AdVenture Media Group

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Hack Chinese is an online educational platform catering to students of Mandarin, Chinese. I am the Founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AdVenture Media Group?

We hired AdVenture to run our PPC advertising program.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to compete in the advertising marketplace in one of the most competitive industries: online language learning. We wanted to implement best practices as quickly as possible while keeping an eye on new and interesting marketing opportunities.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Isaac Rudansky is a famous marketer who not only founded AdVenture Media Group, but has also taught thousands of students on Udemy.com. I was one of his students, and was blown away by his depth of knowledge. When I decided to get serious with our marketing efforts, choosing AdVenture was a no-brainer.

Describe the project in detail.

We started with no online presence, a fiercely competitive marketplace, and a less than stellar online advertising history. Adventure had their work cut out for them. Our project started quickly, with the AdVenture team calling several of my existing customers to form a buyer persona. They then did analysis on the competitive landscape, not only researching which competitors I had, but also reviewing their advertising strategies and market presence.

Our first few meetings were more than I expected: the team came back with thoughts on strategy, pricing, page design, and potential pivot points to look out for in the future. They even used my product to get a sense of the buyer's journey, onboarding cycle, and user experience. While we kicked off several campaigns quickly, the budgets were kept low, as they wanted to make sure we were going in the right direction before stepping on the gas. Each time I meet with the team, I think I know what to expect, but they always layer in another dimension to how we can extract more value from the advertising platforms we are using.

What was the team composition?

I work mainly with two people. Everyone I have talked with is fully versed in the science of online marketing, but they do admit when they are unsure about something, and gladly pull in specialist assistance when needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Now half a year in, I've had several months of growth, most recently a 300% sales increase month over month. We still have a ways to go, but considering where we started, this positive trend is extremely encouraging.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Flexible scheduling, conference calls, and email do the trick. We meet on a regular schedule and also for impromptu one-off calls when needed. No issues whatsoever.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

This is an easy question to answer: Their depth of knowledge is impressive. The reality is that it's not too difficult to start a "PPC" shop. You can learn the basics of Google Ads, Facebook, or any other platforms in just a few days. But mastering these sales tools is another matter entirely.

Here are just some of the things AdVenture does for us, on top of just "creating ads": - Strategizing bid types - Strategizing daily budgets - Strategizing creative copy - Strategizing when to allocate budgets to new platforms, new campaigns, new experiments - Suggesting ad optimization A/B tests to run, and then running them - Suggesting on-page A/B tests to run, and then running them - Monitoring actual search terms daily for traffic sculpting opportunities - Monitoring competitor ads - Contacting and getting quotes from 3rd parties for audiovisual content for social media marketing - Suggesting pricing strategies to achieve the most long-term-value from my customers - Explaining the insights behind the metrics, based on their experience I have to add, nothing is ever "done". Even after efficiency wins in campaigns, our very next conversation is one "here's what we are thinking on how to improve this even more".

Are there any areas for improvement?

I would like the team to relocate from USA to Asia to be in my time zone, so I can have meetings at lunch.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a behavioral health group, and my role is chief marketing officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AdVenture Media Group?

We wanted to invest in paid digital, grow into other locations and markets, and open new facilities. We brought in AdVenture Media Group to help with PPC.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AdVenture Media Group provides full-service PPC support. They put together PPC campaigns and different ad groups. They’ve also helped build landing pages and a marketing automation program.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with five people, including a project manager, 2–3 analysts, and their CEO.

How did you come to work with AdVenture Media Group?

They had some good content and trainings online for PPC. It seemed like they knew their stuff in terms of PPC.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent over $5 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in the last quarter of 2016, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has helped us decrease our cost per acquisition, scale our budget, and open up three more locations.

How did AdVenture Media Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We usually have weekly calls. We also communicate via email, and we get weekly reports and monthly recaps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve not only helped with PPC but also other things indirectly related to PPC, like the creation of landing pages, edits and optimizations, and marketing automation. That’s definitely a differentiator.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I can think of.

Any advice for potential customers?

It is a team effort, so you do need to be almost as involved and committed as the agency to have a successful outcome. Don’t just have the agency figure things out on their own.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company provides on-demand IV (infusion) services. Our medical teams provide elective IV treatments for things like hangovers, food poisoning, migraines and many other ailments. We also offer a variety of vitamin-based beauty and wellness infusions. I am the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AdVenture Media Group?

