AIS Media, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the president of id8, a specialized branding agency. We were established in 2000 and have been building brands for small and mid market organizations with great success for 20 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIS Media, Inc., and what were your goals?

We are both working for a brand 28 Black that is a German brand looking to launch in the USA. We were engaged to build the brand and AIS was engaged to garner brand visibility and reach through social marketing, SEO and content development.

SOLUTION

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

AIS Media is known in Atlanta to be the most meticulous and knowledgeable about SEO and the almost daily changes with Google and the algorithms within search engines. Their goal is that their clients are found online when someone is searching for that product or service.

They are wonderful to work with because they are attentive, educational and experts. SEO is incredibly challenging and they make it look easy. Plus we know they will make every deadline and reach or exceed the goals set in place.

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

We began with a brand strategy and creating a brand platform with positioning and messaging along with updates to their website. AIS did the SEO work on the website by determining the keyword strategy, writing the meta data, H tags and updating the content to adhere to the keyword strategy.

They then put into place a social media strategy to build reach, engagement and impressions for the three audience segments. They currently maintain the social media strategy and continue to build out the search for the client.

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

There are three professionals that worked with our team. Denise Maling, Client Services Zoe Ferqueron, Marketing Content Writer Sam Saidman, Client Success Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The client is very happy and we are getting greater reach than anticipated. The social growth is above the average benchmark.

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

Project management is thorough as they use a system called Basecamp and we use a system called ProWorkFlow. The AIS Media team wanted to be a part of our system as well to ensure that captured all information.

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

Their speciality and knowledge in SEO. Many companies say that they do SEO, very few actually know SEO and how to impact change. After 5 minutes with their team, it's apparent that they are experts. Quick to answer calls and respond to needs.

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

No. We would love to work with them more often!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is the oldest marketing and advertising digital agency in Atlanta. My position is senior manager of partnerships and marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AIS Media, Inc?

We work together with their team as partners to serve different needs for our clients. They provide specific content services and anything that they see as a good fit for our agency we work together on to find solutions, and vice-versa.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of our recent projects involved a healthcare system that they brought to us where we were able to put together a landing page for donations for that client. On a more general front, they help out with everything from discovery, to general strategy work, to specific product execution for our mutual clients.

What is the team composition?

There are a couple of individuals at their company that we work directly with across projects.

How did you come to work with AIS Media, Inc?

Our teams have collaborated on and off for about 10 years, so the relationship has grown and expanded over that time.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first started working together around 2010, and we collaborate on an ongoing basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because of the nature of the partnership, we don’t have specific metrics in terms of end results, but our clients have always been very satisfied with the quality of their work.

How did AIS Media, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They are phenomenal about staying on time and maintaining constant communication. Their attention to detail has always been really helpful to us with staying on top of project milestones and tracking progress through email and other forms of contact.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their caliber of service is the best we’ve had the pleasure of working with. They’re very quick, thoughtful, and an all-around wonderful partner to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they do a really great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prioritizing open and honest communication is the most important thing you can do for the relationship.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing manager at a financial software firm for banks and credit unions. Our parent company manages three sub-brands, two of which focus on banks and credit unions respectively, while the third brand works with various businesses inside and out of the financial industry. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AIS Media?

We lacked in-house resources to grow our company’s brand recognition through SEO and PPC.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AIS collaborates with our marketing and copywriting teams on SEO and PPC campaigns. They aid in content curation and help develop website landing pages.

How did you come to work with AIS Media?

Our due diligence initially yielded three potential vendors. We held an in-person brainstorming session; their solid foundation, expertise and industry position impressed us.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in November 2016 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of our existing campaigns has generated 68 new leads, an impactful number for our organization. Closing a deal with even one of those leads would be significant. 

How does AIS Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We meet with our AIS project manager and his team on a weekly basis. We go through our SEO and PPC tactics to address questions and identify various action items. AIS is very responsive to our inquiries and are able to answer our questions in real-time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take the time to learn about our industry. Our point of contact is responsive to phone calls. Their efficient communication makes us feel valued.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are continuing to learn about our industry, which will continue to improve our lead activity.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your due diligence and don’t be afraid to ask difficult questions. Have project goals and a reasonable timeframe in mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing director at American Health Imaging. We have over 20 locations in the Southeast U.S.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AIS Media?

We wanted to increase the number of good reviews for our locations and organically increase our website’s traffic volume.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AIS does SEO to increase organic web traffic which leads to more positive reviews. They collaborate on key word lists that are developed in–house and then track and adjust them, for all our locations, using qualitative measurements. Furthermore, they keep us up to date on Google’s algorithm and other business tools.

Additionally, they collaborate with us on digital content creation by authoring blog posts regarding topics we identify. AIS is also re-designing our website to improve content and information access, to help us launch new facilities.

What is the team composition?

My primary point of contact is the account manager at AIS who has his own team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $2,800 per month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Web traffic increased 27.8% between 2016 and 2017. That number represents organic traffic and all new visitors. Call conversions increased 30% as well.

How did AIS Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re scheduled to meet with the AIS account team for 30 minutes every two weeks. They are responsive and exhibit a level of dedication that is an outlier in the industry. They utilize an online project management tool and promptly respond to questions we post there.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They keep us up to date on SEO best practices and trends. Their flexible approach helps them adjust to our changing needs. They maintain their level of engagement throughout the relationship where other companies become complacent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We could better highlight our competitive prices if they kept us more up to date on the healthcare news landscape. I would also like more suggestions about back–linking to our website.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company includes a retail store in business in suburban Atlanta (the Buckhead area) since the early 1970's, selling snow ski and snowboarding apparel and equipment to sport-enthused consumers.  We've had an eCommerce presence for just over five years, and as the eCommerce Manager I set up systems, procedures and work with many outside vendors to help continue the growth and profitability of our web business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire FusionHit?

