Bastion Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Check Capital Management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Agency?

We needed help with PR and marketing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bastion Agency provides various services for us, including press releases, promotional videos, and media outreach to major outlets like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and CNBC. They’ve assisted us with live interviews and helped create a new logo and branding for our website. The team has designed and developed our website using WordPress and is currently in charge of our PR efforts. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around a dozen teammates from Bastion Agency, including Steve. We’ve also collaborated with a co-founder, a project manager, and a PR lead. On top of that, we’ve met with their founder and CEO. 

How did you come to work with Bastion Agency?

We found them through Google and chose them because they were the perfect balance between a large agency and a small shop. They had 15–20 employees, which was a good fit for us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We initially paid them around $10,000 per month for the first year of engagement and then spent around $35,000 on the website. These days, we’re paying them around $5,500 per month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in September 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen increased website traffic, brand awareness, and engagement. Overall, Bastion Agency’s work has exceeded our expectations. 

How did Bastion Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They deliver work on time and within budget and communicate well with us. We communicate via email, phone calls, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been impressed with Bastion Agency’s PR work. They do a wonderful job of getting to know our business and leveraging it for public awareness.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be ready to have a good time and be as open as possible about your goals. They listen well and do a good job of understanding your needs. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of IQAir

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a Air Quality Technology Company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Bastion Agency to accomplish?

World Air Quality Report rollout

SOLUTION

How did you find Bastion Agency?

Referral

Why did you select Bastion Agency over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Bastion Agency were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

This year we worked with Sarah Hermina and her team at Bastion Agency to be an extension to our internal Public Relations team and they did a wonderful job. Sarah always takes the time to answer any questions I may have and provides us with all the options available. She is very professional, helpful, and great to work with. I would recommend Sarah and her team at Bastion to anyone who is looking for a great Public Relations expert to work with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This year we worked with Sarah Hermina and her team at Bastion Agency to be an extension to our internal Public Relations team and they did a wonderful job. Sarah always takes the time to answer any questions I may have and provides us with all the options available. She is very professional, helpful, and great to work with. I would recommend Sarah and her team at Bastion to anyone who is looking for a great Public Relations expert to work with.

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

Yes, and they responded promptly via email. phone, and teams messenger 

What was your primary form of communication with Bastion Agency?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The quality of work and response time were outstanding.

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

none. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Vice President of Lineage Watch Co

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Custom designer watch brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Bastion Amplify to accomplish?

• Assistance creating our brand as a start-up
• Website development, content circulation
• Social media management

SOLUTION

How did you find Bastion Amplify?

Online Search

Why did you select Bastion Amplify over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Bastion Amplify were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Bastion has been critical in assisting Lineage Watch Co. with all facets of our brand's creation. Marketing, web development, social media, PR, and in-house production shots of our product have been instrumental in ensuring our company launches on our targeted start date, which has been outstanding considering time constraints from when we first executed our agreement. The team has worked extremely hard to get us ready for our launch!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Social media engagement, utilizing Amazon for additional exposure based off of reviews, SEO, branding.

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

Bastion has been excellent with ensuring all agendas, updates on production of work, and samples of web development are circulated immediately after our weekly meetings for us to review more thoroughly. Any additional questions we have had, someone from the team would be very quick to respond and assist.

What was your primary form of communication with Bastion Amplify?

In-Person Meeting

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

We immediately could sense not only the great expertise in our consultation, but also, their passion and excitement in being our partner moving forward with our launch. We knew immediately after our initial meeting with the team that we would be in great hands selecting Bastion.

I certainly speak for us all at Lineage when I say we couldn't be more grateful for having chosen Bastion to represent us as we prepare for our launch! We couldn't be happier with the great lengths the team went to incorporate what we'd envisioned for our brand, and we can't wait to see how the content turned out.

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

Absolutely not! They have been so great to work with and accommodating whenever we needed to reschedule. Very happy with the progress of our project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder, CEO, and sole proprietor of "Nicole Malachowski & Associates, LLC". In this capacity I provide professional speaking and consulting services to Fortune 500 companies on leadership, teamwork, change management, and overcoming adversity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I had recently retired from military service and was looking to move into the Speaking and Consulting industry. At that time, I had zero branding and a near non-existent social media presence. My goal was to have Bastion help me define my brand, develop a client-facing website to communicate my brand, and create ongoing social media content to interact with my audience and enhance my brand.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I'd interacted with two other companies prior to Bastion, but neither of them seemed to pick up the details of how I wanted my brand to be perceived. There was no feeling of connection, and our interactions were very transactional. That all changed with Bastion. When I spoke with the Bastion team, there was an instant energy and an almost unbelievable attention to detail that was unmatched. There was also a willingness to actually actively collaborate with me on the development of my brand and content. Bastion is exquisite about developing a personal rapport with me, and they have sustained that feeling for nearly 18 months.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

The Bastion team did a fine job of tackling my request in a very methodical fashion. They came up with a detailed plan and timeline that were reasonable and agreed to. We had regular weekly meetings (sometimes daily if I requested it), to chat about interim steps in the process. This allowed us to make the necessary small tweaks all along the way, it was very efficient. The Bastion team has always been very responsive to any inquiries from me, always happy to jump on a phone call or a Zoom. They have always been extremely timely in their responses, which makes me know they care about our relationship and my brand.