We hired AdVenture to help get our digital marketing off the ground. We initially just hired them to manage our PPC spend, but they quickly proved to be much more capable and took over our entire digital marketing.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to increase our incoming sales and create awareness for our novel business model.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We looked through linkedin amongst our connections to see who was most popular and had the most recommendations.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

AdVenture managed our PPC spend on Google, Yahoo, and yelp. They developed the adcopy, managed the schedule of the ads, and what we should be spending. They also managed our Facebook and instagram ad accounts, including designing and targeting our ads in the most cost efficient way.

What was the team composition?

We had a core group of about 4 team members that were working on our account. We even had the CEO involved on a regular basis to offer his creative ideas and make sure projects are being run successfully.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did an amazing job! We are a fledgling startup when we met them. They took our hand and helped us grow our business by making the best use possible of our little funding. We were a boot-strapped company at that time, and the totally understood our financial constraints. They helped us count each and every dollar to make sure it was being used most efficiently by watching and managing our account almost 24/7. Their attention to detail and creativity helped increase our revenue by over 1000% over the course of year. We would not be where we are today without them.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their communication was flawless. They respectful of the different roles and personalities within our company, and we managed to develop an incredible workflow within our team and theirs. It was literally as if they were sitting in our office and part of our company.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Most impresses was their never ending creativity and desire to continuously help the company grow. They were not just about the numbers. They actually cared about seeing our business grow and succeed, even going above and beyond on a regular basis what was in the contract.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing to add here. Any issues are easily communicated with them and quickly addressed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am president of large training firm

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AdVenture Media Group?

we are one of the world leaders in business training, and we needed a firm with a global footprint ... after many interviews and presentations we made AdVenture Media our agency of record.

What were your goals for this project?

Goals were to use creative digital advertising to raise or profile and turn clicks into longterm clients.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

My team discussed our goals with many firms . Then used extensive interviews with each to get to know their organization and capabilities

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

first they took the time to learn our business. What I liked best is that they didn't use some cookie cutting method but built campaigns around our product. The ideas they presented made good sense and they were data driven in measuring success or failure so that no campaign ran a day longer then it should and the successful ones budgets could be raised quickly.

What was the team composition?

They assigned a manager to our account that reported to the company's founder and top management team. So I felt constant reviews of my account were diligently looked at

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In short we were able to increase our advertising yearly and enjoyed the growth that came with each increase.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very smooth

What did you find most impressive about this company?

creativity and data driven decisions . I also like how they built a personalize dashboard so I could personal understand and view all progress in real time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can think of .

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing manager for a furniture retailer. We are based out of South Florida and have projects throughout the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AdVenture Media Group?

I have hired AdVenture Media to take care our Google Ads account and more recently social media ads as well.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to get better reach to our clients and better traffic with more targeted keywords. We wanted the traffic to the website to be relevant and to inquire more about our products.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I took an online class on Udemy that Isaac, the founder of Adventure Media taught. I found it to be extremely helpful. Once I got more budget to dedicate to the campaign, I hired Adventure to manage our Google PPC account.

Describe the project in detail.

We started working with Adventure in 2017. We kicked off the project by discussing goals and objectives. The team brought forth many great ideas and strategies. We implemented those ideas and throughout the years we have done frequent meetings to adjust our needs and assess new concepts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have gotten great metrics from our campaigns. We review the data and continue to adjust for constant growth and success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication is great between our teams. We do frequent meetings and adjust each month. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Extremely knowledgeable team. They came to visit us a couple of times now and everyone I have met from their team has been extremely well-versed and data driven to continue to give us great results.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None at this time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager for a guided tour company. We run tours domestically and internationally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AdVenture Media Group?

We wanted to grow but didn’t have enough bandwidth to manage Google Ads and Bing Ads on our own. We’re a small team that has lots of ideas but didn’t have the time to execute the campaigns.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AdVenture Media Group manages our PPC campaigns on Google Ads and Bing Ads. We have meetings every two weeks when we talk about our ideas. We hear their suggestions but have skin in the game too. We rely on them to help us evolve our ideas and execute them. 

For example, our annual marketing strategy was turned upside down given external circumstances. We reached out to Erica (SEM Account Strategist) for guidance, asking what she’s learning and seeing in the market. I told her what I think and she made the plans happen. 

What is the team composition?

I’m in direct contact with Erica.

How did you come to work with AdVenture Media Group?

