Interdependence

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Marketing Officer of Fortem Technologies

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Fortem Technologies is the leader in airspace awareness, security, and defense for detecting and defeating dangerous drones. Through an advanced, end to end system of distributed radar, AI at the Edge, deep sensor integration, and autonomous drone capture, Fortem monitors and defends the world’s venues, infrastructures, cities, and regions. The same system is accelerating the safety of the world’s airspace for urban air mobility

Fortem products have been developed and tested over several years through US Department of Defense (DoD) applications and are now available for commercial use.

Based in Pleasant Grove, Utah, the company is privately held and backed by Toshiba, Boeing, DCVC, Mubadala Investment Company, Signia Venture Partners and others.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Interdependence to accomplish?

• Ongoing media relations outreach and company brand and recognition development

SOLUTION

How did you find Interdependence?

Referral

Why did you select Interdependence over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from Interdependence were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

While we primarily engaged with Interdependence for pure media relations support initially, we leaned on them for far more due to their proven capabilities. Ultimately they became a trusted partner and a literal part of the marketing team. Always focusing on delivering amazing exposure and awareness results in the media but doing that through great advice and guidance on overall marketing, branding and awareness strategies. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As the CMO for Fortem I needed to show not only increased exposure in targeted trade media but also general and global media as well. In addition, that coverage needed to elevate the positive awareness for the company and position us for improved sales and awareness to our customers and also within the financial industry for future and existing investors. The results that Interdependence drove did all that and more with very measurable and proven positive exposure on a consistent and growing basis.

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

All deliverables, requests and goals were met with speed, accuracy and better-than-expected results. We would meet on weekly update calls in addition to any needed ad-hoc calls and each week it was a great pleasure to see the performance results increasing over and over.

What was your primary form of communication with Interdependence?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Fortem sits in a very complex and technical industry and Interdependence, unlike any other firm I've worked with, was able to not only understand and navigate that environment but offer valuable guidance to even our most senior executives. Having a PR team that has the ability to not only navigate your market but position you ahead of your competition is truly invaluable and Interdependence proved this on a regular basis.

A pleasure to work with them all and amazing results at a great value. What more could you ask?

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

There really wasn't anything more or different I could have asked from them. They delivered above and beyond on all aspects of our work together.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Marketing of a manufacturing company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company engineers, develops, and manufacturers consumer products for a healthy home environment, personal health, and healthy culinary creations. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Interdependence to accomplish?

• Thought leadership
• Manage overall earned media coverage
• Curate effective and impactful paid media opportunities

SOLUTION

How did you find Interdependence?

Agency partnership was existing

Why did you select Interdependence over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Interdependence were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Interdependence was brought on and integrated into our marketing team to ensure our brands and products were garnering the recognition for innovations and such. In a nutshell, Interdependence's main objective was focused on earned media, followed by paid media low-funnel opportunities that drove sales as well as promoted special events. Furthermore, the quality of coverage was also a focal point. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1. Strategy: Interdependence worked in lock step with my team and me to ensure that all aspects of the PR plan aligned seamlessly with the overarching marketing plan and goals.
2. Earned media: Over the course of one year, Interdependence steadily increased earned media placements, impressions, and quality of coverage. the high quality of earned media coveraged provided a healthy supply of licensing opportunities for accolades received. 
3. Paid media: Over the course of one year, Interdependence brought us opportunities that had significant impact on sales based on seasonality, trends, promotions, etc. 
4. Event management: Interdependence managed major trade show events and media events. 

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

The Interdependence team embodies a perfect blend of professionalism and expertise. They are not only pleasant and fun to work with but also incredibly insightful and strategic in their approach. It's been a rewarding experience collaborating with such a capable group.
Deadlines weren't missed and changes, updates, issues, etc. were consistently communicated in a timely manner with carefully thought through recommendations on how to pivot, etc. 

What was your primary form of communication with Interdependence?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I am a firm believer in relationships. Whether it be romantic, platonic, or professional in nature, forging meaningful relationships that share and reciprocate knowledge, love, passion, learnings, etc. make for meaningful impacts on lives, work product, and overall health and well-being. 
Interdependence operates on a culture that is hyper focused on a healthy, integrity-based culture that promotes and supports debate, collaboration. This was most impressive to me because Interdependence laid such a solid foundation that whatever came our way and their way, not a minute was wasted. It was difficult to lose momentum with the Interdependence team because of the perfect marriage between their foundation and culture. 
Furthermore, it gave the team headspace to be able to strategize, plan, execute, measure, and optimize efforts for integrated efforts as Interdependence worked diligently to take on an integrated and collaborated approach to help me and my team ensure that the cohesive of campaigns, projects, etc. were seamlessly aligned and working together. 

