Catalyst Marketing Agency

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am part of ownership/management at a Mexican restaurant and a doughnut shop.

For what projects/services did your company hire 1205 Marketing?

We hired 1205 Marketing to help produce content and manage our organic & paid social media for our Mexican restaurants (3 locations). We liked working with them and hired them for the same services shortly after for our doughnut shop. We had not invested a lot in marketing in the past and were primarily interested in starting to grow our online presence.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal for this ongoing project is to reach more customers, better tell our story, and grow our businesses. We have continued to make improvements each month and have seen growth, despite the pandemic.

How did you select 1205 Marketing?

Our team searched through our network of contacts as well as online platforms and received proposals from about 5 different agencies. We also considered hiring a full-time in house marketing manager.

We selected 1205 based on their proposed scope of work and cost associated, their location (we liked that they are Seattle based), their expertise, and their passion for what they do. We were worried we would feel like just another one of their clients in their portfolio, but we have not felt that way while working with them. We consider them part of our team and know they care about our businesses.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They produce our content which is images for our socials. Each month we do a photoshoot at each of our 4 locations. There is an agreed upon allotted time for the photoshoot and a minimum of images to be delivered.

This is then used for our organic and paid social media which is also managed by 1205. We have multiple accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and 1205 does an agreed upon number of posts/stories per week. And lastly, they also field all incoming messages through these platforms.

What was the team composition?

Their VP/Chief Program Manager, Doug, is one of my primary day to day contacts. The second day to day contact is an account manager; I have worked with 3 different account managers that have rotated through in the last year. They are always brought up to speed and it has been an easy transition when we have had these changes.

Rion, who is CEO, is also looped in on communication and available whenever needed. The size of team has remained the same over time - it is always Doug & Rion & an account manager.

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

We have had an increase in sales and an increase in social media presence through growth in followers & engagement. We often have customers come in and say they want to order X item that was posted on our social media in the previous days - we had rarely ever had this happen.

Also, we have had to change our goals and metrics a few times over the last year due to the pandemic. 1205 has helped us navigate those pivots and worked with us to keep our marketing aligned with serving our business needs.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

1205 has a great system in place - we use a communication platform as well as a post scheduling platform primarily and shared drive for content. They are transparent, communicate very effectively, and are open to any and all feedback.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The 1205 team is on top of everything and we can always count on them being very responsive and taking immediate action when needed. They are knowledgeable, passionate, and enthusiastic that shines through in every conversation with them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Overall, we have been very satisfied with their work.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company has been in the legal cannabis/Food & Bev space for about four years now. Six months ago, I joined the team to help with their new health/wellness, customer-facing initiative as a project manager and assistant of business development.

For what projects/services did your company hire 1205 Marketing?

We hired 1205 Marketing to help us build an initial landing page for our new health/wellness initiative, with intentions of working with them in the future to build out a fully-functional website with e-Commerce capabilities.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals for this project was to be able to have a web page to direct researchers, medical providers and customers to for educational purposes and for further understanding of our brand and the

How did you select this vendor?

Our company has worked with 1205 Marketing in the past and my colleagues had nothing but great things to say about them.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They created a landing page for us with sections for each of our target audiences. They included all of the capabilities we wanted including coming up with a color scheme based on the ideas and suggestions we provided. They also customized certain features on the landing page such as a contact us box, testimonial quotes, team head shots, and language around our purpose and goals as a company.

What was the team composition?

The project team had 3 or 4 people. I worked with one project manager directly for the most part, with one or two others jumping on a phone call periodically to ensure that we were all on the same page in every stage of the development process from start to finish.

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

We had about 15 days to get a landing page up before we attended a conference and needed a place to direct customers to if they wanted more information about our brand or needed to get in touch with us. 1205 Marketing took our idea of this initial web page and designed and developed it in just two weeks. We were able to show the rest of our company how quickly we work and how serious we were about having a presence in this fast-paced market.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was extremely impressive. They responded to us more promptly than any other customer or partner we have worked with in the past. Their turn around time for responses and meeting deadlines was unbelievable. If you need something done quickly that looks clean and professional, I would look no where else than 1205 Marketing.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I found their communication and turn around times to be the most impressive of all. They were very prompt, understood the scope of the project, and weren't afraid to give direction where they thought it would be helpful. Their input was very valuable to us and they were able to take very very rough sketches and ideas and turn it into exactly what we were looking for without much specification in terms of direction.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I honestly don't have any critiques for 1205 Marketing. I will work with them again in the future and am fully looking forward to it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company infuses cannabinoids into food, beverages, and topical items. I’m the VP of marketing.

What challenge were you trying to address with 1205 Marketing?

We had a website done by another developer with a lot of custom coding. Our marketing team could no longer update it on their own. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged 1205 Marketing to redevelop the website and set up an organic SEO structure in the backend. Built on WordPress, the website is meant to be more informational, but it has some functionality and integrations with Salesforce to aid lead generation. 