I sent RFPs and talked to agencies throughout the world. I went into this project with the expectation of securing a partnership, which is a crucial part of our engagement. I’m educated in Google Ads, so we didn’t want to work with a company that would take over the creative process.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $100,000–$150,000 with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our partnership in January 2019, so we’re just into our second year with AdVenture Media Group.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In 2019, we doubled our PPC budget and launched a new website that focused on SEO efforts. That provided a unique opportunity for us to align all of our campaign efforts across the board. Between a website that performed better organically, aligning SEO and PPC efforts, as well as doubling our budget, we tripled the amount of traffic to our site.

How did AdVenture Media Group perform from a project management standpoint?

I built a Google Sheet, which is an easy-to-use platform that archives everything. Lately, I shoot Erica emails because we’re dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. AdVenture Media Group also provides a wonderful dashboard where I can see any information I need. But if I need advanced data, I call Erica and she gives it to me. She’s receptive, available, and responsive. If I call her with a last-minute deal campaign and ask her to pull it, she pulls it within two hours. It’s nice to have their team's support.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service sticks out. It’s easy to work with AdVenture Media Group because their team listens and personalizes the relationship. Coming into a project of this magnitude, we needed personalization. Their team genuinely cares about our business and happiness. That relationship’s the bread and butter.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m happy with them. There’s always room for improvement but I can’t think of anything at the top of my head.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communication and engagement are a big deal. Don’t be afraid to throw ideas out. We're engaged in the partnership, so I can’t say if a hands-off approach would work or not. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

MyWallSt provides high-performing stock-picks with unrivaled investing guidance, helping both the beginner and novice investors to grow their financial wealth. I'm responsible for growing the userbase of MyWallSt's apps in the US market, through the management and development of a myriad of acquisition channels, including Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, and Apple Search Ads. MyWallSt currently has over 2 million downloads in 100+ countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AdVenture Media Group?

As the business grew, so did our business targets so we decided to work with on out-of-office agency to support us with our digital marketing strategy and efforts. We particularly needed support with our social media marketing so it was continuously updated and optimized.

What were your goals for this project?

To really optimize our ads, using their knowledge to effectively speak to our target audience and shout about our unique selling points.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We got in touch with several agencies that were similar but we chose Adventure because they took the time and energy to really understand our business and ask very relevant questions. They were also very responsive to any queries up until we started management and that responsiveness has continued ever since.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They've supported us with every element of digital marketing strategy e.g. management, analytics, budgets, imagery, and reporting. I've worked with several agencies in the past but they are by far the most responsive and involved.

What was the team composition?

I believe there were some changes in their team but there were no major issues. Handovers were handled very professionally.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have certainly seen improvements in specific channels with positive impacts on our overall online presence which is in a very competitive industry.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I can't recall any issues when scheduling a call or with communication. They make sure to double-check so no mistakes happen. We generally used Google Hangouts to have our calls which is the easiest solution. They also accommodate well for the time difference.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They really listen. They listen to our feedback and ideas, and if they have a better idea or they think our idea isn't a good one, they'll tell us, which is great. I often find that agencies have a 'yes-man' approach, but this isn't the case for Adventure Media. They'll also give us honest feedback.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of right now.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of demand generation and channel at a SaaS company, and we serve e-commerce vendors. Our services include helping them understand where they have tax responsibility, auto-filing returns, and providing real-time tax calculations for shopping carts on their site.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AdVenture Media?

Our SEM (Search Engine Marketing) had been on autopilot for a while. Our company was in rapid growth mode, and we realized we needed to give our SEM more attention.

The hope was to use our SEM as a primary channel for demand generation. We wanted to build it up and expand it. The overall goal was to create more conversions, which means more free trials of our software and more leads for our sales team. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided SEM fundamental services and consulted on strategy.

We asked them for a set of reports on a dashboard based on the results we’ve wanted to see. We chose results like trends over time, performance versus baseline, return on ad spend, and the return segmented by the types of spend. We can see which specific keywords are performing. They integrated with our UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) strategy and helped us understand how much we were paying per conversion for specific types of effort. 

Being a Google Premier Partner, they brought insights. They take the time to analyze our business so they can suggest strategies to increase conversions. The SEM strategies have ranged from how we bid on keywords to what we’re driving toward. They also consider how they could work with internal teams to create new assets. They give us an overall strategy for how to look at things today, tomorrow, and next year. 

What is the team composition?

