Strategic Objectives

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a third-party, on-demand delivery service. We deliver food, alcohol, and other household items. I'm a PR and influencer marketing specialist.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

We're launching a new product on our platform for Toronto. We wanted to raise awareness and drive acquisitions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with media relations. That included developing a news release and distributing it across Canada through targeted pitching. They also created mailer kits to send to influencers in Toronto. They designed and procured all the materials, put everything through production, and oversaw packing and shipping. They also executed a media and influencer event in Toronto.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two front-facing individuals: one account manager and their SVP. The account manager was our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

We did an RFP, and we hoped to find a team that could fit within our budget and a rather short timeline. Strategic Objectives has a good reputation, and we wanted to work with a company that had the connections and experience to pull off an event and program of this scale.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $60,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in August 2019 and was finished at the end of September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our experience was very positive, and everything surpassed the KPIs we set for the platform. We were very happy with the work that they did, and everything was professional, well-executed, and organized. They took us to a new level.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very good project managers, and we never had to hold their hand. We communicated mostly through email, but we also had a weekly phone call.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their pure ability to surpass our KPIs was really impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have any areas of improvement for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give longer lead time if you can. The earlier you can start working with them, the better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the account manager of exports at a large confectionery company. I manage our UK exports as well as some of the North American imports.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

We were seeking PR work and representation for a few of our brands.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They're instrumental to our PR procedure because they focus on brand representation and communication. Their PR involves marketing campaigns—communicating news items about our brands. They even work with influencers across social media.

During holiday time, they’ll compile a yearly program that outlines different initiatives for different times of the year. They take into account what’s trendy and relevant to contemporary consumers. After we work together to discern which activities we want to proceed with, they’ll bring that plan to life.

What is the team composition?

I have consistent contact with around three members of their team. Different teammates work on different brands, but since I oversee all of their work, I regularly communicate with all three.

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

It’s a historic agreement that existed before I onboarded at this company, but I maintain our relationship with them because they have an excellent understanding of the brands they manage.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere between $100,000–$200,000 annually, so the total we’ve spent would easily exceed a million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them for almost ten years, from 2009. The engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They continue to demonstrate an excellent understanding of our brands. They’re able to get under the skin of customers through effective consumer angles and engagement ideas. The extent of their attention to detail is very impressive.

I also embrace the fact that they’re always coming up with different solutions for our particular needs. They provide a very full service, which is very helpful.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent. They follow a methodical approach of coming up with ideas, scoping them out, putting a proposal together, then launching and managing it.

They’re very approachable and open. We communicate via conference calls when required, but we also have occasional face-to-face meetings. In general they’ve been accommodating of different communication methods.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was taken by their enthusiasm and their genuine drive to represent the brand to the best of that brand’s potential.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing long-term comes to mind because whenever I have constructive feedback, I deliver it to them immediately. They’re great at taking and adapting to feedback, which I really appreciate.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be communicative about how exactly you want the brand to be represented, and go in detail. It’s very important that all objectives are outlines with real clarity.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the head of marketing for a consumer packaged goods (CPG) organization. We sell our products in multiple channels of retail and e-commerce in Canada.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

We’ve worked with Strategic Objectives for over ten years on multiple business scenarios. One particular challenge they helped us address was a quality perception issue with our pens. According to market research, consumers believed our pens fell short of market standards when from a technical perspective, they exceeded category norms. We engaged Strategic Objectives to create PR and social strategies to shrink this perception gap.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Strategic Objectives identified an opportunity to communicate the benefits of writing by hand versus typing. They tapped into our research resources and set up studies to demonstrate these benefits. At the same time, during these demonstrations with consumers, they subtly talked up our brand of pens with an emphasis on quality. They engaged several spokespeople to deploy this message.

Throughout the process, Strategic Objectives dove into our business objectives to better understand our goals. After 2–3 rounds of discussion and negotiation, we settled on our final programming—including any deliverables or physical materials—and establish KPIs to measure impact. Once the campaign finished, Strategic Objectives provided regular performance trackers through a video and a PowerPoint presentation.

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with Vanessa (Account Manager, Strategic Objectives) who leads a team behind the scenes. We also collaborate with Judy (Co-Founder and Partner, Strategic Objectives), and Adriana (Vice-President, Strategic Objectives).

