REQ

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're an energy company supplying natural gas and electricity, and we supply energy to your home or your small business. I am focused on prospecting new residential customers through digital marketing and advertising.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We have worked with their team for almost six years in helping us market our services to a variety of customers online.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started by helping us roll out paid advertising efforts, and their team handled the administration and creative work behind those campaigns. Over the last few years, the relationship significantly evolved as we were able to give them more projects and services based on their performance.

More recently, they have handled social media and earned media and content creation for those channels, including everything from ad copy for search ads and display banners, to blog posts, landing pages, and infographics. They’ve also handled some larger projects focused on optimizing conversion rate and leveraging some of their relationships with developers to handle more technical aspects of the work.

What is the team composition?

Steven (Account Director) serves as our main point of contact, and he manages a dedicated team with a lead for each of the service names that we’ve scoped out with them.

How did you come to work with REQ?

When we first started opening new sales channels, we went through a full RFP process to vet a variety of different partners, including several rounds of proposals and presentations. Their team stood out in that process and we ended up deciding that they were the best fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We started with a $2,000,000 budget for them and have expanded from there spending closer to $4,000,000–$5,000,000 per year with them at this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship with them started in 2014 and is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we’ve worked with them for so long, we’ve gathered quite a bit of data over that time about how they have continually performed. Overall, their work has drastically improved our conversion rates, and on the creative side, their resources have been admired and requested by other teams across our larger corporate group.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team acts on everything with urgency, almost as if it was their own need, which we really appreciate. They are always very timely and communicative, as well as open to shifting priorities when something changes in our plan and good at communicating how that will impact the rest of their work on other projects.

That level of coordination has been crucial to our ability to plan and set expectations internally. They’ve been a very solid partner across the board, but their ability to communicate and flexibly prioritize has been key for us getting everything done in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When we share business results and feedback, they truly take it to heart and go back to their team to brainstorm solutions. Any time we have a problem, they are able to come back to us with a set of ideas and solutions that push us to think differently and are always very helpful and often eye-opening for our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think with every agency, turnover is a challenge, so the biggest difficulty we’ve had is in people leaving the company over the six years that we’ve worked with them. Obviously, that isn’t something that they can control, but any effort they are able to make to be proactive in communicating that with us is really appreciated in allowing us to adjust more quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Establishing clear goals and business metrics, as well as being as transparent as possible so that they have a really good understanding of what you need and how to deliver that, is what will allow you to develop the best relationship and have the most success.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a casino in San Diego. I’m the community and social relations manager. My responsibilities include processing sponsorships and donations for the casino and managing web advertising and social media work.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We’ve worked with them as a company for a while. When we no longer had a web team in-house, we needed an agency to help improve our SEO rankings and make modifications to our site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We work with REQ on our organic search results. During our monthly meetings with them, they provide us with our top-ranking keywords. At that point, we can recommend keywords to target. 

With our website, they add and create new functionalities. Additionally, they optimized all of our blog content and landing pages for SEO. If there’s anything new that comes up, we can reach out to them. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily worked with Melissa (Account Director), but we also worked with Jeff (Director of Client Services), Lindsay (SEO Strategist), and Christa (Content Strategist). 

How much have you invested with them?

Our annual spend with them is about $90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2015, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since I’ve taken over this position in that past six months, our month-over-month and year-over-year metrics are increasing. 

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication has been wonderful. Whenever I have an issue, I can call Melissa for immediate help. She gets tasks turned around pretty quickly. We communicate mostly through an email thread to help with streamlined communication. I’ve called a few times for emergencies, though.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills and quick turnaround times have helped our team improve. We have a great relationship, and that can be attributed to the quality they bring to the table. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Every time I give them a task, they knock it out of the park. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure your communication is open between your internal team and REQ’s staff.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of marketing for a wholesale data center company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We use REQ for the public relations side of our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ focuses on media and public relations. They help us to strategize around our messaging in the global market space. Their team helps us to write press releases. For example, they’ll write releases about our company entering into new markets or opening new data centers. Their team also develops media lists for those stories and organizes interviews in the hopes of securing media coverage. Their efforts are not only promotional but also proactive. They pitch proactively to secure media coverage in regard to thought leadership. They also help secure awards as well as support our social media presence and content for marketing campaigns.

What is the team composition?

The size of the team is 2-3, including the Vice President.

How did you come to work with REQ?

