Major Tom

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager for Sprott Shaw College, a private post-secondary institution with 16 campuses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Major Tom?

We chose them to build up our strategy, further expanding our digital marketing initiatives.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They manage our Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook advertising, and PPC, along with our general social media outreach and ad development strategies.

What is the team composition?

We work with Sonia (Senior Account Manager, Major Tom).

How did you come to work with Major Tom?

I found them through a Google search. We wanted a firm that offered the services we needed, with a professional-looking brand and website and good testimonials. After meeting with a few candidates, we chose Major Tom.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2011 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When I started here, a majority of our leads were either by phone or in person, about 60% in total. Our leads are now about 80-90% from online results. Major Tom’s assistance with website redesigns and SEO and has made the difference.

How did Major Tom perform from a project management standpoint?

We meet monthly and they give us recommendations for adjustments. They’re also available over the phone and email. One of the things I like most about them is I can send them as many emails as I want and I won’t face extra charges. They always get back to me as fast as they can and they’re very friendly. If it’s an important question, we’ll include their director of sales, who is always available to respond as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re friendly, patient, and understanding. Our style of communication is informal but effective. I know I can count on them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can't think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the marketing manager of Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, a pediatric palliative care provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Major Tom?

We hired Major Tom to refresh our website through design and development support. We wanted to update our menu navigation, user experience, and overall look.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the improved flow of our website to better communicate our business to our external and internal stakeholders.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had worked with part of the team before the merger and rebranding efforts, so we were excited to continue our partnership with the larger team.

Describe the project in detail.

To begin the project, we met with Major Tom to discuss our needs, goals, budget, and timeline. From there, they proposed an updated sitemap, style sheet, and other content recommendations. They presented analytics with reports to support their approach. The project is now in the development stage.

What was the team composition?

They supply an account representative, web developer, UX lead, and a UI design lead.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Though the site is still under development, we’re thrilled with the work that they’ve produced so far. We’re confident in the plan they’ve proposed.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our project lead is professional and attentive—communication between the teams is always prompt and polite. As we have multiple internal stakeholders involved, Major Tom treats our processes with patience and respect.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their expertise and customer service are Major Tom’s most valuable qualities. We’re continually impressed with the quick delivery and high quality during every stage of the project. We’re consistently assured that we’re working with the right team by their friendly, optimistic demeanor.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There’s nothing they could be doing better for us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the marketing and communication manager of Dress of Success Vancouver. We’re a nonprofit that empowers women in the workforce.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Major Tom?

We needed social media marketing and Google Ad Grants services (a free, in-kind advertising program for 501(c)(3) organizations).

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase our Google Grants usage and effectiveness and generate more social traffic and buzz for our events.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We’d worked previously with 6s Marketing and moved with our account manager when they merged to become Major Tom. We were impressed with their consistency of service throughout.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They do keyword research and make recommendations for our Google Grants account to optimize traffic to our site. They write ad copy and create social posts for events and handle audience targeting.

What was the team composition?

I work with an account manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our social ad traffic doubled for a major event we put on this past year.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It’s excellent. I trust their team and their recommendations.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They always strive to do more for us and increase our numbers over the previous year’s. The great ROI they produce is driven by best practice research.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. They’re awesome! We appreciate them a lot.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a small to medium-sized luxury design brand that sells shoes and handbags. I’m the E-Commerce manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Major Tom?

We re-assessed our digital marketing performance and the return on outspends was not where it should have been. The revenue that we were also seeing wasn't performing the way it should have. We were really looking for a partner that  understood our brand, which is really important to us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted a partner who could really dive into the performance marketing, paid media, manage all those channels for us, and offer advice on best practice. They did all of our paid media but then created company guidelines that focused on that.

They also suggested an audit of our existing Google Analytics, our platforms, current campaigns, and feeds. We ended up with quite an extensive piece of research from them and based on the findings, we changed our entire digital strategy. We updated all our campaigns, we redid our product fades, and that was purely based on their results and findings.  

How did you come to work with Major Tom?

We found them on Google and then they came in for an interview. We met with the business development sales team and their current account manager. Everyone we met with really understood what we were trying to achieve. They got our brand and how important it was to maintain the integrity of our brand.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $40,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have worked with them since December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have decreased our digital marketing ad spend by 30% and have increased return on ad spend by 40%. Our cost per acquisition has improved by 40%, Our transactions have increased 19% percent year on year, and our reach has also increased by 500%.

It's been 8 months now and we've really seen a turn from our previous agency.

How did Major Tom perform from a project management standpoint?

They are professional and incredibly proactive in the solutions they provide for us. Their willingness to improve our performance is next-level in terms of service.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been very impressed with their attention to detail. It’s quite rare, especially in my previous experiences working with a digital agency.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to their ideas and be open to trying new ideas and the new technology that is out there. It's always changing and they are the professionals in that space. Be comfortable and confident that they're going to advise the best solution for your brand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the senior content strategist for a company that provides retirement residences for seniors in BC, Canada.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Major Tom?

