Martin Levy Public Relations

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and owner of Oxygen, a professional services firm in Seattle that provides human resources consultation and training.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Martin Levy Public Relations?

Our goal was to increase the company’s name recognition within our industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Martin [Levy, President, Martin Levy Public Relations] and I met numerous times to talk about the business and set goals. He created a strategy to frequently place articles about the company in key publications, based on publishing content on a consistent schedule.

What is the team dynamic?

I work primarily with Martin.

How did you come to work with Martin Levy Public Relations?

I found Martin Levy through a recommendation from a colleague.

How much have you invested with them?

I have spent around $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I've worked with Martin off and on since 2014. As my business ebbs and flows, I'll put the work on hold for months at a time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Based on an article that they placed, the company landed a large client that has since spent over a million dollars.

How did Martin Levy Public Relations perform from a project management standpoint?

Martin is not a strong project manager; it’s better when someone else on his team handles project organization and tracking. A combination of Google Docs, Google Hangouts, and calls are used to collaborate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I am most impressed by their willingness to build a network of contacts in an unfamiliar industry, which allows them to secure placements in numerous publications.

Martin is tenacious, honest, gives excellent feedback, and knows how to build relationships with people.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Make sure to always have somebody on staff in charge of organization and keeping the work on track.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t pay for services you don’t need. With Martin, I can pause our work when we don’t need it and turn it back on when we do.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I authored a book called The Intuitive Investor and I was seeking to hire a PR firm to help in the promotion of the book. For the purposes of marketing the book and directing book royalties and the monies for PR, I formed a company called Asoapovo Productions LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Martin Levy Public Relations?

I was seeking to hire a PR firm to help in the promotion of the book.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Martin and his team began by reading my book, and then conducted several interviews asking me what I was trying to accomplish when pursuing public relations and marketing efforts for my book.

From that, they launched a comprehensive strategy. They identified different publications to have my book featured in and journalists they felt were potentially sympathetic to the message, as well as other non-traditional opportunities. One of the other things they encouraged me to do, which was very creative on their part, was to get published in peer-reviewed business journals. I ended up guest-authoring on many blogs. I had coverage for my book ranging from The Wall Street Journal all the way to websites about men’s issues. 

What is the team dynamic? 

I worked with Martin [Levy, President, Martin Levy PR] and Seth Geisler [Senior Account Supervisor, Martin Levy PR].

How did you come to work with Martin Levy Public Relations?

I found them through a friend of a friend. I had already been working with a PR firm, but I wasn't receiving enough in exchange for what I was paying.

The reason I chose to work with Martin was that they were hyper-engaged with the project and they were able to articulate a strategy which made sense to me. What led me to stay with Martin Levy PR were the results. My book is about a niche topic and I was able to get national coverage for the book in major business publications. I got way more than I had expected in terms of generating coverage for the book.

How much have you invested with them?

Their fee started at $3,000 a month and grew to $6,000 a month. I spent between $90,000 and $100,000 with them over the course of the relationship, which was 13 or 14 months in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with them in 2010 and 2011. On my personal website, I direct all inquiries to them, but I don’t pay them on retainer anymore. They kindly will still funnel media requests to me that are in the orbit of what I like to talk about. It’s a loose, casual relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a very comprehensive strategy and yet at the same time specific and crafted for my book. I was interested in media coverage, which I thought would drive book sales. We got coverage within certain ideal publications. 

Secondly, I wanted the book to sell better than the average business book. I sold 50% more copies than the average business book.

How did Martin Levy Public Relations perform from a project management standpoint?

I communicated with them daily and each morning I would receive PR opportunities from them that they thought were worthwhile. I would get progress reports from them about longer-term strategies.

We had a twice per week call during which they directed me to what editors or publications wanted from me. They would edit my articles so that they better reached the tone and voice that the editors wanted and what the audience expected from that kind of a publication. They would also provide feedback on press interviews.

Martin has a matrix strategy which is designed to identify publications and journalists at those publications to target but then it also includes non-traditional approaches such as securing new columns or articles you can write. They would give progress reports on each of the squares in that matrix. I thought that strategy was essential to my engagement with them just because it made sense to me. It helped with the transparency.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really go out of their way to understand the project that they’re working on. They actually do the work as described, compared to other PR firms I’ve worked with.

On top of great strategy and hard work, Martin Levy also brings creativity to the table. It was creative that they posted about me in scientific journals and through that effort, my engagement with the public ranged massively.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of any. I still hold MLPR as the gold standard for what’s possible with PR. I was extraordinarily pleased with what I received.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of PowerIT. We are a consumer battery company creating solutions for recharging portable devices. I hired Martin Levy PR when I was VP of Marketing at SDL, a publicly traded UK-based software company. I also hired Martin in my role at Blab which is a predictive analytics and software company selling into the media market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Martin Levy PR?