Our chief commercial officer worked with REQ previously and brought them into the organization because he wanted a PR agency that focused on technology. When I joined the company later, I retained them as our PR firm because I worked with them previously too.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay a monthly retainer and spend between $50,000–$100,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our organization engaged REQ in 2018 and our partnership’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re certainly happy with the amount of coverage that we receive from working with REQ, especially around strategic announcements. For example, we acquired a company that gave us a footprint in Canada about a year ago. In February, we launched our services in Europe too. Their team was key in crafting those announcements. They also secured coverage through their own outreach and pitching. We’re certainly happy with them.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management’s strong. It’s a partnership, so we’re constantly engaged. We connect daily or multiple times a week informally. We also have calls to review key initiatives and KPIs with a formal report every week. They provide analytics and reports to keep everyone accountable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

REQ’s adaptable and knows the technology sector well. Their team is agile and flexible, which is important because conditions change often. Our ongoing partnership’s the important piece. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of any critiques at this point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Approach the engagement from the point of view of a partnership. Don’t isolate public relations. Rather, make sure to look at what the business needs holistically and how all of the pieces can work together from PR to lead generation. Make sure that all of the agencies and vendors work in sync to benefit the unit.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of one of the oldest and largest sauna manufacturers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

When we were a lot smaller, we were doing all of our advertising in-house but everything was getting more complicated. We hired REQ as extra support for these efforts we were managing. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ manages all of our online advertising, including PPC and social media channels. We also work with them on SEO for our website to get the maximum position for all of our keywords. We do keyword research on a regular basis with them. Their social media support covers Facebook and Instagram. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with Danielle (Account Director, REQ). 

How did you come to work with REQ?

We came to work with REQ when they were a different company. Their president bought one of our products and reached out to tell us about their services. We were looking for a team to do that work and they seemed like they knew what they were doing, unlike a lot of other companies. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our ad spend is around $2 million a year, and we pay them around $250,000–$350,000 range. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around 2016 and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our main goal is to increase sales and track it against the return on our ad spend, and they either maintain or move us forward in those areas. We’re seasonal, so they keep fine-tuning the efforts but we rarely move backward. If anything, everything looks better all the time. 

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been great—they’re very on top of everything and stay on top of us to get what they need from our team. They pretty much do what they say and do it on time, so we have very few problems if any. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don’t have a lot of experience with other companies, but from the few I’ve worked with, REQ’s biggest difference is how much they care. They are invested in making sure our project is successful, not just running a campaign to make a commission. They pay attention to all of the details so the nuance allows us to be profitable in our work with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, off the top of my head there’s nothing I can think of. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s helpful to have someone with an understanding of the online advertising world and what the metrics mean for your business. What works for our business might not work for someone else’s. Knowing the high level about how it works will help get the most out of it. No one knows your business like you do, so it’ll help optimize their work. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior marketing manager at a large technology firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We needed help with Amazon advertising.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ helps execute and optimize Amazon search advertising for our products.

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with Tiffany (VP, Client Service, REQ) and Shannon (Senior Digital Marketing Associate, REQ). Shannon is our product manager. 

How did you come to work with REQ?

My company has worked with REQ on other projects. Our work together stems from an outside referral.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together at the end of 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can’t provide any quantitative details for confidentiality reasons. However, they’ve improved our click-through rate, ad optimizations, and sales conversions.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

They have far exceeded a lot of our expectations compared to other groups we’ve worked with. They’re attentive, have clear communications, can take constructive feedback, and implement changes incredibly quickly. They’re great partners that very quickly earned our trust. We communicate via weekly phone calls and up-to daily emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I know they’re a large company working with a ton of partners, but we always feel like we’re their top priority, which is great to feel. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Devensoft, a B2B SaaS company. Our software is used by companies to manage their mergers and acquisitions programs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We hired them initially to handle marketing efforts, and then we moved into using them for SEO services, too. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve developed branding collateral and various press releases for us. They produce both print and digital content focused on the features and benefits of our software. Their team has also analyzed our site and helps us optimize the content and pages for SEO purposes. 

For the content efforts, they’ve helped get us recognized by relevant publications for different articles and pieces. Across Twitter and LinkedIn, they post different content and articles. They manage our Google Ads efforts and other advertising needs, too. 

What is the team composition?

Emily is my main point of contact for the engagement. A few others support our project, too. 

How did you come to work with REQ?

I followed a referral from a couple of people who had worked with the original teammates over the years. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a small business, it’s hard to carve out time for a lot of these activities but they really fill that void for us. The articles that have been getting published are very consistent and serve as a good source of links. They have a myriad of experts who know how to give us the highest value possible. 