While our retail shop (founded in 1972) in Sandy Springs, Georgia, is among the largest in the southeast, our web presence is relatively young, with us starting our sixth season this fall. Getting our name out beyond the southeast and increasing our organic page one rankings for relevant keywords is a continual challenge.  

What were your goals for this project?

We want to always be bringing in more and more shopping an buying traffic.  We sell medium to ultra-high end performance and fashion ski and snowboarding clothing for men, women, boys and girls.  We also sell skis, boots, binding and snowboard equipment.  Our ski and snowboard installation and repair shop has a great reputation throughout the southeast.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

AIS contacted us about over three years ago, seeking to partner with us.  The fact they are local to our office proved to be a benefit, as we've has a few face to face strategy sessions, which are always beneficial.  There is a team that works with us routinely, supply reports and comment.  

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Part of our strategy has involved employing the services of AIS to help us with our general SEO, both on and off site. AIS has helped us with guidance on product and category pages, where and how to add content and how to insure valuable website 'real estate' is performing and not wasted.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Going into our third season, we are happy with the continual growth of the keywords that are moving to the page one of search engines which, in turns increases our traffic. With their help/direction for on-site improvements and content placement, along with their 'secret sauce,' they have helped lead us to have nearly double digit growth almost every year since we went live on-line. They have shown positive results for their efforts. During our busy season, we have monthly (or more frequent) sessions to review results with a number of reports and discussion.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of one of the nation’s leading providers of custom stair and handrail solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AIS Media?

We wanted to improve our web presence. While we have a national sales team who sells products outside of our core markets, we wanted to improve our visibility to clients who are in other parts of the country.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a sister company that is based in Arizona, so we wanted to take our two websites and combine them into a unified national brand and national presence. AIS Media helped us come up with the right strategy to handle combining the two brands. They completely rebuilt a new website for us, including the frontend in WordPress and the backend. We collaborated with them on the look and feel of the site. We outlined what our message was and what type of client we were targeting. They also do ongoing search engine optimization work for us. We worked closely with them to evaluate the data and identify possible keywords. Then, we took that information and decided internally which keywords were the most important. We target local and national audiences.

How did you come to work with AIS Media?

We did a Google search and AIS Media came up. We figured if they don’t rank well on Google search for SEO, then they’re not good candidates. We identified three or four candidates who were based in Atlanta and interviewed them all. We chose AIS because we felt they would be the best partners for us. Their communication style and our ability to collaborate with them were some of the reasons we chose them.

How much have you invested with AIS Media?

We spend $50,000 per year with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2013, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

AIS Media did an excellent job of providing the look and feel we were trying to capture. We’re very proud of the website. Our web traffic has improved substantially and so has the quality of the leads that we’ve gotten. They’ve also done a good job of improving our rankings for important keywords. With any project, there are a few bumps in the road, but AIS is doing a good job of executing our plans.

How did AIS Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication has been effective at all levels of the organization. The junior people work effectively with our marketing team, and the senior people work effectively with our senior team. We communicate mostly through phone and email, and we also meet in person. They used a tool for project management and were very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about AIS Media?

The strength and capability of their senior team are impressive. Our contact person is Denise, who is one of the senior executives with the organization. She’s great to work with. She’s very sharp and makes things happen. Denise understands the web world so she was able to guide us effectively through this process.

Are there any areas AIS Media could improve?

Nothing comes to mind right now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Director for an Industrial Design studio focuses on Wellness & Health.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AIS Media, Inc., and what were your goals?

We were competing against multiple companies that shared our name across categories and were having trouble landing at the top of the page even for our industry. We needed to increase brand awareness, be easily found by those already in the know and we needed to control our Google search ads to expand awareness of the services available and on offer.

SOLUTION

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

We felt that AIS understood our business more than other agencies we spoke with. We felt comfortable in their hands and in their ability to lead us in the right direction whenever we weren't clear on where we wanted to be and what steps to take next. The pricing and proposal were a good fit to the company.

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

AIS was able to grasp and understand the niche business we're in and helped us formulate short and long-tail keywords that allowed is to defend our own territory and rise above other companies that shared our name. AIS performed a site analysis and were able to uncover several technical and copy errors that were blocking our audience and skewing the data, they made several changes within the site copy and created new content to incorporate in our search ads. Their ability to read the data, understand our business & our audience, and recommend strategic next steps and tactics we did not yet have in place.

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

We were assigned an executive lead who was able to interpret the data and strategize next steps, a project manager who kept everyone on track and informed, a coordinator who supported the project manager and a copywriter who helped us focus our search ads.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our ranking on search results improved and we were able to make the site changes we needed to move forward based on their expertise.

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

Project management was collaborative and transparent. Conversations and documents were posted and shared via Basecamp and regular meetings were attended by the entire team. Turn around time was never an issue in working with AIS.

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

The ability to understand our business and it's unique attributes very quickly was impressive, and with that understanding came strategy suggestions that fit our particular business well. We weren't left putting effort in where effort wasn't needed and were able to capitalize on the areas of focus. The team was professional, strategic, collaborative & organized, and responsive at all times. Their willingness to work beyond scope at times, in order to set us in the right direction, was immeasurably helpful.

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

No, I felt the attention and approach to our business was appropriate and intelligent.