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

For the time that I worked with Interdependence, I cannot recall any areas for improvement as the team worked diligently, was always on-the-ready, and took such a holistic approach even if they have to sit in on meetings not specific to PR, etc. to ensure they were in the loop and knew and understood all areas of our marketing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Marketing of Jackson's Food Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Jackson's Food Company makes the super snacks from better ingredients - like avocado oil and sweet potatoes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Interdependence to accomplish?

• Raise consumer awareness of our products and brand story
• Raise industry awareness of our brand growth

SOLUTION

How did you find Interdependence?

Referral

Why did you select Interdependence over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Sarah Schmidt is the BEST

How many teammates from Interdependence were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Develop compelling and relevant pitch angles 
• Craft press release/announcments
• Outreach to editors of targeted publications to introduce brand and coordinate sampling
• Secure placement in consumer and industry publications
• Bi-weekly reporting 
• Award submissions

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Over 1B media impressions and winning of Goodhousekeeping Snack Award (key consumer moment)

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

ABSOLUTELY!  Super responsive.  I love that the team delivers on every promise and consistently brings creative ideas to help us raise awareness of our company and products.  They do not let anything fall through the cracks and are incredible at reaching out with friendly reminders on outstanding items they need from us.

What was your primary form of communication with Interdependence?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Sarah, Molly, and Keagan feel like an extension of our team - not an agency partner.  They are honest, creative, smart, and all-around super people.  I love working with Interdependence!

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

Since I have joined Jackson's, Interpedence is the third PR team that I have worked with.  They just get it.  They understand our start-up mindset and I cannot think of any constructive critisicm at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of a company that sells baby carriers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interdependence?

Our product is different than anything else in the market, so we needed a PR company to help us promote it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Interdependence provides PR services. They do press releases and pitch to journalists to get them interested in reviewing our product and including it in their coverage. 

They work with me on articles that I draft. They basically copywrite the draft and make it a readable copy to the journalists. They also did social media for us for a few months, but we decided that it was easier to handle in-house.

What is the team composition?

We interact with 5–6 people. We have a main point of contact for PR, and we had one for social media.

How did you come to work with Interdependence?

We looked at three companies and chose Interdependence because we felt that they were the best match for us. They were very specific and did due diligence when sending their proposal. 

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve done all of our press releases, and we have many of them on our website. They’ve done a lot more than the ones we have online, but we’ve been too busy launching to keep the site updated. We like the result of working with them.

How did Interdependence perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a decent job. The staff is quite professional. We have bi-weekly calls and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is professional. They’re also flexible in working with our constraints and goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re happy with the relationship; it’s been positive. We’re constantly reaching out for help. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very assertive about your need and constraints. Everyone has different goals, so create a project design that’s specific to your need. They’re quite flexible.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief of staff at SetSchedule. We’re in the real estate industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interdependence?

We wanted to get more of a foothold in the marketing industry and increase our brand recognition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Interdependence focused on media. They were involved in all of our press releases and helped with marketing campaigns and collateral. To establish our company as knowledgeable in the industry, Interdependence also helped us in our efforts to contribute to articles within our industry and to write original pieces.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from Interdependence. Our main point of contact was Laura (VP of Client Services, Interdependence), and she oversaw the entire team. Another team member wrote content pieces, and a few other people contributed as well.  

How did you come to work with Interdependence?

One of our founders came across Interdependence when someone recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent around $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from June 2018–March 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Interdependence helped us gain more brand recognition within the industry. We also had a lot more publications when we were working with them, averaging about three original published pieces a month.

How did Interdependence perform from a project management standpoint?

Interdependence performed and communicated very well. They made sure to connect with us regarding any opportunities that came up, and they were constantly relaying what was going on in the real world. For instance, the government shutdown affected our industry, so they tried to create relevant content while it was happening. 

Our teams had weekly meetings, during which we went over the traction Interdependence had gotten and any new pitch ideas that they had for media. They provided regular updates about when content pieces would be released. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They pushed to get all of the content pieces that we wanted. The fact that they could turnaround three original pieces each month was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not necessarily. The only thing is that we’re based in California and they’re in Chicago, so there were time and location differences, but that wasn’t something they could control.

Any advice for potential customers?

Communicate with them and make sure that everyone’s on the same page. Have a clear understanding of what you want to do so that they can drive results in that area.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the marketing manager for AeroGo, a 50-year-old manufacturing company based out of Seattle that sells globally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interdependence?

We needed to get placements in European publications. We wanted to create educational awareness in the industrial market about our products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The process was pretty simple. Interdependence held an overview call to learn about our technology. Then they assigned a writer to us. He conducted a couple of interviews to get additional background on the specific manufacturing sectors we focused on. He wrote some short pitches specific to our targets. Once they got some placements, we did expanded interviews to finish off the stories. Each story was around 1,000–1,500 words.