I hired Martin and his team for full-service public relations and interest-creating activities, including the development of strategic plans all the way through to their execution. In both of the companies that I worked at with Martin Levy PR, we were introducing new software solutions to the marketplace so creating interest and awareness was critical with our target audience who were usually brand marketers or tech marketers. We used Martin Levy for our database PR activities and for when we did press tours in New York and elsewhere around the country.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their process starts with creating a strategic plan which can take up to three weeks depending on the complexity of the challenge. Then very specific milestones are put in place as well as an execution plan around those milestones. Then they just get busy and do the work.

It's a very straightforward and traditional process, but the team at Martin Levy PR offers a great deal of creativity and strategic thinking to the process. They also have the ability to execute. I've worked with other firms that bring a lot of creativity to the table but they simply don't have the ability to execute. Martin Levy did a really good job of selling the story and creating opportunities for us which really stood out to me given the other firms I've worked with.

What is the team dynamic?

I primarily worked with Martin Levy, Seth, and Luke.

How did you come to work with Martin Levy PR?

The reason I hired them the first time was because I suspected that they would be an aggressive PR company that could take a net new offering - one that had never been heard of before, with small companies that had never really been heard of before - and be very creative in their approach to media and aggressive in their outreach which is exactly what I found.

What distinguished Martin Levy PR from other firms was their ability to very quickly come up with a plan, execute on that plan, and pivot when we needed to pivot. We needed placement, interviews, and creativity in regards to how we used events and other activities that were built around outreach and interest-creation.

How much have you invested with them?

On average at SDL, we were spending about $7,000 a month. and at Blab we were spending about $5,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in August 2013. About a year ago, I went from SDL to Blab and as soon as I got to Blab I hired Martin Levy PR. Our partnership then ended in June 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In all the work we did with Martin, we were always introducing a new product so we were starting from base 0. Everything was a 100% increase. 

From an ROI perspective, Martin and his team were outperforming the PR firms in other divisions at SDL that were spending between $30,000-$50,000 a month, while I was spending $7,000 a month. We were getting more placements, visibility, and interviews with publications. We got more overall raw PR coverage than other divisions of the company that were spending more money on their PR efforts.

It was remarkable to see other VPs of marketing within SDL move from working with larger PR firms in New York to working with Martin.

How did Martin Levy PR perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed quite satisfactorily. They just got the job done, which is the ultimate test from a project management perspective. They communicated well. Our partnership required a great deal of coordination. Everything needed to connect and synch up, and Martin Levy did a great job at managing the press and our company to make sure we maximized those moments. We had a lot of mini projects that were managed very well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It's the work ethic. PR is hard work, and I've worked with a lot of lazy PR firms in the past. Martin Levy is quite the opposite. They do the old-fashioned hard work of cold-calling and outreach, developing those relationships with the press so they can deliver for us. You have to be well-regarded in the press to get the kind of exposure that we got. Their good reputation with the publications, blogs, and companies we were trying to do business with really helped us promote our products. The results and the hard work are all that matter at the end of the day.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there are any areas of improvement or things they could do differently. There are certain projects that are so large in scale that they would have to be a larger firm to address those. From my vantage point and with the objectives I put before them, they always delivered. If my new company needs a PR firm, we will go straight to Martin.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CEO of Space Curves, a Seattle-based software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Martin Levy PR?

We were a startup struggling to communicate messages about our products in an immature market. We needed to develop messaging that resonated and then push out related content via various outlets.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Martin Levy PR supported us to develop messaging and content, and identify our audiences. They used their knowledge and contacts to identify opportunities to publish content on various media channels, such as trade magazines or news reports. They also provided coaching to our team throughout the process and made other resources, such as a technical writer, available to us as needed.

They had a good process that they had clearly followed with previous engagements. Their first step was for Martin [Levy, President, Martin Levy PR] to get a general understanding of what we did, and translate back to us what he had heard and how he would communicate it. We were working on a very technical problem and he worked with us to explain things in broad terms that people could understand.

Martin spent quite a lot of time with myself and my team, and asked a lot of questions. We were lucky that we were able to get a lot of face time with him, during which he talked to us individually and in groups.

What is the team dynamic?

My primary contact was Martin. He also worked with another colleague.

How did you come to work with Martin Levy?

Martin came to us through personal contacts and local recommendations. We interviewed 2–3 different organizations that did the same basic function and connected with Martin. He fit really well.

How much have you invested with them?

Through a monthly retainer we paid a total of somewhere between $50,000-$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was about five years ago. I will likely engage Martin in the future at my new firm.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We went from almost zero publications in terms of having our company recognized in the media to having something published pretty much every month. I don’t have a financial quantification of a return on investment but I was very happy with the results.

How did Martin Levy perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was quite thorough. They stayed engaged and they kept us very well informed. We had at least monthly status meetings, and some more frequently if necessary so that there were never any surprises.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach is practical and easily understood. Other competitors took a more theoretical approach, which wasn't as appealing. 

Do you have any advice for potential clients of Martin Levy PR?

My advice mostly applies to those outside of the Seattle area. I recommend investing the time in early meetings (video or in-person conferences), which are very formative for the project.