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication skills are strong, even as we’ve added more tasks and needs to the project. We have weekly status meetings and I receive a written report that we review on the phone. Their team is always timely in meeting deadlines and provides a lot of value through managing the work. 

They keep me on task and on schedule, making sure I give them the right amount of feedback on the various tasks we’re working on. If we need to get something done early or make a change, they can adjust to meet our priorities. Overall, we’ve had a great working relationship. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They work just as hard today as they did when we first started, which is not always the case with other companies. The cadence has continued throughout our engagement—they’ve been consistent from day one. Their thought leadership is impressive—they come with great ideas and are a good sounding board for suggestions. The time they took to get to know our market was crucial because they now understand our value proposition and are able to solve our issues effectively. 

They deliver on their promises, which is a rare thing in today’s world. Their service and work are exceptional—they think outside the box and keep striving to improve. They’re an integral part of our company and we can’t imagine doing business without them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve done everything we’ve asked for, so I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have clear expectations from the start. Try to articulate your goals and be upfront about where you need the most help. Then, let them do the work and figure out gaps that you might not be aware of. If both parties know the deliverables, timelines, and budget, you’ll be able to keep the project going for a while. This type of work isn’t done in 30 days, so you’ll need to have a longterm relationship to get the most value. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of a high-tech software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

They were our agency for branding and PR, assisting with lead generation and awareness.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us gain visibility within the media community, getting placement in media publications that cover the areas our product is used for. Consistently, they’re working to identify key communities that would have interest in our product, build relationships with journalists focusing in these areas, and help with lead generation.

In terms of campaigns, they ran general awareness and initiatives focused on particular verticles. They advised us on the usage of social media and the best venues for our brand there. We’re a B2B software, so we prioritized LinkedIn over other social media platforms. 

Their team was able to place us in several key publications for our target audience and in places important to us. There were also times when we needed extra support to generate content. They refined our messaging to get us on target with our audience. 

How did you come to work with REQ?

I worked with them with my last company and selected them again for similar work. When I started here, we had a different PR agency that wasn’t aligned with what we needed. Six months in, we made the change.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $250,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We track placement and coverage in key publications. Since starting with them, we’ve increased placements year over year. At this point, they know enough about our business to write original content for us. We work in a high-tech field, so it’s difficult to get someone up to speed that well. Their help is greatly appreciated.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a weekly meeting where we discuss progress. If there are delays, they’re usually on our end of the work. Our teams communicate in fairly traditional ways to keep everything simple. The project management has gone well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We do both government and commercial work, and they’ve worked hard to create communication modules around our government messaging. From that point on, they understood our business well enough to write content for us. They knew how to explain our product and what it would mean to key customers. They’ve been very successful despite the complexity of our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They may not manage us tightly enough, letting us slide on some deliverables. It would’ve been helpful if they were a bit more insistent.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of LifeCents, a financial health and wellness B2B company. We license our products to various types of businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

Our original company name was FELA (Financial Education Literacy Advisors), and we hired REQ to lead a rebrand. At the time, we didn’t have an internal marketing staff, and we’d never done marketing or PR. Our company was well-positioned to be a thought leader in the financial wellness space, but that didn’t make a difference if people didn’t know about us.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ executed an end-to-end rebrand. This included changing our company name from FELA to LifeCents, relaunching our core products, and tightening up our market positioning. They helped us establish the LifeCents voice and boilerplate description that we use across marketing materials. REQ also supported our launch event in November 2018.

REQ established our marketing and PR strategy, which they continue to execute today. REQ also creates our white pages and press releases. As we’ve grown as a business and brought on internal marketing resources, they’ve helped get those people up to speed. They provide continuous leadership on the marketing side of our company. They also help us source vendors, such as the ones we’ve hired to make a mission video and a launch video.

What is the team composition?

We work with 5–6 people, ranging from the most senior people, like Elizabeth (EVP, PR, REQ), to account managers. My team engages with senior strategists, who are very tactical in helping to source vendors and create materials.

How did you come to work with REQ?

Elizabeth and her team are well-known in the tech community in the Washington, DC area. She owned Speakerbox Communications, which merged with REQ. We did our due diligence and evaluated other firms, but hiring REQ was a no brainer.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in August 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The rebrand has been very well received by key stakeholders. Our clients and partners are pleased with LifeCenter’s positioning. Thanks to REQ, we better communicate who we are and what we do, which has helped us land some very large enterprise clients. What we’ve accomplished over a twelve-month period has been phenomenal, such as being selected as one of DC Inno’s 50 On Fire and Northern Virginia Technology Council’s (NVTC) Tech 100.

