XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the vice president of marketing programs for a toy company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with XPromos Marketing Mastery?

We needed help with our promotional marketing programs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

XPromos Marketing Mastery created multiple types of promotional materials and programs over the course of our engagement, including brand building, consumer programs, and trade programs with major retailers. They would begin with strategic planning, budgeting, and timetable of development, and when the programs were approvced they would execute the rollout all the way through the production of the materials. If the program was a sweepstakes or contest, XPromos Marketing Mastery managed the judging process. 

One project was the first toy catalog created before retailers starting making them. Inside the catalog was a promotional program. Their team produced millions of catalogs customized to each large retailer across the country. XPromos Marketing Mastery developed the game pieces that went into the catalogs and supervised the seeding of those pieces. Their team went to the production facility and managed the security of it to ensure it was in keeping with regulations. After the catalogs were mailed out and provided to consumers at stores, the prizes were awarded by promos.

XPromos Marketing Mastery also worked with our other brands, including a line of dolls and toy cars. For the 50th anniversary of our line of toy cars, we held sweepstakes. Their team created the price structure, seeded the game pieces inside the packaging, and was in charge of monetary awards.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with Shari (President & Co-founder, XPromos Marketing Mastery) and Yvette (Co-founder, XPromos Marketing Mastery).

How did you come to work with XPromos Marketing Mastery?

I had worked with the owners of the company in a previous position. When I moved to this position, they were just starting up their company that week. They called to ask if I needed anything, and I said yes. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with XPromos Marketing Mastery lasted about a decade around 1989-1999.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The XPromos Marketing Mastery team kept providing successful results for us, hence the longevity of our engagement. Every program they developed was under my purview, and we would measure the end results to prove success or failure of the sell-through. They were always successful.

How did XPromos Marketing Mastery perform from a project management standpoint?

Their method of project management is very structured. They begin with a strategic policy proposal and once the proposal is accepted they create a timetable of development and budget, including all production and fulfillment expenses. During the execution of the program, they give regular updates and hold meetings. They also hold recaps to go over the results of the program. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re the best. If I need any kind of agency support, there’s no question I would go to them. They are creative and cost-efficient while remaining fun to work with. Their successful network and years of experience help them succeed.

Shari and Yvette are opposites, which makes for a perfect business partnership. Where Shari is organized and structured, Yvette brings a really high level of creativity. They’re very clear on what their areas of expertise are. You get a lot for your money.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’ve always been happy with their work. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them. They won’t waste your time or money but will guide you successfully through your program. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m was the marketing head of emerging markets at Makita Power Tools, a construction retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC?

I needed help in building a strategy for the US Hispanic Market.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We saw that we could reframe our marketing strategy by creating culturally relevant messages for both professional and consumer channels. I wrote the overarching strategy, but they brought several great ideas to the table. For example, they developed a campaign that would engage customers through soccer.

They led negotiations with Soccer United Marketing, which is responsible for Major League Soccer (MLS) and for the Mexican National Soccer Team (MNT) sponsorship in the US. After securing a contract with the MLS and MNT, we were able to do a lot of fun things and implement different programs.

XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC then strategized how to utilize assets and what we acquired as a sponsor. We reviewed several campaigns before finally selecting one. Our process became more granular as we focused on the strategy’s details, funding the program, and bringing our idea to life.

My favorite part of our program was interacting with soccer fans, letting the fans touch our tools, and helping them understand our product line at games. We also held several sweepstakes. Dealers could win autographed jerseys, balls, and even tickets to the 2006 World Cup! We allowed 10 dealers to give out two tickets to a winning construction worker.

What is the team composition?

I really appreciated that I got to work directly with their leadership. I always worked with Shari (Co-Founder, XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC) and Yvette (Co-Founder, Marketing Mastery, LLC) directly. There were a few other people that would support on occasion.

How did you come to work with XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC?

Our VP of marketing has worked with them before.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2004-March 2007.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

During the time I was working with them, we generated an additional $62,000,000 in revenue. At the beginning of the project, our sales and marketing department forecasted how much they thought distributors would buy from us, and we set a threshold based on those projections. We quickly reached our goal, and in our first year, we generated $9,000,000 in growth.

Leading up to the World Cup, we also saw a growth in sales. It was clear that the incentive we offered effectively encouraged distributors to buy our products.

How did XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They were responsive, professional and proactive. They went beyond the scope of the project by becoming involved in the strategy’s execution. We continue to be good friends within the industry and I respect them tremendously.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re strong, analytical, and strategic thinkers. They look at the details that even their competitors wouldn’t think are important.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be a little more aggressive by bringing additional programs to the general market. However, it was unnecessary for our project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

While still working with Glidden, I was a pro-marketing manager. In my time there, I was in charge of executing a Major League Soccer sponsorship.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with XPromos Marketing Mastery?

