The Pollack Group

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Bel Air Investment Advisors. We manage about $9 billion for wealthy families and individuals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Pollack Group?

Close to a decade ago, we wanted our investment professional exposure to further refine and develop the firm's role or image in the marketplace from a branding perspective that would really reflect the strong investment acumen of the firm.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

 We wanted to create thought leaders from our firm and getting them out into various publications, PR avenues, and media. They consulted on that and social media. They helped us with an entire branding revision at one point. They’ve been very helpful for all of our collateral materials and messaging. They’ve been a true marketing partner.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with a handful of people from the president down. We worked closely with Mark (VP).

How did you come to work with The Pollack Group?

I chose them because they were willing to be held accountable to their efficacy and success. So we have goals every year that we set out and try to achieve, and they need to accomplish those goals as part of our agreement. So they're actually willing to put their own success out there from a competitive perspective.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together over a decade again, around June 2010, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We establish goals centered around getting new employees’ exposure in the media, providing ongoing media training, and getting firm exposure in certain areas. They’re accessible, thoughtful, easy to work with, and transparent in pricing. Overall, they’re great partners.

How did The Pollack Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been very communicative.  We use phone and email. They’re also very process-oriented.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re results-oriented.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wouldn’t be able to come up with something negative to say about them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set clear expectations and develop goals. Also, check references or talk to people who've been very similar products before.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Corporate Marketing for an specialty apparel company based in Los Angeles. We design, fit, sample, market and distribute our garments locally from our LA headquarters with 270+ employees. My role is to lead all of our corporate branding and promotional initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Pollack Group?

We have a small in-house marketing team of 10 which includes graphic design, web design and social media, but we wanted to extend our own team to include an agency that specializes in PR and media relations.

The challenge was that until a few years ago our company did not budget for any type of advertising or promotional activities because we were operating strictly under a B2B model. Now that we are transitioning to D2C in early 2021, we saw the need to start building our brand awareness with the consumer well in advance of launching our D2C business model.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal has been to increase overall brand awareness globally and develop a direct connection with the consumer while also developing a positive brand reputation via media relations. We anticipated overall increased brand awareness with B2B clients and with consumers alike.

SOLUTION

How did you select The Pollack Group?

We went through an internal agency review process, beginning with five agencies from coast-to-coast. We used an internal executive panel led by myself to make the final decision.

Each agency was screened and interviewed by myself first, then brought in to make a presentation to our executive panel members. We brought the final two agencies in for a second round of presentations.

We chose the Pollack Agency because we felt they understood our brand and our mission the best. We also liked that they were a local team a bicoastal presence and a global network of marketing partnerships.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Overall scope was focused on strategy and media engagement. My role from the beginning has been to partner with the Pollack Group to maximize our collective knowledge and areas of expertise.

We work with the Pollack Agency as an extension of our team and we meet weekly to collaborate and strategize on new initiatives to increase our brand awareness, engage with consumers and demonstrate our contributions to social responsibility.

What was the team composition?

The core agency team has remained consistent since inception of the project. Their roles range from Principal and account management to Social Media, media relations and videographer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Media exposure and reach have been stellar.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Weekly collaboration and strategy meetings.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are creative, collaborative, strategic and a pleasure to work with. I have a great deal of open dialogue, trust and transparency with them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I am hoping we can activate on more initiatives in 2021. We have had several programs that were pitched, but we could not activate due to our B2B status.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Air Up. 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

air up has invented a water bottle that flavors water with scent

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Pollack Group to accomplish?

• Generate earned media for the brand

SOLUTION

How did you find The Pollack Group?

Online Search

Why did you select The Pollack Group over others?

Good value for cost

How many teammates from The Pollack Group were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The Pollack Group was responsible for driving awareness for the air up brand through Public Relations channel. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Pollack Group were successful in generating media interest within a cluttered media landscape.  Their approach and creative ideas were key to successful results in market. 

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

The Pollack Group was part of our always on channels, thus were integrated in our weekly activities.  The team was also there for unique promotional events, even with short timelines. 

What was your primary form of communication with The Pollack Group?

Virtual Meeting

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

They’re a relentless group that’s always looking for new ideas.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Pollack Group could have done differently?

no

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Head of Communications and PR at EXMO.com. It's a global cryptocurrency exchange.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Pollack Group?

We were looking for an agency to help spread the word about our exchange and work on company awareness through media publications.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After the call with Pollack Group we decided to hire them.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The team was pitching comments from our CEO and analytics to journalists from crypto and wide-range media outlets. They were monitoring news that could be interesting for us to quote. They managed the communication between journalists and us.

What was the team composition?

Three person worked with us each week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our CEO's comment was picked by TechCrunch, Forbes, Investing.com, and other well-known media outlets.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Every week we had a call to discuss ongoing tasks and weekly results.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Our team is grateful to Pollack Group for the proactivity that the team has shown during our 3-months of work. They focus on results and are ready to jump into a new task quickly. They have many ideas to present the company in the media. They have good connections and relations with the top-notch press that allows you to receive publications in the global media with millions of audience and niche media outlets.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

Everything is great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

BlueGreen Water Technologies developed a suite of technologies to tackle large-scale water problems in lakes and oceans. Its first product line assists water authorities in monitoring and remediating harmful algal blooms. Future applications include deep-lake/ocean carbon removal.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Pollack Group, and what were your goals?

Support the company's market penetration activities in the US.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The company has reviewed and interviewed several consultants in the field. Pollack set on a 'sweet spot' that combined quality of services, media outlet coverage at the local and national level, and pricing.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

The Pollack Group provided BlueGreen with high-quality PR services during its first US market penetration efforts. Stefan and Stephanie who led our local activities, were responsible for a regular aggressive market outreach, presenting the company and its activities to numerous media outlets across the country and beyond.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Stefan (President) and Stephanie (VP)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Pollack Group assisted in crafting BlueGreen's PR strategy that took into consideration our short-term tactical needs as well as our long-term strategic interests.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Despite the significant time differences, the Pollack team was always available to us within short notice. They worked with a high degree of service and a ton of goodwill.

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

Their responsiveness and outreach.

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

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Kasparovchess is a content/gaming platform built around the world and the community of chess. I am in charge of Creative Marketing and Strategic Partnerships.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Pollack Group, and what were your goals?

Launch of the platform, so we needed to make sure to have as much PR coverage as possible and relevant one. Especially because of Garry's profile.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I asked some US contacts who are working in the PR industry who they would recommend for such a specific project.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

They built with us the PR strategy, worked on several versions of the press release, coordinate all the itws.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

2. the President and CFO and the SVP

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

During the launch phase we had +50% visitors of the platform coming from the PR campaign. And we had a lot of coverage from A-list outlets which still helping build the profile of the platform.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Weekly Meeting + Whatsapp conversation. Very fluid and reactive.

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

Their dedication to this project is impressive.

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

No.