LifeCents also ranked in the top five of a consumer health experience design competition. We’ve been featured on podcasts and in the media, and we had a technical writeup in Credit Union Times. All of this has allowed us to establish a market presence and compete with the best companies.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

REQ team members come to our office and engage as part of our team, so the work isn’t just over the phone or email. We have weekly calls, during which both teams propose opportunities and discuss whether or not to move forward with them.

For more strategic work, such as our launch event or the mission video creation, we regularly have sit-down meetings. REQ is very patient with the many distractions my team faces. I can be hard to track down, but they’re tremendous in their ability to manage me, and I trust them implicitly. Working with them has been a seamless process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

REQ was instrumental in making our business and brand reflect who we are. We’re fortunate to have REQ as a partner; they’re committed to the success of our company.

Our launch event is a good representation of how they operate day-to-day with us; they not only helped us come up with the strategy and programming, but they actually worked the event alongside us. REQ helped manage the flow of the event and even worked the registration table instead of just being attendees, and I think that speaks a lot to their character. They’re truly a part of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t from my perspective. The strategy they’re executing is working well. If I had a larger budget, I’d do more of what we’re doing, but my company’s resources are limited.

Any advice for potential customers?

I’ve referred a couple of people to REQ. The more open you are with them, the more information they have, and the better they can help you. Be willing to take their lead, because they’re experts in marketing, PR, and outreach. Trust that they know what they’re doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I'm the director of marketing and communications for a provider of IT and customer experience services to federal government agencies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ? 

We've been working with them for almost five years now. We initially hired them because we weren’t a known brand in the market. Government contracting is a competitive environment and we needed additional visibility. We specifically brought them in to drive thought leadership content, draw attention to our expertise, and elevate our new customer experience campaign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

REQ continues to provide PR support and content development. They perform a broad range of services for us, including a lot of writing and media pitching. They help us write articles that are then pitched to the media. If we have a press release, they'll connect with targeted media publications to get our news out there. They conduct interviews with our staff and ghostwrite content. They advise on what angles and strategic direction publications are looking for. They also create content for our website. 

What is the team composition? 

I primarily work with Katie (EVP, Public Relations, REQ). She’s our account representative, and then we work with 3–4 other members of their team as needed. 

How did you come to work with REQ? 

A predecessor of mine knew the firm’s owner and originally hired them on. I’ve continued the engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work began in January 2015 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Last year, REQ provided 15–20 pages of content for a new website. They publish at least 12 articles per year for us, on average. They’re really pivotal in support of press releases actually getting placed in the media. Last year we did our first acquisition. It was awesome to have their support in elevating that news and pitch it out to publications. Getting into the nitty-gritty, I've been out on maternity leave and they filled in for me and kept things running.  

They always deliver well-thought-out and quality content. REQ understands the market and the type of work that we do. Even when we're talking about IT components, they know enough to figure out where the angle really is. They help elevate our pitch by engaging with our subject matter experts and driving the story forward. 

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint? 

We have a bi-weekly meeting to touch base on everything. REQ provides a full progress report of what's pending and what they're doing to meet our goals. Katie is always accessible if something comes up. I can pick up the phone and know that she’s available. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

REQ is incredible. I continue to renew our engagement because of their great ideas. I've been a one-person team for the majority of my time here. It’s great to be able to rely on them for marketing, branding, and PR. I have more people on my team now and they’re like an extension of my team. It’s nice to know that we've got support to help with what we're trying to achieve in the market. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

No, nothing that comes to mind. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

We brought them in early as a key partner. However, you can bring REQ in at any stage and they're just going to help you get your message out there. It's a worthy partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the VP of marketing at a real estate company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We needed a vendor to develop and maintain a website for us. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ runs our whole website, including our ticketing system and an e-commerce portion of the website. They also make any changes to the website that we need and help us with testing. We're using REQ for development, while another vendor is handling the design. 

What is the team composition? 

We mostly work with Steve (Senior Brand Strategist, REQ).

How did you come to work with REQ?

The relationship had started before I joined the company.

What is the status of this engagement? 

It’s an ongoing project. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're in the process of redesigning our website, and REQ has provided valuable recommendations on what needs to be changed or improved. 

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint? 

They're very responsive and stay on top of everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're able to build successful relationships with other vendors, while always keeping us informed and up-to-date. They go above and beyond to get the job done. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think so. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about our objectives. They can make recommendations to help you reach your goals.