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

My initial contact was with CEO of the Bastion Agency, USA. After understanding my needs, he handed me off to the CEO of Bastion Elevate, their PR, Branding & Marketing Firm. To this day, she maintains close contact with me as I work with her team. This team includes the Vice President of Digital, the Senior PR Account Manager, and their Social Media & Client Success Manager. I feel like I know each and every one of them very well, they know me well, and I can assure you that they work seamlessly together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because of the efforts of Bastion Elevate, I now have a website that is often complimented by my client and business prospects. It represents my brand to the highest standards and draws in business. I have a social media presence on three platforms which I never had before. My social media following grows exponentially every month and has been the linchpin to communicating and solidifying my brand.

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

The Bastion Elevate team is, first and foremost, collaborative in all they do. Not only do they keep open lines of communication with me, but its' clear they work very well together. Any one team member knows everything that's going on with my account, they share information, and there are no silos amongst them. I am able to e-mail, text, or call any team member at any time and I always receive a response within minutes. They make it very clear that they are at my service. They are also extremely open to feedback and happily welcome my input.

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

The feeling of connection I have with them. I know it's business, but they know me and my brand so well that I feel like they've become my friends. They care about me and the success of my company and, most importantly, they care about the positive impact my business is having on others. They stand behind me and my mission & vision.

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

I'm not pandering: I can't think of anything to critique.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

International Fruit Genetics (IFG) is a breeding company that develops new, grower-friendly and higher-yielding varieties of table grapes, cherries, raisins, and other fruit products. These varieties require little pruning and produce better colors without the need for different kinds of treatment.

We’re based in Bakersfield, California but we have around 75,000 acres of plantation in about 15 different countries. We’re an intellectual property company in that we develop these fruit varieties, license them to growers around the world, and collect royalties from their sales.

Our biggest crop is table grapes and we’re beginning to expand to low chill cherries. IFG has become known for developing fruits that have a special flavor, unique shape, and the ability to grow in otherwise unplantable conditions or temperatures. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Elevate?

We needed to make an important international press release but we didn’t have the wherewithal or know-how. We brought in Bastion Elevate to help us get internationally publicized.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have done three press releases in 2020 and three in 2021. These press releases have covered infringement cases, intellectual property rights for our fruit varieties, and our company’s 20th anniversary. We’ve also published our new branding, logos, and packaging artwork in other countries.

The team has also created the text and graphics for 30 paid advertisements that are posted across the Produce Marketing Association, Fruitnet.com, and various other publications and sites of international organizations. They’ve managed our industry trade shows and have secured us a spot on the panel board. 

Bastion Elevate has even prepped us for the interviews, providing us topics that they believe will be asked during the event.

We’ve begun to use Bastion Elevate’s services to gain worldwide exposure. They’ve helped us get a lot of media coverage for our initiatives and have assisted us with getting bylines for different topics. The team has also begun to oversee our social media presence across Facebook, Linkedin, and Instagram. 

What is the team composition?

We have one main point of contact who we meet with twice a week. The owner of the company participates, too, along with the graphics team, writers, and social media specialists. I would say there are about six people who work with me in-and-out depending on the task at hand. 

How did you come to work with Bastion Elevate?

Bastion Elevate was recommended to our CEO. We found that they were extremely professional, very knowledgeable, and highly successful when it comes to press releases, so we hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Bastion Elevate in March 2019 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our worldwide exposure has opened up many doors for us. We’ve been able to get a lot of coverage and as of July 2021, we have around 400 million year-to-date circulations. From January–July 2021, we’ve secured 57 domain values for our 47  lifestyle media placements. We’ve also earned a spot in major publications in South Africa, Chile, Peru, and China. With around 300 social media, our total media outreach has reached 63 with 1.6 million total impressions.

Because Bastion Elevate has gotten our name out there, we’re now constantly being asked to make comments about different topics in various magazines and publications. The team has designated the best people from our team to respond to interviews and created a lot of exposure for our CEO and staff. 

How did Bastion Elevate perform from a project management standpoint?

