Adams & Knight

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I'm the former director of the Office of Tourism of the State of Connecticut. I retired about a year and a half ago.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Adams & Knight?
We needed support from a full-service agency to create a solid branding and marketing program, including advertising and doing creative assets.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We're a department of state and market the entire state of Connecticut. Adams & Knight is responsible for our office's advertising and marketing. The team has done research, created strategy, planned marketing, and created our branding identity. Adams & Knight has also been responsible for creative development and social media marketing. Adams & Knight has done TV advertising and produced the necessary creative assets. 

The team has also created print advertising. Adams & Knight has developed our website and offered maintenance, which has been a big part of our project. The team updates the site and manages changes when necessary, which is pretty much on a daily basis. Our internal teammate manages some web updates, but Adams & Knight offers support when required. The team manages our PR, and we directly work with two teammates on this. 

PR includes national, regional, and local media. Since we're located in Connecticut, a great deal of our PR and advertising work is targeted to the New York City and Boston areas. Adams & Knight conducts research, too. 

What is the team composition?

We've worked with around 35 teammates from Adams & Knight at any given time, including an account manager, an account executive, and the CEO.

How did you come to work with Adams & Knight?

Service providers must be on a list approved by the state to provide services for the State of Connecticut. That is how we found Adams & Knight since they're a large agency located in the metropolitan area of Hartford with a presence all over the country. We went through an RFP and bidding process and selected the team as our agency of record. The team underwent a strenuous review process involving a review committee that evaluated them.

During the process, we evaluated other agencies from New York and Texas. The state requires us to advertise the bid in different channels, and we narrowed the process down to 4–5 companies. Adams & Knight's presentation blew us away because of their abilities and creative work.

How much have you invested with them?
Our annual budget has varied from $1 million–$3.5 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Adams & Knight in January 2014, and the team has been retained since then but is required to go through a periodic review process. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Adams & Knight's work is amazing and has had a significant impact on our organization. We measure everything and have researched advertising and ROI, showing the advertising impact. We've also analyzed our branding and people's knowledge of our organization before and after we launched our ads. Every project Adams & Knight has worked on has led to an ROI. 

How did Adams & Knight perform from a project management standpoint?
We have weekly in-person meetings since their office is close to ours. We meet with our account manager and the teammates working on our project at that time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we had Zoom meetings. Adams & Knight delivers work on time and offers follow-up on every project in person. We have regular meetings and sessions, and the team has found a way to do all the work we need, which is spot on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Adams & Knight has conducted research and used it to gain unique knowledge in their area. The team comes with research to back up the work they present. Adams & Knight presents actionable items that are spot on and meet expectations. I've worked with many marketing agencies over the years and know what we need to do to be successful, and Adams & Knight is the best agency I've worked with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything the team can do better. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?
I suggest ensuring the right teammates are assigned to your account. I also recommend ensuring the agency's owners are committed to your project because many agencies only engage with you through an account manager. In the case of Adams & Knight, all the team is engaged with what we need to do, including the CEO.