Pierpont Communications

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the former global marketing director of CyrusOne, a data center, developer operations, and leasing company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pierpont Communications?

We needed marketing support since our in-house marketing department was small. We had been working with a PR agency for 7–8 years and had asked them more than what they were capable of doing from a marketing perspective. We decided to switch over to Pierpont Communications because as cloud services became more integrated into our day-to-day operations, our customer base was shrinking, but what they were buying from us was growing. 

Our situation was unique, and we needed to focus on attracting larger enterprise companies that could purchase large sections of our data centers. We were in the middle of that transition when we contacted Pierpont Communications, and our focus was on enhancing our brand identity.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pierpont Communications started by supporting our advertising and then moved on to work on our digital marketing and PR. The team has interviewed our company's leadership team to define our strengths compared to competitors in our market. From there, Pierpont Communications started a campaign that involved creating blogs and press releases focusing on our company's best qualities.

We have an extensive calendar of projects with Pierpont Communications. The team has pursued 3–4 types of strategies, including creating press releases. The team has also booked podcast appearances and organized virtual and in-person events for our company's subject matter experts to showcase their expertise. Our goal is to show the industry that our employees are experts in our work and give them as much public emphasis as possible. Pierpont Communications also helped us rebuild our website.

What is the team composition?

We work with four executive account managers, Kenneth (General Manager, Dallas Office & SVP), and Scott (Account Supervisor). We've also worked with a marketing specialist who has supported our website rebuild and two specialists in internal communication. We also work with a junior team that supports content writing and schedule follow-up.

How did you come to work with Pierpont Communications?

I contacted Pierpont Communications through a referral from my former boss, who had a relationship with Kenneth for over 20 years. I had expressed interest in looking at different agencies since we were working with a PR agency from New York, and my boss requested I consider Pierpont Communications. I found the team to be a good fit and appreciated the fact that the team was a local Dallas company.

Pierpont Communications had a strong and mature team, especially four teammates who were very experienced individually and had worked as a team for 15 years. For me, it was important to work with a team I could rely on and know how to operate internally.
How much have you invested with them?
We pay a monthly retainer of $35,000–$45,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Pierpont Communications in July 2021 and moved our entire marketing project in December 2022. The partnership is ongoing, although I left the company at the end of last year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Pierpont Communications has created one press release per month, including soft and strong announcements, closing in around 20 press releases a year. The team has also created a couple of blog posts per week with a conversational tone featuring our subject matter experts. The frequency of events fluctuates since they're seasonal, closing in around an event per week, including in-person and Zoom events and podcast features. 

Our website rebuild has been successful, and users can find our new events and tune in. Thanks to the team's expertise, we've stepped up the number of blogs. 

How did Pierpont Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly meetings with Pierpont Communications at the beginning of each week, where we go over a large Google Sheets file that includes our strategy requirements, pillars, and actions. Each action is linked to a calendar event that defines who is responsible for that task, its status, and the channel where that action has been posted if it's closed. We also communicate via phone calls and emails.

Pierpont Communications delivers work on time, and the times we've gone over budget have been because we've requested graphic designs from the team when our internal graphic designer wasn't available.
Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Kenneth has been a good strategy leader. I appreciate he's an excellent communicator, and the strategy and creative tactics he has helped us define served our company well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I've had a pleasant time working with Pierpont Communications; their staff is friendly, communicative, and transparent. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have so many things to do because we're a small team, that Pierpont Communications can focus more on the highest priorities and let other things go by the wayside if not needed. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

My advice is to prioritize the tasks that will benefit your company the most because Pierpont Communications is capable of doing anything you ask them to. Communicate with the team to find out those priorities so they can tailor their services.