Rise Interactive

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of digital marketing for a regional hospital system.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rise Interactive?

We did PPC and SEO with another agency that didn’t run a very good campaign or provide strong analytics for lead quality. We needed a new digital agency partner that was well-versed in every aspect of digital marketing, from paid search to programmatic. The team also needed a robust infrastructure to help us build out campaigns, and execute reporting and analytics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide ongoing SEO and PPC with focus on web analytics. Rise Interactive manages our paid search and programmatic activity including social media, display, and pre-roll native digital radio. We use testing and analytics to determine which keywords convert at the lowest possible cost. These findings lead to budget shifts away from areas that aren’t converting or convert at a very high cost. They’ve also advised us on site relaunches.

Overall, Rise Interactive helps us understand new tactics and features when they become available. For example, we didn’t know sequential ads for YouTube were possible. They identified the target audience and designated the order of four ads over in a particular timeframe.

What is the team composition?

We work with a three-person team.

How did you come to work with Rise Interactive?

We had previous experience with them when they supported one of our partner agencies. We hired Rise Interactive because the team had great overall knowledge and skills.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

On the PPC side, we pay less for lead conversions and the cost per lead and has decreased significantly. On the programmatic side, the cost per assisted lead and cost per engagement are both down since the project started. Their guidance on budget allocations make our investments more effective; the sequential YouTube advertising conveyed our message clearly.

How did Rise Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

They're well-organized, responsive, and service-oriented. The team is fun to work with and communicates clearly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re great at tactical executions; the team has a diverse digital media-based skill set that we can leverage. Furthermore, Rise Interactive is responsive and has a customer-oriented approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Any advice for potential customers?

Prospective clients should know their business priorities and what they’re willing to pay for conversions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Senior Digital Marketing Manager for an academic retailer. I specifically focus on our colleges and university services which entails managing their campus stores and bookstores. We have about 1,200 stores across the U.S. and Canada, and each has their own e-commerce experience as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rise Interactive?

We depend on them to drive traffic to our bookstore websites. The ongoing challenge is that we have 1,200 bookstores, and each are specifically branded to their college or university, so everything we do is multiplied by 1,200. We’re trying to scale our services out to cover all of those different brands.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They've expanded our paid search program quite a bit in terms of the schools that we run campaigns for. We started off with about 250 or so, but we've since expanded that to all 1,200 campuses that we service. They were also able to expand our product listing ads. They’ve tested different campaign types in different schools and product categories like textbooks, apparel, sweatshirts, t-shirts, school supplies. At any point in time, there's over 50,000 different keywords that we're bidding on.

The other tactical improvement we’ve made is implementing an advanced attribution platform, and using that platform to inform our decisions within the paid search channel. So, understanding which keywords specifically were overvalued or undervalued based on the attribution data. This adds more context, in addition to the data that we get from the search engines themselves, and helps us better understand what's truly driving revenue, and how that is impacting our business.

We have a lot of challenges with seasonality in our business, so it’s difficult to continue to drive revenue efficiently during our non-peak months. They’ve been able to take advantage of hot market opportunities where there are certain schools, and specifically sports teams within those schools, that are performing very well. They’ve quickly set-up and optimized paid search campaigns specifically tied to how well a sports team is doing.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with one of their Senior Account Executives, but he’s got a couple of folks on his team that we’re in regular communication with as well.

How did you come to work with Rise Interactive?

Unfortunately, that was before my time, but we continue to use them because we feel like they're an extension of our team. They’re able to not only execute based on the information we give them, but also provide strategic direction and work in tandem with us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been able to increase our ad-spend ROI, year over year, by 8%. They’ve also been part of our revenue increasing by about $10 million, year over year.

How did RISE Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive to all of our questions and needs, and we're talking to them on a daily basis, whether it be on the phone or via e-mail. They’re also providing us with regular status updates as well. Before a project starts, a timeline to launch is pretty clearly defined, but if there are roadblocks within that timeline, they're able to let us know as soon as they come across them. And also let us know the plan to overcome those roadblocks, so that we feel confident that we can get back on track, or are all in agreement in terms of what the new deadline might be.

​​​​​​What did you find most impressive about them?

I think for us, it’s always been about being able to tie what they're doing back to what the impact on our bottom line is. Together, we’ve clearly defined what the measurements of success are, and we've worked to ensure all of our programs meet or exceed those goals.

They act like a financial planner or a financial analyst, where ROI is front and center, so that we're all on the same page about what the impact ultimately is. It seems straightforward and something that most vendors would offer, and most typically state that they do, but as we get into it, it's not always apparent. Rise did a good job of connecting the dots for us when it comes to financial impact.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We've definitely been very pleased with their performance overall. I guess with any other vendor or agency that you're working with, costs are always something you’re trying to keep down. They are not the most competitive when it comes to management fees.

Any advice for potential customers?

The more information and data they have, the better they're going to be able to maximize your ROI. This really just helps everyone work towards the same goal.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the manager of the integrated media team for an insurance and financial services company. We have a regional footprint where we sell both insurance products and financial services and planning.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rise Interactive?

We needed help driving direct response outcomes for our campaigns. We're often looking to acquire new prospects, and we want to find them online and in an efficient manner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We previously worked with a traditional agency but their focus was more on general media buys. Rise was able to provide a greater level of expertise while helping us establish our first set of search marketing campaigns. Much of our work with Rise focuses on paid search channels. Our goal is to find efficient ways to advertise on Google, with the end objective of dring conversions, leads, and eventually sales. They work to capture people's information or get them to contact us in an efficient manner.

Rise collaborates with us on analytics, and is aligned with us on the importance of measuring not just frontend performance, but closed loop measurement. They help us allocate our budgets in a way that focuses on performance. They've also helped us launch some targeted local campaigns where we need to drive volume within a specific area. They've set up campaign structures that allow us to make sure we're not double bidding, and that our campaigns are working in concert. They've done a lot with bid algorithms in terms of testing how to leverage Google's bidding tools. They help us align our priorities internally by supporting our point of view with internal stakeholders. They've also helped us with developing an effective advertising technology roadmap.

What is the team composition?

We primarily work through an account manager, but we also communicate directly with some of their search and analytics experts.

How did you come to work with Rise Interactive?

The engagement with Rise started before I joined the company.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started around 2013 and work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've been able to continually grow the scale of our campaigns over the past three years. The month-by-month performance reports show that we're increasing our budget and still performing well over time.

How did Rise Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

The team has changed over the years but the group we work with now is really great. We consistently have a weekly call with our account lead. The lead makes sure that we're staying focused on the big picture and working through any challenges. They also recognize that our team has a lot of experience in this space, and they support our interacting directly with the Rise search leads. They’re very accountable. They respond quickly to emails and any urgent requests. It's been a good experience overall.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have a good rapport with the team. By being candid and transparent about our challenges and goals, they've done a good job helping us work through those issues. Communication is very open, which benefits all sides. There’s a lot of trust in the relationship. They have a strong acumen and skill set for search, analytics, and measurement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Over the course of the relationship, they’ve proposed a lot of ideas. We've always asked them not take no as a final answer but to come back to us with it 3–6 months later. We want them to push us to not settle for the status quo. They should make the case for how it will make things better on our end. Just because an idea was shut down last year doesn’t mean it's not worthy to bring up—and campaign for—again.

Any advice for potential customers?

With any new relationship, you need to understand the full scope of what they can do for you. Be open and inclusive of everything Rise offers to see what makes sense for you.