We were looking for an agency that was knowledge within the trade space, since it's a specific segment to go after. It was important to us that they understood the difference between dealing with professionals and handling customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were targeting professional painters, really putting emphasis on the Hispanic market. XPromos Marketing Mastery was a fully-ingrained partner for this project. We worked with them on promotions plans and determining what our sponsorship packages should include. To accomplish that, they even dealt with contract negotiations with MLS. 

At the time, we were also working on becoming the title sponsor for the Columbus Crew. We’d never done a naming sponsorship before, and they helped us navigate the entire negotiation. Because of our success with locally sponsoring the Columbus team, it made sense for us to expand nationally. Their team assisted with bringing our sponsorship to a national level, discovering opportunities to maximize our ROI.  

In terms of promotions, we participated in events surrounding MLS such as Futbolito, which achieved on-site activation for us. They helped with the execution of that and other promotional activities. The team also designed some of the promotional items, making sure they were specific to our brand and locating vendors that would be ideal partners.  

What is the team composition?

At the time, it was just Yvette (Co-Founder, XPromos Marketing Mastery) and Shari (Co-Founder, XPromos Marketing Mastery). I’m sure there were others working on the project behind the scenes, but they’re the two I interacted with. Shari handled ideas and strategy while Yvette was more hands-on with promotions from a creative perspective. 

How did you come to work with XPromos Marketing Mastery?

During initial meetings with them, their portfolio was full of work for similar brands. We were very impressed with their experience in the pro-market. The cost also seemed reasonable given their expertise in the MLS area.

How much have you invested with them?

I don’t have exact numbers, but it was definitely north of $1,000,000—probably a couple million.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from 2007–2010.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw a lift in our responses to our promotions, making valuable headway into the Hispanic market through our events and mailouts. Our team ran a few contests that earned good response rates too. The simple fact that we chose to continue to invest in MLS speaks for itself. Our company saw enough ROI and success to continue to invest in our soccer sponsorships. 

How did XPromos Marketing Mastery perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very diligent and made this project a lot easier. The team made the nitty-gritty details seamless and invisible to us, so we never had to worry about them. It provided me with a level of confidence that they were on task and abiding by the schedule. In most cases, they followed up with me before I thought to check in with them. The project management was second to none.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was nice to have a partner that really knew the space and scope, able to dive us great insights on how to leverage that particular sponsorship. Their integrity, professionalism, and creativity made them extremely valuable. They were willing to do everything they could to make sure we got the most out of our partnership. It was a really well-executed, stress-free experience. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re a small operation. In some cases, that might be difficult depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. I found that the hands-on attention they were able to give outweighed anything that comes with a larger firm.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of field marketing for a software company that delivers services to different business types and is mostly focused on improving the financial aspects of the business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC?

It’s difficult to nail down their work to one specific thing because they are able to do so many different things, but their biggest help to us has been in coming up with ideas around improving our customer experience. We come to them with pretty much any issue we have, and they understand the challenge and create a full experience to support that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One example of their involvement with our company is the user conference that we host for about 1500 of our customers every year. One thing we felt like we needed to focus on was providing elevated content for executive decision-makers at the companies we do business with.

I mentioned that to them more or less off-hand, and they created this executive-level whole-day experience where we provided internal and external speakers, gifts, and a networking reception to cater to those customers. In that project and in pretty much everything else, they deliver the idea support that we need all the way up to delivering the assets that we need to go to market with our products and everything in between that makes all of the work possible.

What is the team composition?

I usually work directly with two project managers from their team. They manage a team of people behind the scenes, but all of my interactions are with them.

How did you come to work with XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC?

A VP director we had a long time ago brought them in and they’ve done such good work for us since then that we’ve never really considered going anywhere else.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $100,000 with XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC.

What is the status of this engagement?

That specific project began in October 2018, and they are continuing to provide support for those events.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We actually found through our analytics that the spend rate from the particular executives who attended the session was two times higher than our average annual revenue from the rest of the customer base. Beyond that, all of the customer feedback we’ve received has been extremely positive. 100% of respondents to our post-event survey say they saw value in their attendance and are interested in coming back and continuing the conversation.

How did XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re amazing project managers. We’ve got regular meetings set up, as well as a running project sheet that helps us stay on top of everything. They’re super proactive about addressing problems—often even before they arise.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The thing I appreciate most about XPromos Marketing Mastery, LLC is that they don’t charge us just for the research phases of their work. Because of our ongoing relationship, they no we’re going to like and move forward with their ideas, so they are willing to look into an idea and determine its feasibility before bringing it up with us for no extra charge.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they could be doing better for us right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They will bring a lot of ideas to you, and sometimes it’s not a perfect fit the first time around, but if you give them feedback and articulate the reasons it’s not resonating with you, they will do a good job internalizing and addressing that to give you a better deliverable at the end of the day.