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

We parted ways with our prior PR vendor because their level of client service didn’t meet our expectations. I asked for recommendations from industry colleagues and drew a shortlist of 6–7 companies to consider. Strategic Objectives was one of them. In our interview, we were looking at more than a company’s skill set; we wanted a partner that would fit with our project and organization’s needs. Strategic Objectives stood out from the competition, and we’ve been working together ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $3 million CAD (approximately $2.3 million USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2007, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure the impact of our campaigns using KPIs such as CPI rates. We look for a certain number of TV, radio, and print impressions and weigh it against how much we’re spending on those ad campaigns. Strategic Objectives reliably delivers CPI-efficient campaigns. They turned around public perception of our pen brand. Their campaigns meet or beat KPIs, and we are highly satisfied with our partnership.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve made the collaboration seamless. The team meets every deadline and helps us stay on track to accomplish the next stages.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Strategic Objectives dedicates themselves to every step of a project. They bring in-depth knowledge to each project and adapt to last-minute tasks and scope changes with ease.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Over the past three years, we’re moving towards a more permanent presence in social media (rather than leveraging social channels as part of a campaign). While our in-house team is overseeing this effort, we could use insights from Strategic Objectives on social advertising.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a corporate communications manager at an automotive company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

We were trying to get more out of our sponsorship activities and target a new audience. We worked with the automotive journalism, but we didn't speak to the mainstream journalism, so we started looking for a company to help us find a new voice to share our stories.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they sat down with us and tried to identify what the problem was and what business needs we had (our goal is to sell cars). After brainstorming their ideas and strategies with us, they identified one strategy and worked with me on developing key messages and setting the goals for KPIs. After that, they implemented the strategy. They did a fantastic job guiding the process and engaging their team members. They continue to update us on the new opportunities and let us know when the problems arise and what solutions they've come up with.

What is the team composition?

I usually work with three members of their team.

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

I come from an agency experience, so I knew of some agencies. Strategic Objectives went above and beyond in terms of doing research and proposing some ideas we hadn't thought of, so we decided they'd be a good fit.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They've overachieved the KPIs that we set for the campaign, and we have more media coverage coming in.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very organized and someone from their team is always available to answer our questions. They have a thought-out agenda and they always follow up, implementing anything we've discussed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very easy to work with. They're accommodating, strategic, and very creative. They have great ideas and a positive attitude.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. They've met all of our expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of brand communications at a global automotive parts company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

We wanted to increase our brand’s exposure in Canadian media.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted to establish a positive reputation for our brand in Canada. We wanted to highlight the advanced technology we use in our automotive parts, as well as our commitment to safety. Strategic Objective helped us build relationships with media representative and influencers.

What is the team composition?

Taylor (Account Manager, Strategic Objectives) is our account executive, and I’ve worked with several other people who’ve since left the company.

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

We sent out an RFP to several PR companies in Toronto. Strategic Objectives had more experience in the automotive industry than the other candidates. Ultimately, we chose to work with them for their unique perspective on storytelling.

How much have you invested with them?

For both the specific project and the retainer, we’ll spend around $240,000 by the end of 2018.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017, and it’s an ongoing relationship. Currently, we have a monthly retainer, which we plan to renew for the next year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we’ve increased our visibility within the Canadian market. We have an internal system that measures our media coverage. Last year, we received triple the impressions than we’d hoped. Our goal was 3.8 million, but we passed that by 8 million. We’re still working on projects for the rest of 2018, and we’re on track to have a successful year.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

The Strategic Objectives team is very efficient in putting together daily and weekly progress reports for ongoing projects. Because we’re a global company, we value organization. We get documentation from our global office, localize it, and share it with Taylor and his team. For day-to-day communication, we use email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by their professionalism. They’re very experienced in Toronto’s media space—they’ve won multiple awards. We’re excited to continue working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m completely satisfied with their services at this point.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of operations for an educational facility with a cosmetic line.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

We entered the Canadian market through the department store we partner with. We needed PR assistance to promote our brand in Canada.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We discussed our long-term goals. They advocated advertising both inside and outside of our partner’s channels, and helped identify publications and influencers that would work best for us.

What is the team dynamic?

My direct contact was Shane McKenna [Account Manager, Strategic Objectives]. We had a weekly call and communicated via email. Their team sent us regular updates and feedback on projects.

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

We met with two other PR firms, but Strategic Objectives already had a relationship with our department store partner. We chose them because of that existing contact with potential consumers.

What is the status of this engagement?

We entered a six-month contract with them between February and August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our internal marketing department tracks our market impact. Based upon the increase of hits, Strategic Objectives found good avenues to influence our consumers.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very detailed and timely, and they kept us abreast of any new projects we could collaborate on. They organize their workload well, and demonstrate their impact throughout the process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a personal approach. They took time to understand our company, our concerns, and how we could best utilize our budget. They also considered our diverse offerings and brought high-level managers into the project to be sure we were well represented.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had a bit of a bumpy start, but once they got to know our company our experience was completely positive.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a chocolate product company. We have the Canadian product rights for an allergen-friendly chocolate product from a larger food organization which originates in Boulder, CO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

Our main objective was alerting consumers to the product’s availability in Canada. There is no other product like this in the market, and the allergen-friendly segment is totally new to us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They presented a strategic plan to reach all sorts of media. They reached out to magazines, TV, radio, and to the online community of bloggers, vloggers, and social media.