Bastion Elevates’s experience and extreme organization have kept us on our toes. They’ve been able to handle and keep track of everything that we’ve thrown their way. The team has also been very involved when it comes to preparing for and participating in interviews.

We’ve held meetings to go over what would be posted on our social media pages, corresponding through email, text, calls, and Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Bastion Elevate’s professionalism has been the most impressive thing about them. They know what they’re doing and they’ve been able to deliver exactly what we’re asking. We’ve had an unsophisticated marketing department prior to this engagement, but Bastion Elevate has raised the bar for us when they came along.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything negative to say about them at all. I’m so happy with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that Bastion Elevate knows your company culture and your industry. Spend time during the initial meetings to let them know who you really are and what you’re after because the team needs to be able to represent you. If you must, provide them with photographs, videos, and an opportunity to conduct staff interviews.

They're very bright and they learn quickly, so allow them to capture your voice and deliver your message to whomever you want to reach. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

NexSpring Financial is a fintech company that provides a broker platform to the brokerage mortgage industry. I’m the business development manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Elevate?

Our platform and technology have been around for almost four years, but we only launched it last year. We needed someone to market and advertise the platform to the social media platform for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Bastion Elevate provided us with video production, digital strategy, and social media marketing. We initially started the conversation about developing landing pages, and different items where we could collect broker needs. However, we also started with a video, so they filmed and produced a short advertising video — which they also marketed for us on Facebook and Instagram. This was done to drive visitors to our landing page.

They did a lot of planning, directing, and highlighted different points in a short period of time. We came up with some of the terminologies in the script, but they took over the whole project and provided us with directions to set up different landing pages.

Moreover, they presented us with a couple of great opportunities to produce other types of videos, and right now, we’re in the process of discussing them with our executive team. 

What is the team composition?

Our primary contact was Jordan (Social Media Director), but we also worked with about 6–7 other people from their team.

How did you come to work with Bastion Elevate?

I actually knew Jordan and the scope of work that he did, so he and I had a couple of discussions prior to me bringing them to NexSpring. Initially, we also priced out a couple of different competitors and the services they could offer. However, going with Bastion Elevate was the best avenue, and everybody just decided this was the direction to go. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $6,600 in advertising spend to date, and $2,500 for the video production. Overall, we’ve spent almost $10,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the discussions about the video in August 2020. The partnership remains ongoing as we’re still running advertisement campaigns right now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our industry is obviously big on metrics and reporting, so we’ve been doing conversion reports every week. We have the actual leads that we’ve got in contact with and we have an extremely high conversion rate — 77% of which are the ones we get on the phone to discuss the project.

The partnership was extremely successful in reaching the audience that we wanted.    

How did Bastion Elevate perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed really well and they were extremely responsive. We’re the ones who actually got held up on the compliance side of things. We had bi-weekly check-in calls, they sent weekly reporting, and we had access to a dashboard where we can check the progress of the project at any point in time. Additionally, they were also very quick on the production side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m honestly looking forward to some of the other projects, because they really have great ideas on how to expand or look into new strategies. They’re always offering new suggestions and how to get everything out from what we’re doing — they really have great direction in that whole space.

Social media is a realm of its own and they were just so great with the direction, support, and ideas to enhance everything that we tried to accomplish.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t really have anything to say because everything we needed, they respond to quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s just a matter of asking a lot of questions and deploying help for it. Our company was trying to save a little bit at the beginning since it was a launch of a new product. We were trying to do some things on our end, but we just let the experts do what they can do.

We asked a lot of questions about what services they can do that are outside of their scope, because it seemed like they can cover a large scope of items. Had we disclosed a little more at the beginning, we could've gotten more of their versatile services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the e-commerce marketing manager for an e-commerce company that sells a medical device for hair growth. We also carry care products such as shampoo, conditioner, and supplements, as well as serum.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bastion Elevate?

Our goal was to create a platform that showcased our products, as well as showcased reviews and the results people had.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

With Bastion Elevate, we had monthly calls and would come up with the strategy, as well as what we wanted to hit for the month. So, the initial call came a month prior to when we would go live and we collaborated on assets, images, and what we thought we wanted to feature. We provided them with those ideas and then we would collaborate and go in and provide them the assets.

If there were any videos that we wanted to create from scratch, we collaborated on the concept of the video and then they presented us with the final product. In order to post to our social media platform, they used Sprout Social to utilize, schedule, and provide analytics. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Shana (CEO), a social media director, and a copywriter. We also had various video editors and graphic designers.

How did you come to work with Bastion Elevate?

Our VP of operations used to work with Shana.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together back in 2017 and recently ended the partnership with them in January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before we started working with Bastion Elevate, all of our processes were pretty outdated because we were still using Google Sheets. Them transitioning us into Sprout Social has really improved the process and got rid of spreadsheets to make it more efficient. Each year, since working with Bastion Elevate, our social media followers have grown by at least 20%–30%. 

