1o8

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Director, Strategic Communicaitons of Illinois Network of Child Care Resource & Referral Agency (INCCRRA)

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA) is a statewide organization which – in partnership with its 16 local Child Care Resources and Referral (CCR&R) agencies – is a recognized leader, catalyst and resource for making high quality, affordable early care and education and school-age care options available for children and families in Illinois.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 1o8 to accomplish?

• Create a statewide campaign to increase early childhood enrollment in early childhood education & care programming through Illinois Cares for Kids, with a particular focus on Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) enrollment.
• Reach 138.6 million impressions to increase awareness over one year.

SOLUTION

How did you find 1o8?

Online Search

Why did you select 1o8 over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from 1o8 were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We asked three questions; Did you see it? Did it resonate with you? Did it impact your behavior? 1o8 developed a multi-tiered, bilingual yearlong campaign to drive awareness of Illinois Cares for Kids programs. This included broadcast, social, audio, programmatic, out-of-home, email, mailings& events and partner resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Total impressions goal 138.6 million - actual 264.7 million. 
• Period over period website traffic = +984% 
• Period over period organic search lift +457% 
• Direct traffic to the website + 308%

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

Project Management was fantastic. The communication was strong, and we were always a priority. Working with state agencies and in the political sector brings interesting challenges but 1o8 was always flexible and was able to change quickly to accommodate our needs.

What was your primary form of communication with 1o8?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The ability to bring the right people, partners and vendors to the table. Mid-development the decision was made that we needed to make Spanish marketing a priority, and not just translated ads but truly focus on what the Spanish community wants and needs. 1o8 was quick to partner with Paco Collective and bring the focus and intensity that was needed to build a multilingual campaign.

Are there any areas for improvement or something 1o8 could have done differently?

No needs for improvement, in fact we decided to continue this work and work on an additional campaign with 1o8 in the next fiscal year.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the marketing manager at a global industrial packaging company. We manufacture many different types of packaging, including metal, plastic, fiber, and hybrid solutions, and provide reconditioning services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

We were looking to design two new tradeshow banners to use at an upcoming show. We wanted one banner to highlight our solutions for a specific industry and the other banner to promote our empty packaging collection program.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We currently work with 1o8 on a paid search campaign.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We were working with a very tight timeline and required the final product in less than 1.5 weeks times. I dove right in with our project manager to discuss the details of the project, background of the upcoming tradeshow, and goals for the banners. She communicated this to the graphic designers who took my ideas and vision and elevated them to eye-catching, clear graphics.

What was the team composition?

The team was comprised of the project manager and graphic designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We will be using our new graphics at a tradeshow in the coming weeks. I am very pleased with out they turned out.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Because of the very quick turnaround of our project, we did not follow the typical flow of discovery and feedback meetings. The 1o8 team adapted their processes to work with our timeline and needs. Though this caused more email communication and clarifying questions, I appreciate their willingness to adapt and accommodate our situation.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their willingness to adapt, learn about our company, creativity, and truly wanting the best outcome for their clients.

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

In the future, when we do not have such a tight timeline, I would prefer to provide feedback via a call rather than email.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a private practice that provides therapeutic services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8, and what were your goals?

My website was created about 4 years ago and it needed to be completely revamped to focus on a different population, new name, logo etc.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Heard about this vendor via word of mouth and was impressed by the quality of past reviews.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had an initial meeting to discuss layout and other details of the website. From there, they created a draft, tweaked as needed, and then the designer created a Wordpress website.

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

We worked with the project manager, designer, and website developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have seen a significant increase in traffic since launching the website.

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

The team was led effectively and communication was consistent and clear. Turn around of material was quick they did an excellent job in explaining the strategy and layout of the website. They also provided a step by step explanation of how to make changes and/or update website in the future.

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

They provided an excellent outcome all while having clear and consistent communication throughout the process. They worked collaboratively as a team and I am very impressed with how they were able to make my vision of the website come to fruition.

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

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Owner of an independently owned fitness studio specializing in Pilates

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8, and what were your goals?

Initial SEO consulting after a revamp of our website with a goal of driving local, organic traffic

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

1o8 was a referral from a friend who runs several small businesses and came highly recommended.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

We had no prior SEO strategy - our old website was managed by a third party and was underperforming local competitors on search by a factor of 3x+. 1o8 walked us through the relevant factors affecting this underperformance and put together a comprehensive plan for improving our authority through backlinks and optimizing our content. They provided us with several options for free and paid tools that we are now using to make informed decisions about content that drives high-conversion traffic to the website and our local listings.

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

This was a very small project and we were able to work directly with Founder Aalap. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

While SEO takes time and this was a very recent project, we’ve already seen a 2x improvement in search traffic and continue to see weekly growth as we implement 1o8’s recommendations over time.

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

It’s a small project, but Aalap took the time to create comprehensive documents outlining the tools and metrics we need to track. In-person meetings were particularly helpful.

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

Their willingness to respond quickly to our questions despite the small scale of our project was impressive.