What is the team dynamic?

Sarah Leone [Account Manager, Strategic Objectives] was our team lead. I also work with Deborah Weinstein [Founder, Strategic Objectives], Jacqueline Rose, and Mia David.

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

I met with Deborah at her office, where we talked about her experience with another chocolate company. I was impressed by all their awards and was very comfortable with her. I really liked her team's ideas and energy, and their vision for the product. I had no reason to look elsewhere.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $30,000 Canadian ($23,769 U.S.).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in August 2017, and completed the project in September. They turned it around in just a few weeks for a back-to-school launch. We’re not currently working together, but I will use them again for our future PR campaigns.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their deliverables were better than any of us anticipated. We appeared in print media across the country, and had lots of people writing and posting online –both paid and un-paid– because of the excitement the product generates. We were featured on a couple of television shows, including a giveaway on a talk show that led to roughly 12 million impressions. The cost per impression is usually about 5¢, but all the outstanding coverage brought that cost to about .003¢.

They reached more people than I could have imagined. I had never worked with a PR firm before and was skeptical when I started. Their work is showing lifts in Instagram, which benefits our U.S. counterpart as well.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

They were exceptional in everything they did. Most of our communication was via email, and some over the phone. They responded to everything quickly, and we got feedback reports every Friday.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re in-tune with the market and have a lot of good connections. When they contacted the media, they knew if the person they were reaching out to had a food allergy. That kind of detail helped us market the product.

I had heard about our U.S. counterpart’s nightmares with their first PR company, but I can’t say enough to praise Strategic Objectives. I wouldn’t go with anyone else.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization has multiple full-line stores across Canada selling accessories, apparel, and home goods. I’m the director of public relations, media buying, and organic social media.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

We wanted to increase brand consideration. A previous PR agency handled our corporate communications, and another agency worked on our consumer-focused and experiential PR campaigns. We wanted to hire an all-encompassing agency to handle both so there would be fluidity.

We also needed help with our perception in the Canadian market. We wanted to be considered as a destination for back-to-school, Christmas, and other major seasons.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Strategic Objectives now takes care of all facets of our communications and PR programming. They began with more of a brand awareness campaign in the beginning, which has now morphed into more product-focused programs. We also work with them on general media relation campaigns.

They provide media and crisis monitoring. They help run our influencer and blogger campaigns, which are a big focus for us. Whether we’re using macro or micro influencers, they leverage their longtime relationships in the Canadian market to showcase our offerings and get our message out to Canadian consumers.

What is the team dynamic?

We have a full-time team. We have direct access to Deb Weinstein [President, Strategic Objectives]. We’re also in constant contact with Mike Shipticki [Vice President, Strategic Objectives]. Their phenomenal account manager, Sarah Leone [Account Manager, Strategic Objectives], is my daily contact and my go-to person for everything. There’s a core team that works with us on all of our media events and previews.

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

I’ve been a part of this business for over 10 years, and I’ve heard nothing but great things about them from friends and colleagues in the PR world. We put out the request for proposal and they were interested, which was fantastic.

They are a constant force to be reckoned with. They have won so many awards for their work on small, medium, and large campaigns for clients in the Canadian industry and abroad. We wanted to partner with a well-recognized, well-established firm that we knew would do a great job. They were a great fit.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Actual data is broken out by campaign. Strategic Objectives provides us with weekly highlights reports, as well as a postmortem summary at the end of each campaign.

We’ve definitely moved the needle on the consideration factor from when we first started partnering with them. We’re part of the conversation in magazine roundups, Instagram posts, and commentary on television and radio. Our qualitative and quantitative measurements have yielded positive results.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

We touch base daily and weekly via phone calls and emails. They present their ideas, and we treat them as a robust menu from which we select the programs we want to implement. They have a very hands-on and open communication style when it comes to project management that makes them a pleasure to work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What makes them stand out from other communication and PR companies is 24/7 access and availability.

They also work to obtain the best results for your company, rather than completing a one-off project. They constantly keep long-term results in mind. They demand great results from their teams.