When we first came on, they had 4-6 people analyzing and building out reports. Now, we consistently meet with 2-3 people every week. They review both the strategy and execution sides of the project.

How did you come to work with AdVenture Media?

I found them on Clutch and one other site. We went through half a dozen agencies, and we got three interviews deep with the final three. AdVenture impressed us with the soundness of their approach to the fundamentals and exciting suggestions (which have proven to be valuable).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March of 2019, and the partnership is ongoing. We don’t see any reason to look at other agencies—they’ve been growing with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have more than doubled the conversions that we’ve had on our site. In some months, we’ve more than tripled.  We also started creating leads at a very fast pace. Now, leads are a part of our mix for the first time. We anticipate that number growing as we fuel our sales team growth.
 
How did AdVenture Media perform from a project management standpoint?

There is a point person for our account, and we meet weekly. We check-in at least once per week. It’s not a super formal process, but it’s been great for what we need. They are constantly testing and trying to improve. 

They’ve also helped us with planning next year’s budgeting based on the math. It’s not a sales pitch—they look to the data to make recommendations. That approach has been light years ahead of what we’ve seen with past agencies. Also, the reporting dashboard they built has helped us move the needle faster and decide our spending strategy moving forward.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They came in with innovative strategies built on top of sound SEM services. Week after week, they are delivering on the strategy and promises they made in our first engagement. I’ve worked with several dozen agencies, and they are by far the best I’ve worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a little bit of turnover when we first started. But, the transition has been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They are a great agency that has your best interests in mind, which is unusual in the industry. If you’re looking to get the most out of them, come to the table with some ideas.

The more you engage with them, the more strategic advice they can give you. If you’re looking to sit back and put things on autopilot, you’ll waste their talent.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

ParkwayParking.com is an online aggregator for the parking industry focusing on travelers who need to locate affordable parking. We connect travelers with offsite airport & cruise parking across the United States & Canada. I'm the CEO Nicholas Letizia

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AdVenture Media Group?

We hired Adventure Media Group to help optimize and maximize our PPC accounts (Bing/Google) and help build our social presence across different media platforms online.

What were your goals for this project?

We want high-level insight using our data to apply it to our PPC accounts to find areas we are not capturing the full market share or missing opportunities. We want to build a social presence across Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twiter.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Through weeks of research and vetting other agencies.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Analyze our data, use it to improve our Bing & Adwords accounts. Help manage our PPC accounts. Help build our social media presence creatively and strategically starting with Facebook and LinkedIn.

What was the team composition?

We have a strong team supporting our goals from Nechama "the Data Scientist" we like to call her at Parkway, Ronnie, Patrick and Ari have all been great and we're looking forward to the ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Still ongoing, so far they provided value to my company.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It's been good so far.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It is great working with Adventure Media Group. They really took the time to understand my company and the industry, delivering amazing results. Their creative process has helped on our social platforms to deliver amazing results and their high-level marketing experience really shows with their quality work. I would highly recommend.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not yet. I enjoy working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a marketing director at Pure Dental Health. We're a full service dental organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AdVenture Media Group?

We wanted to attract more patients, so we were looking for a vendor to help us with digital marketing. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we took a course that they provided to get a better understanding of how Google Ads worked. Then, they did a free assessment of our website and made recommendations on how we could improve our conversion rate and increase traffic. They also helped us develop and implement a digital marketing strategy.

What is the team composition? 

I mostly worked with Nick (SEM Account Strategist, AdVenture Media Group).

How did you come to work with AdVenture Media Group?

The owner of our dental practice recommended the course that AdVenture Media Group was offering. After we took the course, we decided to bring them on board. 

How much have you invested with them?

We paid them about $1,865 a month.

What is the status of this engagement? 

We worked with them between June 2018–August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AdVenture Media Group made a lot of great suggestions and crafted the campaigns that target a specific patient. Our conversion rate has increased from 3% to about 7–11%.

How did AdVenture Media Group perform from a project management standpoint? 

They were always willing to answer our questions and share their knowledge. Also, they were very responsive and got back to us quickly, even during holidays or weekends. Unlike other companies we worked with, AdVenture Media Group made us feel like we were their only client. They were also very accommodating when there were days we had to shut down because of the weather and needed to stop the campaign.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very attentive and hands-on. They made us feel we were part of the process and educated us, helping us make decisions that were best for our business. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend taking the courses that AdVenture Media Group offers. You'll have a better understanding of the things they're explaining to you.