Our business is growing and we wanted to relaunch our website as new residences opened up. We wanted a site that was more modern and that would help us stand out from our competitors. All of our properties are unique and the residents who live in them are vibrant and active. We wanted the new website to do a better job in illustrating active senior living. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Major Tom designed and built a completely new website, taking time to consider all the requirements. They visited a few residences to see what our communities were like and learned about our sales process to gather additional details before they went into development.

What is the team composition?

We mostly work with an account representative.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first started working with them in late fall 2017 and the relationship is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We just launched the new website so it's too early to measure the impact. However, Major Tom built a website that enabled us to highlight the unique characteristics of our properties. We're very happy with the quality of work they've provided, which has received a lot of positive feedback so far. The site they built is unique and a lot more modern compared to others in our industry. 

​​​​​​How did Major Tom perform from a project management standpoint?

They're responsive and very helpful throughout each phase of the project. Their use of an online bug tracking tool during the QA process helped us stay organized and resolve any issues quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're responsive, flexible, and open to new ideas even if they're out of the scope of the work. I was also impressed with the SEO plan they implemented - it was detailed, seamless and easy to understand. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Even though the majority of our audience accesses our site on a desktop, the mobile side of the design framework was more rushed than I would've liked. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was hired as the marketing manager for Montigo about one year ago. We’re a fireplace manufacturer in Canada and the U.S. I’m the first marketing manager the company has had so I’ve been building support materials, which included redoing the website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Major Tom?

People usually discovered us through word of mouth and we wanted to have a bigger impact in the marketplace by revamping our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our previous website was at least ten years old and didn’t function properly. We have a visual product and wanted to approach five different target markets through the website. We sat down with Major Tom and clarified the markets we needed to serve and how to best communicate our services to them through the website.

We developed a wireframe and site map, made sure those were solid, and then Major Tom went through our current content to help us rewrite it to be more SEO friendly. After the website went live, they picked up the backend work and helped in optimizing the website. They’ve been excellent at leading us through the structure and keeping the project on time.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with our account manager and a developer. They’ve both been good about consistent communication and making suggestions for improving the website.

What is the status of this engagement?

I was not hired at the time we began working together, but I believe they signed the contract in January 2017, and I know that the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our strictly organic traffic on the website has increased by 30% and that’s with limited social media outreach and no Google AdWords advertising. We’re currently in our slow season so I’m expecting the traffic to increase 40%–50% overall, by the end of this year.

We sell to consumers through brick and mortar dealers, and all of our dealers have had incredible feedback about the look of the website. We had to make a few adjustments to make it easier to navigate, but overall the feedback has been positive.

How did Major Tom perform from a project management standpoint?

I cannot say enough good things about them. Our account manager had such a high level of communication and attention to detail. He would reach out to me at least once a week and was always accessible. I could always email him to set up a meeting and talk over the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What is most impressive about them is their willingness to collaborate and understand our business. They were also extremely responsive. I never had to chase down answers; they always called or emailed me right away. They fixed any problems immediately. I have so many tasks every day that it was really important to me that I could guarantee things were done correctly without having to monitor every task.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was only one issue I ever had with them, which was that they adhere to best practices a little more strictly than I liked. There were times the best practices didn’t fit our company or the project and we had to go back to redo things in the best way that worked for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what your company needs. Also, be sure to have your vision and site map firmly in place before you start.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the President of Intersection Digital. We offer digital marketing strategy, implementation, and management services and operate as an extension of client's marketing teams. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Major Tom?

For this project, we were looking for a partner that had cross-sectional digital expertise. We needed help developing a more robust strategy and tactical plan to help achieve our client's business goals. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a broad engagement with Major Tom that started off with smaller projects before scaling up. For one of our first projects, they developed a comprehensive SEO strategy that included keyword research and content implementation plans.

Currently, we’re working with them on a full website redevelopment project. They are also helping us with email marketing strategy and evergreen digital ad strategy and implementation.

What was the team composition?

There are multiple stakeholders involved in the website project, including creative and content teams. We work with different account managers from Major Tom based on the project.

How did you come to work with Major Tom?

I’ve seen and followed their work, read their blog, and so on. They have been in the market for a number of years and have always had a great reputation. I also knew of other clients who spoke highly of Major Tom.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working steadily with Major Tom on different projects since January 2016. We consider them a major partner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve done everything we expected them to do. Our organic search results doubled in 2017, thanks to blend of their optimization advice and our own content processes. This is one of our key performance indicators. They’ve also had an impact on our team organization and time management. They’ve assisted in our efforts to streamline our content management process, allowing us to become more efficient.

How did Major Tom perform from a project management standpoint?

Major Tom has a tight process, which I think is impressive. From discovery to onboarding, they make sure that everyone’s needs are heard. They are great listeners and excel at effectively processing a ton of information. Other agencies I've used in the past went through a similar process, but they tended to steer projects in directions that they perceived to be "right" or made them comfortable. In contrast, Major Tom balances creative ideas and strategic input with the needs of the client.