What is the team composition?

We had three main contacts: a designer and the two heads of 1205 Marketing. There may have been a fourth or fifth for backend coding.

How did you come to work with 1205 Marketing?

I knew the founder on LinkedIn and had heard a lot of good things about him. We hired them for a small project and they turned it around so fast and efficiently that we felt comfortable hiring them for a larger engagement. We didn’t consider other options because we had such a great, hands-on experience with 1205 Marketing already.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $25,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in August 2019 and wrapped up in November the same year.

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

It’s too early to tell results from data, but just integrating the new site with Salesforce makes it easy for us to capture information and generate leads. From the beginning, 1205 Marketing was extremely engaged and helpful. After we gave them our specifications, they gave us a timeline and ran with it. Based on minimal feedback and knowledge of our business, they could deliver a creative solution to achieve our goal.

How did 1205 Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They tracked out the timeline week by week, and we used shared documents to measure progress. They were good about giving us tasks in a digestible format that made them easy to execute on top of our existing work

What did you find most impressive about them?

They jumped into the work right away—there was no lag or ramp-up time. They were familiar with our brand already, and their ability to scale up made it easy to work with them. We’ve since engaged them in more small projects and are considering working with them on larger projects because that innate understanding lets them work so much faster

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. Our team is not very tech-savvy. 1205 Marketing was able to explain in layperson’s terms to help us understand what they’re doing. Any time we had questions, they were quick to respond.

Any advice for potential customers?

Know that 1205 Marketing is full of marketers. When you offer an idea, expect feedback from 1205 Marketing along with reasoning. They will do what you want at the end of the day, but don’t expect it to come without pushback in the best way possible.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Programs and Development at The First Tee of Greater Seattle, a nonprofit youth development organization. My role is to ensure quality youth service, as well as effective fundraising campaigns and public outreach.

For what projects/services did your company hire 1205 Marketing?

We hired 1205 marketing to assist with our social media strategies and content delivery, and in particular with our chapter video.

What were your goals for this project?

We hoped to broadcast our video to a wide audience and increase and improve brand awareness.

How did you select this vendor?

Our Executive Director had previously worked with 1205 at Special Olympics of Washington and maintained a good relationship.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Broadcast 2 minute chapter video on multiple channels, including Facebook and Instagram.

What was the team composition?

I've worked closely with several members of the team, who are always responsive and attentive to inquiries and ready to make adjustments wherever necessary.

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

We reached thousands of people through the video campaign, and anecdotally, virtually everyone in our network has seen the video and knows it well... which was the goal. People even quote portions of the video in conversation!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We worked very well with the 1205 team! Utilizing email chains and a Facebook work group, we are very efficient in our communication.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

1205 has the knowledge and expertise to deliver great work and reach many more people in our network than we would on our own.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We have been consistently impressed with 1205 and appreciate their support!

Please describe your company and your position there.

Filter420 developed and sells the only pre-roll filter on the market. Filter420 premium filters reduce the amount of tar and burned particulate that normally hits your throat and sticks to you lungs. Experience a cough free smoke with Filter420.

For what projects/services did your company hire 1205 Marketing?

We needed to rapidly expand our sales team as well as spool up marketing to support those sales efforts. 1205 Marketing helped expand our operations to test new markets and various marketing strategies in a very new segment with a brand new product.

What were your goals for this project?

The initial goals were to sell through the current inventory of new product while setting up accounts for wholesale. While those goals were not reached, the flexibility of 1205 Marketing allowed us to alter our course as needed to settle into the best ongoing sales positions.

How did you select this vendor?

I have been utilizing the services of 1205 Marketing via another consumer-product based company. When it came time to build a team for Filter420, it was a no-brainer to come back!

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They built our website, and revamped it when we wanted to make a strategic change. They developed the core marketing materials and supported the sales team with materials for mailers, trade-shows, and other sponsorship events. They utilized their connections within the industry to provide us with other marketing and partnership opportunities.

What was the team composition?

The project team was comprised of the core members, 2-3 folks, that then would handle any overages with in-house and out-of-house resources. Interactions with the team we fluid and easy.

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

I would say that the current success of the company lies in no small part to 1205 Marketing, who were willing to put in the extra time and work to get things running smoothly.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

There was a single-point contact for the projects. I felt he was at my disposal and was accommodating to my varying requests as things moved along. This also allowed me to get a good run down of current status, as I could ask one person to provide it all.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I find it most impressive that they can find the resources required to accomplish any job. I have often asked for services and assistance that is outside of their normal line-up and certainly "above and beyond." They will tackle any task, while maintaining complete transparency, to ensure their clients are pleased.

Are there any areas for improvement?

KPI's for PR would definitely improve alignment of expectations.