing and PPC agencies along with review sites like Clutch. Across the board, Disruptive Advertising had a lot of great reviews, and their clients seemed to be happy with them.

I messaged them through their website, and, within 10 minutes, they’d called me back to set up a consultation. A couple of days later, everything was up and rolling.

How much have you invested with them?

They’ve offered a great value for my money, so I’m happy with the price structure. For smaller companies, they typically have a base fee until you hit a certain return. Then, it switches offer to a percentage of your ad spend.

While this works for us, it might be more cost-effective for smaller companies that make less than $50,000–$100,000 in revenue to go with someone else. It just depends on your marketing budget.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve set up my analytics, which allows me to track which ads are generating traffic. They’re also doing a good job of driving product sales. Right now, they’re landing about 10–20 sales per month, or about $3,000 in revenue. That puts us at around two times our return on advertising (ROA), but we’re shooting for three times this month and will probably get close.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been absolutely fantastic. It’s hard to give criticism when there’s nothing to criticize. They’re just good at what they do—the ads are converting pretty highly, so I can’t really ask for anything more.

I talk to Madelyn on the second Monday of every month. Each time, she sends a 10-page PDF report on what we’ve done so far, our current status, and our plan for the next month.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The first word that comes to mind is professionalism. For example, their reports could just come as a text document, but they’re so well-produced. It has their color scheme, is well-structured, and is easy to understand. 

I also want to make a special note about Madelyn. She’s a great account manager who communicates clearly and excels at her role. I’ve talked to several other team members, too, and they all know exactly what they’re doing. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing to say. They’re big on constructive criticism, so they’ve asked me this question before, too. I couldn’t think of anything then, either.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d say ask for Madelyn, but everyone is great. They have such a good process set up and are all relatively responsive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the office manager of a window covering business in downtown Los Angeles. We manufacture and sell roller shades to residential and commercial customers throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our company was looking to expand its internet advertising to reach more customers in Southern California. We were also interested in pursuing new avenues of advertising through social media.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increased the number of leads generated per month while also maintaining a high lead to sale conversion rate. Our secondary goal was to reduce the cost per lead for all our advertising by changing the focus of where we spent our advertising budget.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Disruptive Advertising had been recommended by several of our product vendors. After some research and an initial consultation, we decided to place a portion of our advertising budget with Disruptive Advertising. After a successful first month, we switched the entirely of our advertising to them.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Disruptive Advertising increased our search engine advertisements through Google and Bing and expanded our advertising to a variety of other sites (Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, etc.). They helped us craft specialized advertisements and rolled out our new ads to these sites. They also helped us integrate these new channels into our existing website and customer database.

What was the team composition?

We've worked primarily with their marketing team, but several of their IT and web design specialists have also assisted us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since switching to Disruptive Advertising, our total sales have increased by 150% and our average sales have increased by almost 20%. In addition, our cost per lead has fallen by 15%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everyone at Disruptive Advertising we worked with, from their marketing team to their IT department to their managing directors, was extremely helpful and easy to work with. They were responsive to our questions and always offered useful feedback.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I most appreciated their willingness to adapt their marketing solutions to our business. The number one priority for them was adapting their design to best fit our company.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. We wish I had heard about them years ago so they could have handled our advertising from the time the company started. 

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.