Major Tom’s account managers provide structured reporting and regular meetings. They are always accessible and respond quickly via email, Slack, or phone. They are even willing to answer questions that are outside the scope of our regular engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have an impressive breadth of skills in-house, so we’re comfortable tapping into the organization if we have a specific digital strategy to address. It’s really easy to deal with Major Tom—there is no drama, there are no egos. Everyone is friendly and responsive. They are customer-centric, which makes it a pleasurable experience to work with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of digital communications and advocacy at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). We’re a trade association that represents the six major film and television studios in the U.S. and around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Major Tom?

We decided to switch partners, and we needed someone to help with our paid media strategy. We wanted an experienced firm to build a strategy for our ad budget that would take our digital efforts to the next level, and generate more traffic to our website, social media, and digital magazine.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Major Tom has been our main partner in developing our paid media strategy. They’re currently putting together a thorough document that includes Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), setting quarterly goals, and developing solutions. They help allocate our digital ads budget and determine where to spend between our different social media platforms.

When we publish content, Major Tom does targeting and promotion of the social media posts to help drive traffic to our site, increase reach, and build engagement on social media. They report on our ad performance weekly, monthly, and quarterly.

How did you come to work with Major Tom?

I contacted them through their website, and they responded within a few hours, which was impressive. They put together a proposal in a short amount of time, and it looked good, so we hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Major Tom has created some incredible strategy and foundational work. We’re about to finalize an impressive and thorough digital playbook to guide our digital efforts and ad spend, moving forward. Our digital metrics stayed consistent through the transition, which doesn’t always happen when you change agencies.

How did Major Tom perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re hands-on and pleasant to work with. The team is thoughtful and always asks the right questions. They provide weekly reports on our ad performance and other digital analytics.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re far more strategic than other firms I’ve worked with—our daily tasks all support our overall goals. They did research and discovery to best understand our business and what we needed, and then they hit the ground running. They worked on a quick timeline and didn’t let anything fall through the cracks during the first few weeks of the transition from our old firm.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an independent consultant providing online demand-generation services to a wide variety of clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Major Tom?

My client needed a website that would unify the business and create a transformative site for their industry in Canada.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They consolidated 17 separate websites into one to service local centers nationwide. They created a robust site that could support the client’s demand-generation activities. The project was very complex and they resolved technical and branding requirements in an elegant way. We gave clear business objectives and they developed a really excellent web analytics dashboard. They presented, explained, and reexamined various issues as they arose.

How did you come to work with Major Tom?

They’re a well-established firm in Vancouver with a very good reputation. We sent out an RFP to various top-layer companies across Canada and they were the winning candidate.

How much have you invested with them?

They offered very competitive rates for the tier of services we expected.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project with a strategy phase, followed by the client’s reassessment before we proceeded.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In general, there is a lot of confusion surrounding how companies evaluate the success of a website so we were very specific about this from the start. We measure success based on the web traffic, conversion rates, calls, and response forms, and we are certainly meeting expectations. The site launched less than a month ago. We’re still waiting on more concrete metrics but are satisfied with the deliverables so far.

How did Major Tom perform from a project management standpoint?

They excel at project management. I’ve worked with a lot of web development companies that were not good project managers. In their case, I was very pleased. They were quick to respond and never missed a deadline.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m very satisfied overall. Their creative work, their project management, and their accountability to client needs all stood out as particularly good. They were responsive and evolved as the project became more complex. Their customer service is superb.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’ve worked with a lot of web companies and they’re certainly at the very top of the range in terms of quality, pricing, and responsiveness.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you understand your own business model and what you want to get out of your website from the beginning, and give as much clarity to the agency as you can. The better you understand the project, the smoother the process. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the marketing manager at an entertainment business in New York.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Major Tom?

We weren't doing any digital advertising before we started working with Major Tom (formerly, 6S Marketing). We wanted to increase our online presence and target the people who we thought would be interested in our experiences, so we were looking for a company to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our main goals are to exceed our monthly revenue growth targets and increase our social media engagement. They oversee our SEO and social media campaigns, helping us with ads that target our demographic. It's a collaborative process, so we work together to create the copy and I provide them with photo and video material. Then, they manage the ads for us.

In 2018, we had our budget cut by 50%, so we had to spend money wisely on digital marketing. They have been very creative and accomplished great results that are benefitting our business.

What is the team composition?

We mostly work through our account manager.

How did you come to work with them?

Our previous director of marketing used them in her other job and had a lot of trust in them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $3,200 a month on their services, but we also pay our advertising fees. In total, we spend about $120,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2016 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The return on ad spend has been over 300% for all of 2018, which is great considering that our spending numbers have decreased significantly. During the holiday season, which is our busiest time of the year, we got over $100,000 in revenue.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a shared document that shows our progress. We also have bi-weekly status calls with them and discuss future projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They've been very responsive and accepting of our feedback. They're always available for a call and quickly answer our emails.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We haven’t had any issues with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They work with a lot of different businesses across various industries. They have very good case studies, which has been helpful to us.