I feel comfortable assigning them any project with any budget, knowing they’ll use resources in the most strategic way. They get us the results that we need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We make modifications and improvements as we go along, so I don’t have any overall suggestions for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for a sports brand with branches in North America and Europe. We sell trampolines.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

We were looking to grow our brand awareness in Canada. We have pretty strong brand awareness and we always have new customers that come into the market. We wanted to capitalize on some things that were happening within Canada around the Canada 150 celebrations and we wanted to leverage our athlete ambassador. We asked Strategic Objectives to help us create a program that would reach our target demographic that was fun and a little outside the norm of what we would do.

One of the big goals that we have in marketing is to have customers try all of our products. Integrating a trial program within the larger scope of our reach, Strategic Objectives was able to help us deliver a strong PR program that helped us reach our goals.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The process was pretty straightforward and easy to follow. We had a couple of discovery sessions where Strategic Objectives got to really know the brand, the players, and what our objectives were. They were really good at coming back and refining the objectives and making sure that we were all aligned. From there, they created a couple of options for us within our budget and our scope. They came up with three programs and told us we could mix and match and create a custom solution if there were areas within each program that we liked. We liked two big ideas that they had and we combined them into a final plan which we then executed.

The deliverables were to reach impressions through earned media as well as have the opportunity to get our product in front of as many people as we could so they could try our products. We have three core markets in Canada and we needed to make sure that we focused in on those three. Strategic Objectives delivered on reach. They delivered on the trial opportunities and definitely did a really great job of weaving in our athlete ambassador into all of our key messaging and outreach.

What is the team dynamic?

Our primary contact was Taylor [Account Manager, Strategic Objectives]. We also worked with Michael [Vice President, Strategic Objectives]. Deb [Co-founder and Partner, Strategic Objectives] was involved a little bit behind the scenes. Then there was a young woman named Mia [Strategic Objectives] who was more of a coordinator on the backend for us. The entire team was fantastic.

Taylor is very on top of details. He is engrained in the program and he knows everything that’s going on. He’s very proactive in giving updates along the way. Any time that we ran into any kind of bump in the road around our plan, he always came back with a solution or a different approach that we could take to make sure that we’re still delivering on the objective. He was a really great partner.

Michael was really great from a strategic standpoint, making sure that we were delivering on the strategy and the brand deliverables. Mia was also great. She was involved in a lot of the execution details and even showed up at one of our trial events. She did a fantastic job of helping manage the employees and making sure that the event went off without a hitch. The whole team was fantastic. We had a really great time working with them.

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

Last year, we worked with a small boutique agency in California for the spring and summer season. We were launching a new product in 2016 in the Canada and U.S. so we needed a new team that was across the border and that was a little bit bigger than the team was had in the U.S. prior. We needed to upgrade the resource side, so we contracted a larger, multi-national company. That relationship ended after the product was launched because it was very expensive and unsustainable.

When 2017 rolled around, we thought there was a big opportunity with Canada 150. We also wanted to leverage the fact that our sponsored athlete was just coming off of winning a second gold medal in the Olympics. Strategic Objectives is a company that I've known for a while. We reached out to them and it ended up working really well for both parties.

I met with Michael [Vice President, Strategic Objectives] in 2008 at a different company. He helped me with another retail brand that I was working on at the time and he did an amazing job for us. When it came to looking for a new provider in 2017, I reached out to him to see if he would be interested in pitching in. It was the ongoing relationship I've had with them over the last decade that really helped me make the decision. It was a great fit. They understood the needs. They could scale the project up and down for us based on budgetary requirements. It just made sense to work with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $65,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2017 until September 2017. We are working with them to discuss 2018 plans going forward.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From a statistical standpoint, Strategic Objectives generated about 117 earned media stories, about 18-20 blog posts through influencers, and a whole bunch of social media mentions for us. From a quantitative standpoint, they’ve done a phenomenal job and exceeded our expectations. From a qualitative standpoint, the stories and feedback we heard back from our target audience about the programs were all extremely positive. The engagement that we saw with the program on our social channels was a really great indicator that the program was being delivered successfully and that it was resonating with our target audience.

Overall, I believe that the earned media Strategic Objectives generated for us had a huge effect on our results in terms of the sales numbers we’ve seen in this last quarter.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

They were fantastic. Taylor [Account Manager, Strategic Objectives] was on top of every detail of our account and our program. There was never a point in time where I didn’t know what was going on or I was out of the loop of what they were working on. They had weekly meetings with us by phone to give us status updates. They used a lot of project management tools to send documents back and forth of what we've accomplished that week and what we would work on next week.