In terms of engagement, that has always been one of the top metrics that we want to focus on, and that has improved as well. Social media also helps us improve our assets as well. Our videos were outdated before, but we’ve implemented a lot of new assets and graphics that help us align our feed and make it an account that people want to follow. The number of posts that we’ve published has increased as well by about 20%.

How did Bastion Elevate perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very organized and always very transparent with what they saw with any new trends that were going on and making us all aware. They were very in tune with what was going on in the market, particularly for social media. After converting to Sprout Social, they were able to share the layout and review comments back and forth on our assets before going live.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There are certain things you can and cannot say with our products just because it’s a medical device, and they were very thorough in educating themselves and our audience on our product. They were very well versed on what we could actually say on our social platform. They were able to understand our brand, which is very important. It’s especially hard to understand the brand, the brand voice, and what we’re looking for and we were able to get into a rhythm, which was fantastic.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Reinventing new ideas as well as finding other new trends I think could have been done a little better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Provide all of the materials about your brand, your voice, your copy, and the main point you want to have on your social media. That way they guide their strategy and planning. When we had all of those items ready, it was easier for them to plan out their strategy, calendar, and think about other ways that could grow our social media.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the social media manager at a heritage toy store in the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bastion Elevate?

We reached out to Bastion to help us quickly turn around an influencer campaign to promote a huge partnership. They were able to source a vast list of influencers, pricing and coordinate the campaign in a week's time--super fast!

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to increase brand awareness of the partnership!

SOLUTION

How did you select Bastion Elevate?

Our team has worked with many agencies and we chose Bastion because they were the most hands on, thorough, and communicative throughout the whole process.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After Bastion sourced a larger list of influencers, we picked our final partners and moved forward with shipping them product for promotion. Bastion coordinated approval of posts during and invoices upon completion. They finished our project with a beautiful and detail oriented review so we could see the direct results of our efforts.

What was the team composition?

I personally worked closely with their account manager who was very accommodating and communicative with all of us throughout the process. I really appreciated her updates!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because of our campaign with Bastion we were able to increase brand awareness, assets in our library and sales during the holiday season!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was amazing. Our account representative practically held our hand throughout the whole process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We loved how the lead executives still participated in the calls and meetings. It made us feel that Bastion values all clients.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I am only curious as to how and where they source their influencers. I would have liked to see even more of a variety.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Unispace partners with global brands to transform their business goals into inspiring workplaces. To achieve this, we provide a seamless project experience through strategy, design and construction.

As global head of brand and communications, I'm responsible for building and positioning the brand across the 46 cities in which we operate.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bastion Elevate?

Unispace had reached its 10th year in business and was poised to make some big executive changes for further growth in the industry.

Hired Bastion Elevate to work on a PR announcement about important executive restructuring at Unispace; the hire of two well-known executives in the commercial brokerage space – a CEO based in Chicago and a chief revenue officer in New York

What were your goals for this project?

The goals were to increase coverage in mainstream business media, and high-value publications in the design and build space, as well as the commercial real estate market. The team worked around the clock with other agencies hired in different parts of the globe to create a cohesive plan with consistent messaging.

SOLUTION

How did you select Bastion Elevate?

Bastion Effect, which had been the primary agency for Unispace’s public relations in Australia, introduced us to Bastion Elevate in the U.S. We quickly saw the benefit to having sister agencies work together to collectively manage the global announcement in collaboration with a third European agency.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They conducted onboarding sessions with the new leadership team and agreed to a unified message as well as strategies and tactics to secure high-level business and trade media, including securing premiere media placements as early exclusives. Created a report to be merchandised with executives to prove ROI of the project

What was the team composition?

Worked with Shana Starr, CEO, Andrew King Director, of Public Relations and Brenlyn D’Amore, Account Manager, to set a strategy in place and for execution of that strategy.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Got up to speed quickly. Responsive. Strategic in placement, secured targeted coverage in publications like Fast Company and the Mann Report. Coordinated announcement globally with other agencies.

By the time the multinational project wrapped up, the Bastion Collective agencies secured 23 earned media placements reaching more than 213 million people.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Bastion Effect and Elevate connected early and often to stay aligned in their outreach strategy, keeping us informed every step of the way.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to get the brief quickly, secure the right publications in an incredibly tight timeframe, and I never had to chase them. I found it unusual, and impressive, that Shana the CEO stayed deeply involved in the project throughout. It showed me Bastion really cared about getting this right for us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing. We were so happy that we've gone on to sign a retainer in the US with Bastion Elevate.