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

No complaints.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of BāKIT Box, a specialty baking kit company offering a subscription-based service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 1o8?

We needed help with our digital strategy and SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided 1o8 with everything we had, including information regarding our branding, our images, account information of our website and social media platforms. Then, they started off by working together in creating the best campaigns for our products, including our paid media campaigns. Since our products rotate, we have new menus all the time. Essentially, their work involves running all of our ads and campaigns and tracking all of the results of our projects. 1o8 also helps in ensuring that our website is SEO-friendly by editing our existing code and implementing additional code to make sure that we have an optimized platform.

What is the team composition?

There are 8–10 people from their team working for us, but we mainly interface with their CEO and account manager.

How did you come to work with 1o8?

I found their team by researching and interviewing a bunch of marketing companies. I chose them because they understood what we were trying to accomplish. More importantly, they already had a lot of clients that were in the food and beverage subscriptions market. They also offered a very hands-on experience.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working with them since July 2021, and we continue to collaborate.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The impressions on our posts have reached 43,000. On top of that, our lead generation is under 40 cents a lead, and we’re capturing a couple of thousand per month. Since we’ve had a great time working with 1o8, we decided to continue the engagement.

How did 1o8 perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very organized, and we have a dedicated account manager on our account. We also have weekly meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their extensive knowledge, especially in the Consumer Package Goods (CPG) industry has been helpful. They’re also very well-connected in the Chicago area. We consider them as the most helpful company for us at this stage, given the similarities of our companies. Overall, we’re happy with 1o8.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They have some organizational matters that can still be improved. Other than that, they’re generally easy to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear direction on what you’re looking for because they’ll run with it. If you have that, your partnership will be fruitful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Kid Made Modern is on a mission to create the next generation of creative thinkers. Since 2012 we’ve been making exclusive products designed to inspire children to push the boundaries of their imaginations while expressing themselves through creativity. Our collection of arts and crafts products are available at kidmademodern.com as well as at retailers around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8, and what were your goals?

We hired 1o8 to improve our SEO marketing efforts and Google Analytics dashboard.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We searched for an SEO vendor and looked to find someone who had previously supported education and children's products. We were also looking to hire a local agency.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We met biweekly to go over goals and project progress. We communicated regularly via Slack and maintained Google Documents to track our items.

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

We had a project manager and SEO expert on our regular calls.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We saw a significant increased in Organic Traffic YOY and we increased our rankings on relevant keywords for our business.

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

We had biweekly meetings with the team and used Slack for day-to-day management. The team is quick to respond to our questions whenever we have them.

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

The team had lots of knowledge to share and I think of all of our vendors, had the most knowledge of what was going on with our company. They came to meetings with ideas of how to improve our SEO visibility and keywords we should focus on.

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

I think clearer communication on goals and deadlines would have improved the project. None of the stuff we were working on were extremely urgent, but I think getting all of us on the same page with deadlines would have made the project more smooth.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP of Operations at Academic Approach. Academic Approach is an education company with a focus on ACT/SAT prep and academic tutoring.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8, and what were your goals?

Our project is focused on website development and digital marketing. Our goals are to create a new website and improve client engagement and conversion via email marketing and social media.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We wanted to work with an established partner, and 1o8 came highly recommended. We evaluated 5 companies. We wanted to work with a partner that was creative, understood the education sector, and could engage immediately.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

The initial phase focused on sharing all of our current marketing collateral and providing access to the various tools we use. Based on what we shared, 1o8 created a comprehensive plan to develop a new website and improve client engagement. The plan focused on improving the technical elements of our website, developing an SEO strategy, integrating Klavio to improve email marketing and tracking, and introducing Gain to expedite our content approval process.

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

6, founder, account manager, email marketer, social media marketer, creative writer, and web developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have seen a drastic increase in traffic to our website and email open rates are up 3x.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have weekly check-ins that have clearly defined agendas and outcomes. The workflow is simple but very effective.

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

1o8's ability to engage immediately was impressive. They didn't miss a beat - they were able to take the lead on existing campaigns, make recommendations to improve our ROI, and meet with our team on short notice.

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

1o8 has a done a great job!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

UpEquity is a non-traditional mortgage lender that allows homebuyers to submit cash offers and close with a mortgage in 21 days. I am the Director of Marketing and am responsible for all things marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

We use a third party POS system and were running into a handful of bugs when setting up GTM. 1o8 did all the testing and syncing to ensure GTM was firing correctly and then worked with me to build out a series of goals to track conversions.

We built out a prospect that outlined Leads -> MQL-> SQL->Clients. We've been able to use the data they are providing us to not just track leakage in the sales funnel but also monitor inbound lead sources by helping us clean up our channels.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Reached out to several agencies and was blown away by 1o8 industry expertise of marketing and it became clear they were more then a vendor but a partner that we could rely on.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We use a third party POS system and were running into a handful of bugs when setting up GTM. 1o8 did all the testing and syncing to ensure GTM was firing correctly and then worked with me to build out a series of goals to track conversions. We built out a prospect that outlined Leads -> MQL-> SQL->Clients.