What is the team composition?

We had an overall account manager, and we worked with 2–3 other people.

How did you come to work with Interdependence?

I might have found them on Thumbtack, but I'm not sure. I contacted several firms I found online that focus on Europe. They called me back quickly, which was amazing because I needed to move fast.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $4,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a specific goal of the number of articles we wanted to publish per month. They absolutely 100% met that goal. The way they did research on us ahead of time helped make the whole process very streamlined. They totally delivered, which made it an excellent interaction from my perspective.

How did Interdependence perform from a project management standpoint?

They provided good, clean project management. They were very efficient. They didn't waste time by giving us weekly updates. They told us what the track was going to be, and then they ensured the project stayed on track. We mostly communicated by email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by their focus on my needs. They met my goals, objectives, and budget without any extra fluff or sales pitches. I don't have time to go through multiple emails just to be told the project is on track. Other people would perhaps feel they didn't communicate enough, but to me, they communicated the right amount. They told me exactly what I needed to know and not a lot of vendors do that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think so. I'm definitely going to use them again on a new project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Marketing of 1West

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Hassle-Free Small Business Financing, Fast.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Interdependence to accomplish?

• Media Exposure
• Brand Building

SOLUTION

How did you find Interdependence?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select Interdependence over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Interdependence were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Interdependence is our public relations team of record and is responsible for getting 1West and our CEO media and publishing exposure. They have done exactly this by arranging multiple high-quality articles in mainstream press, reputable podcast appearances for the CEO, and multiple other opportunities for exposure.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Met and exceeded milestones

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

The team has been highly communicative and responsive to me. There has not been one missed deadline or unanswered message.

What was your primary form of communication with Interdependence?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I have found the level of quality and professionalism to be incredible working with interdependence. 

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

No. Steady on!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Director of Coastal Debt Resolve

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Business debt relief

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Interdependence to accomplish?

• Outreach for earned media opportunities
• Assistance with press releases
• Guidance on public relations

SOLUTION

How did you find Interdependence?

Online Search

Why did you select Interdependence over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Interdependence were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

They have helped us get published across more than 10 high domain authority publishers and increased our authors' authority across search and AI. They assisted with helping us claiming to Forbes Council positions and with writing and distributing multiple press releases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1. Every artile published
2. Sites with high DAs
3. Backlinks
4. Press release distribution
5. Articles ranking in SERPS and AI overviews

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

We had the target for the amount of high DA publishers we wanted established from the beginning and they have met all those targets.

What was your primary form of communication with Interdependence?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Laura and Marjorie's attention to detail are exceptional. They always seem to know what I'm going to ask before I do and have everything ready. They know what is that we are trying to accomplish and stay targeted on that mission. They are highly professional.  Hire Interdependence if you need a job done.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Director of Global Protection Corp.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Manufacturer and distributor of sexual health products, including condoms, lubricants, oral dams, and educational materials. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Interdependence to accomplish?

• Increase media mentions during our new product launches
• Increase media mentions featuring our company as an expert source in sexual health topics
• Increase visibility of our CEO in the press

SOLUTION

How did you find Interdependence?

Other

Why did you select Interdependence over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Interdependence were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Interdependence does ongoing media management for us, including finding opportunities where we can comment on topics related to condoms and sexual health. They develop and implement press strategies for product launches, campaign launches, and other media activities. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Mentions in the press in an additional to gaining new reporter contacts. 

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

They are great at timelines, deliverables, and staying on track. 

What was your primary form of communication with Interdependence?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their team is super easy (and fun!) to work with. They provide clear next steps and recommendations, and are creative in their approach to working with the press. It continues to be a pleasure to work with their team! 

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

Their team is wonderful, thank you!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an Executive of W Labs

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We work in medical and health technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Interdependence to accomplish?

• Build brand awareness to convert to new users of a health app

SOLUTION

How did you find Interdependence?

Referral

Why did you select Interdependence over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Interdependence were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

 Build a new brand to reach key audiences to build trust and value for app conversions  Work across SEO, ORM and Google News to build strong reputational information Create, manage and execute a robust paid media plan Manage organic social media across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X and Bluesky 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Huge growth across our organic social media
• Measurable change across google search and news for positive sentiments

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

A great example of Interdependence's work is our launch, they took a new brand and app to identify strong partners to come hear from KOLs about the app. They leveraged that content across channels, to more press and then used that information to infrom their organic social plan. 

What was your primary form of communication with Interdependence?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their commitment to their clients and willingness to go beyond the scope to deliver are impressive.

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

Continue to hone in start-up culture but they really have become part of our team.