Anytime there was a bump in a road, Taylor was the first one to pick up the phone and deliver some bad news and come up with the solution of how we could fix it. I have no complaints at all. We were very much kept in the loop with what they were doing. I was very impressed by the hours and the time that they committed and invested into our project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do a lot of due diligence to understand the partner they’re working with and to understand what their business objectives are. A lot of PR agencies are just about media pitching or getting a bunch of influencers together to get a story out. Strategic Objectives is really good at doing the research upfront and if they have any questions during that process, they're great at clarifying instead of just assuming, which I think sets them apart from a lot of other agencies.

They have spent a lot of years working on and honing their influencer blogger relationships, which is another thing that sets them apart. They're not a very traditional PR agency in that they only do earned media. They really understand how a brand can benefit from creating relationships with bloggers and influencers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The big thing I’m hoping for in 2018 is to come up with bigger ideas and really challenge our thinking to come up with things that might scare us a little bit but that we can still try. There are no major changes I would suggest for Strategic Objectives, but I would appreciate hearing from them some bigger, newer, more interesting ideas for us to build on in 2018.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a manufacturer and marketer of tissue products. We are Canada’s number one tissue company and we are number one in the consumer product spectrum. We are also a sizeable player in the United States. We market key trademark brands and provide private label consulting and products to specific retailers in North America.

I’m the corporate vice president of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Strategic Objectives?

Strategic Objectives was brought in on a pitch several years ago and the challenge was a brand name transition. Our organization bought another large paper company in 1997. We had a ten-year period to transition brand names, knowing that one of our competitors could possibly re-enter the marketplace in that period.

As a specific example, we were marketing the leading brand in Canada at that time. I was brought in to not only decide on what names the brand would be, but to also come up with the strategy and the programs that we would implement within a five-year spectrum to defend our brand against this imminent threat and to maintain our market share at that time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The process began with having us present as detailed a brief as possible. We had a very exhaustive brief on the category, the business, our competitors, our vision, our plans, and a lot of consumer insights. Beginning with the insight that we had, we integrated Strategic Objectives into our mix of other partners and suppliers. We work collaboratively with ad agencies, public relations firms, and packaging suppliers, so some of our key partners at that time were brought in to make sure that our marketing elements were connecting seamlessly to our consumers. This is one of the key benefits of working with a team like Strategic Objectives. They embrace this concept and they work well with our other partners. Often times, we don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes, but in the end, it’s really a synergistic effect that is highly efficient for us as a client.

What is the team dynamic?

One of the benefits of working with Strategic Objectives is that we get to work with their top executives. Deb Weinstein [President, Strategic Objectives] has been a key element of continuity for us. She is a great mastermind behind the thought process, writing, creativity, and even the execution. She has a range of other people that have been working on our projects, and we feel very fortunate that we’ve had a key senior person involved.

How did you come to work with Strategic Objectives?

Strategic Objectives was one of several different groups that specialize in the area of expertise we needed. Strategic Objectives was brought in from a public relations mandate to help us understand how we could exploit the name we had decided on. Strategic Objectives came in through an RFP with several other contenders of leading firms in Canada and they were the best of the best. They were the most innovative and creative and they won the business without having done any work for a company before. They introduced a campaign that is still running 14 years later and they have delivered to our group exceptional programs, continuous innovative thinking, and seamless execution with tangible results.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Strategic Objectives in 2002. Since then, they’ve grown as an organization and have evolved to become a best practice agency. Their business has grown with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are very metric-based. At the conclusion of one of our big events, we go through the specific KPIs. From the outset, we will articulate an objective, whether it be in terms of impressions, a measure of a public relations score, or a cost per thousand. We’ve augmented those scores each year as we get more ambitious. In many instances, those measures have been presented in different cases and awards shows. Obviously, there are some intangible measures that speak to the success we’ve had with Strategic Objectives, but the specific metrics are what we rely on the most.

How did Strategic Objectives perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s seamless. Their team is highly organized and very well run. They’re an independent team and we trust them implicitly. They’re always hiring third parties to execute for us. To manage our projects, we have tight time tables and work schedules. Strategic Objectives has installed classic management systems that have worked well. They are also brilliant in execution. I have worked with other public relations agencies and advertising agencies that often time are flawed in their execution. Strategic Objectives is flawless at execution.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, they are exceptional in terms of their passion for excellence. They deliver exactly what they say they are going to do. The passion they have trickles down to all levels within the organization and it’s contagious. Second, they are distinct for their commitment to measurable results. They are not a qualitative group. You can say that something looks and feels good but when you work on KPIs, that is how you truly measure your success. Strategic Objectives will come in with quantifiable, specific measurables. Finally, in terms of creativity and innovation, they go beyond what one could expect. They bring brilliance, a really smart sense of style, and an evolving knowledge and insight of the consumer with every project they take on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have no complaints.