We've been able to use the data they are providing us to not just track leakage in the sales funnel but also monitor inbound lead sources by helping us clean up our channels.

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

Aalap, CEO Sagar, Developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within weeks Aalap and Sagar took over the project from another vendor and completed it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They are the most reliable vendor I have worked with. If there is a fire they can step in, other than that they hit the agreed-upon deadlines.

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

Understanding of how the marketing mix fluctuates and being able to understand our needs to suggest programs in the future that could generate huge success in the months to come.

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

Not off the top of my head.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the business development manager at an advanced materials startup in Minnesota that makes nanotechnology equipped functional textiles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8, and what were your goals?

We had seen incredible organic sales with PR attention, but it dropped off within a week and we knew we needed to do something more advanced to stay competitive. With all the changes and technicalities in digital marketing, we knew it would be wise to hire an agency for support. 1o8 came highly recommended to us to drive sales with clearly trackable metrics and analytics.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

1o8 came highly recommended to us from our PR firm, and after a few initial conversations, we understood they had proficiency and experience in our particular market.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

Scope of work included SEO, website refresh, paid search and paid social - after initial on-boarding, I was connected to each person in charge of their specialty and they all utilized a wide range of tools.

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

We worked with the agency founder, an account manager and a specialist from each group.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The first deliverables saw above industry standard result, and were done thoughtfully with creative inspiration and deep knowledge and understanding of our product.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective workflow through email and video chats.

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

Aalap and his team all bring an incredible amount of experience and leverage that thoughtfully and creatively for every aspect of our campaign.

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

The on-boarding process took a while, but that was as much our fault as theirs, it is just an involved process. But we believe it was all very much worthwhile!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

FLI Charge is a consumer electronics startup based in Chicago. I am the Head of Product and E-Commerce, overseeing the product portfolio and roadmap from Concept to Mass Production. I led the company's pivot from B2B to Direct-to-Consumer E-Commerce and oversaw the launch of our brand online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 1o8?

1. Digital marketing and end-to-end strategy
2. Creation of E-Commerce storefronts on Amazon, Shopify, and multiple online marketplaces
3. Execution of social media ad campaigns (Facebook, Instagram, Reddit) to acquire customers and increase brand awareness (top of funnel).
4. Creation of Shogun landing pages to optimize conversion and conduct email marketing campaigns to drive traffic to these offers (bottom of funnel).

What were your goals for this project?

To jumpstart online sales across multiple channels and increase brand awareness.

SOLUTION

How did you select 1o8?

We were previously using a local marketing firm and their contractor to run social media ad campaigns, with no success. We searched for marketing agencies in Chicago with expertise in building Amazon storefronts, and came across 1o8 as the top result.

We were impressed with 1o8's broad expertise in SEO, creative, web design, and e-commerce.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The 1o8 team quickly developed a proposal and plan tailored to our short-term objectives, and assigned experts to help us design our Amazon storefront, optimize our product listings with A+ content, and identify backend keywords to help improve our search rankings.

The 1o8 team also helped us launch a Walmart storefront and create Shogun landing pages, as well as develop creative content for social media ad and email marketing campaigns.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with the 1o8 Founder, Aalap Shah, and a diverse team of designers, web developers, and experts who specialized in Shopify, Amazon, SEO, and social media advertising.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our work with 1o8 resulted in significant online sales during the Black Friday and Christmas holidays. Their ad creative resulted in high engagement and low CPMs on our social media ad campaigns, and the 1o8 helped us to quickly A/B test various creative concepts, and optimize these campaigns using analytics.

Their SEO expertise resulted in a quick boost for our keyword rankings. Overall, we were extremely impressed with 1o8's results and process. Our timeline was short and our goals were ambitious, and 1o8 stepped up to the challenge.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

1o8 assigned Stacy as the Project Manager to interface with us, and manage all Client communications. Staci was outstanding and helped us coordinate with all the members of the 1o8 team, and manage action items and deadlines.

We used biweekly team calls plus frequent communication via Slack and Email to coordinate our efforts, and ensure flawless execution.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

1o8 is a gem in the rough – a true partner with full service digital marketing capabilities in-house, plus an array of best-in-class partners to deliver cutting edge digital marketing results. The in-house talent was impressive, and the 1o8 team is laser-focused on client service and delivering measurable results.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were extremely fast-moving, so it was imperative to keep track of all open action items, owners, and due dates.

Ensuring that we stayed on track and closing the loop on all items was one area where we started off slowly, but the 1o8 team quickly stepped up and drove items to completion, while allowing us flexibility to pivot and make changes to our plan on the fly.

On larger client projects, more formal and structured project management might help with client communication and execution. Overall, I was pleased with the 1o8 team and their performance was exceptional, especially under the circumstances of a global pandemic – not being able to meet in person, etc..