Ascenial

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Director of USAFacts

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Nonpartisan, not-for-profit that makes government data more accessible and understandable for all Americans.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Ascenial to accomplish?

• Improve our paid search and paid social strategy
• Optimize our paid media buys across search and social platforms

SOLUTION

How did you find Ascenial?

Referral

Why did you select Ascenial over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Ascenial were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We hired Ascenial to revamp and improve our paid marketing strategy across search and social. We leveraged them to review and optimize our existing campaigns to better reach our goals. They  also managed our media planning and buying across Google, Microsoft, Meta, X and Reddit. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We significantly improved our KPIs across all platforms. We reduced our CPA while increasing conversions. We tested new platforms and were able to build an optimized channel mix that best reached our user target.

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

Lisa and her team were great partners. It felt like they seamlessly embedded into our team since they were so accessible and accommodating. They took initiative on projects and delivered everything on schedule. While we had weekly meetings, Lisa was also very communicative and responsive on Slack so that we could work together most efficiently. They got our paid marketing strategy to a much better place quickly and continued to look for ways to optimize throughout the project.

What was your primary form of communication with Ascenial?

Virtual Meeting

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

The flexibility and ease of working with Ascenial really stood out to me. They also took ownership of the work and you could tell how invested they were in the success of the project.

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

No, they were great partners!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Red Door Escape Room - we create, fabricate and operate escape rooms across the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were having a difficult time managing all of our digital ads across all our different locations and needed help on Facebook and google in particular to reach the right audience efficiently .

SOLUTION

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

They only take on limited clientele, so they could be very focused with our account and they are one of the best digital ad firms in the business.

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

They were on point for structuring all of our online advertising accounts, creating content, creating target ad segments and running ads each month, reporting on YoY success metrics.

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

We worked with Lisa, their customer success manager and Time, the owner/founder.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Great results! Strong YoY performance, great reporting and good transition to our team when we go big enough to take it back in-house.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent - they were efficient and communicative.

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

We were impressed with their focus on content and analytics - they have a holistic lens on the target customer and can think outside of the box when it comes to ad solutions. Very rigorous on documenting and testing.

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

Following up earlier when we missed bills.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of Léon & George, we're a California-based e-commerce specializing in premium indoor and outdoor plants, luxury ceramics, and lifestyle goods. Recognized for our streamlined local delivery service across California, custom-engineered packaging for nationwide shipping, and commitment to exemplary quality, we have cultivated a vast following since the brand's inception in 2016.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ascenial?

Ascenial fully managed our advertising channels on Facebook, Google, Pinterest, and TikTok.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were referred to Ascenial through Demand Curve.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Ascenial focuses on all paid channels, with a comprehensive strategy from top of funnel to remarketing campaigns. They also manage day-to-day operations, budget monitoring, and generating creatives.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a dedicated Director of ad operations who manages the paid search media buyer, paid social media buyer, and data analyst. There is also a Creative Director who supervises a video editor, graphic designer, and copywriter.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within one year of working together, we had a 5x increase in monthly revenue generated from ads. On Facebook, we saw a 227% increase in ROAS. On Google, we saw an increase in monthly revenue by 281% while keeping ROAS consistent.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication and project management is done via Asana, making it easy for our team to track progress and quickly interact with the Ascenial team. In addition, they provided regular reporting via screen recordings, which is convenient for a distributed team in different time zones.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are very thorough in their approach to testing and tracking results. They maintained a "Growth Log" for our account, recording all the test details and learnings. This was helpful for understanding which experiments were working and how we to build upon them.

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

They are excellent at process management and communication, though occasionally there could be more room for open brainstorming.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Bacon’s Heir, a direct-to-consumer and wholesaler of pork rind products. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ascenial?

We were trying to grow our presence online through digital advertising, and increase our advertising efforts on Amazon, Google, and Facebook.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Arsenal provides us with digital marketing, including social media and Google Ads marketing. At the start of the project, they essentially set up a workflow system where we’re able to communicate our deliverables and timelines. They also implemented a tracking spreadsheet so we can see the performance of our ads on a monthly basis. After that, they created a workbook of our progress and the results of the ads they generate for us.

We track each ad to see how they’re performing, so we’ll have a record of their results for future use.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Tim (Founder), Lisa (Director of Client Growth), and a content director.

How did you come to work with Ascenial?

I met Tim at a Shopify conference. We basically kept in touch with them to discuss ads and we eventually decided to have them jump in on the opportunity that my business had. 

Tim was actually one of the speakers of that conference and we went with them because I knew he had the knowledge to help us out.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership started in January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since partnering with Ascenial, we’ve garnered high numbers on Amazon and Facebook. Being systematized and process-oriented helped us hit our deadlines on time and achieve our goals.

How did Ascenial perform from a project management standpoint?

We get favorable communication through Asana. We would also have monthly calls and emails to discuss certain aspects of the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their general level of organization, skill, and understanding of their own focus.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Ascenial was still growing when we started working with them, and our point of contact changed a few times. That’s something they could’ve improved, but I understand it was just part of the growing process all companies go through.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would say that having trust in their plan is very helpful in executing your vision. I understand that to make ads work, you need to spend a fair amount of money and if you’re trying to limit your budget, you may not really understand what you need to do. Therefore, I would suggest giving them free reins on the process and trust their decisions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of HyperbitsMusic.com

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ascenial?

We needed help with our advertising on Facebook & Google; both creatively and structurally. We could not figure out how to scale past a very small amount of spend per month.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Word of mouth based on the founder's credentials (an M&A + head of a growth marketing agency I heard of).

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Basically full set up and management of all of our advertising. Got us scaling ASAP. And then helped me train an in-house hire after we hit a period of extended stability at our new monthly ad spend that I'm super happy with.

What was the team composition?

It was the founder, Tim, along with his head growth strategist, creative director, and paid media buyers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Ascenial 10xed our ad spend and IMPROVED our ROAS. Advertising is now one of the *primary* channels of our business.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Love the way they communicate - video updates. Saved me so much time, I hate pointless meetings. Basically, I always knew what was going on in the account in a simple way. No bogus updates ever.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The level of transparency, the expertise/experience of the team, and their "growth log". The growth log is badass, it basically shows you every test they have going on.

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

I really wish they could produce their own high end production videos, but they were still able to manage the relationship with studios. We never bit the bullet with the high end production stuff - just way too expensive. Hopefully they offer that as a part of their services one day.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder & COO of Joon.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Ascenial?

We were looking for an advertising coaching program. We wanted to be coached Meta (Facebook & Instagram ads) along with other advertising channels.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Found Ascenial through the Y Combinator recommendation portal.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Advertising coaching. This included reviewing/auditing our campaigns and having a weekly call where I would go over my advertising goals and they would provide feedback and guidance.

What was the team composition?

Lisa led the coaching and auditing with support from her business partner, Tim.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Created a further systemized approach to our ads - completely re-did our campaigns and re-thought our creative testing methodology. Saw great results!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very good - done all through Zoom calls with mutually shared screens for coaching.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I really appreciate the level of expertise. They clearly managed a lot of spending, attesting to their advertising expertise. 

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

None that I can think of