Cox Media Group Local Solutions

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I handle the marketing campaigns of Robertson Tire company. We have a chain of stores in Tulsa, Oklahoma that provides tire and auto services. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cox Media Group Local Solutions?

We mainly work with Cox Media to get our name out in the digital space and to compete with other major brands. Some of our major competitors spend a lot of money on Google and digital ads, so we want to make sure that we’re competing with them and that customers get to see our ads as well. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The local solutions portion of our deal with Cox Media centers around digital advertising, including social media campaigns, SEM, website ads, and radio and TV station ads. They do the design of the ads for me free of charge. When we have special events or sales going on, they can create artwork and ads for all of our platforms. They then push those ads on the required dates. That’s mainly how we advertise our sales promotions. 

What is the team composition?

I deal directly with a sales representative, and he handles the digital side of things for everyone.  They have a few people designing and tracking our ads. 

How did you come to work with Cox Media Group Local Solutions?

We had a prior relationship with them around radio advertising because they own a bunch of radio stations in town. They eventually started offering local solutions and digital advertising services. On top of that, they seemed to be evolving along with the changing times. They knew everything that was going on, whether it was around Google or social media. Overall, we felt they knew what they were doing, and they kept me updated, so we continued our relationship. 

How much have you invested with them?

This year, our budget is $156,000. We started out with a smaller budget, but it’s increased a little bit each year as we decide to pour more budget into the platform they use for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on the digital campaigns in January 2013, and our partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As far as success metrics go, the team presents numbers and statistics to me at the end of every quarter. They show me how many views my ads have received. I don’t know the exact numbers, but they’ve always looked good. 

Anecdotally, we’ve received positive feedback for the ads they create. We let them push forward certain sales, and they do well. Moreover, we often receive inquiries on our site requesting quotes and information. That’s usually directly related to the Google ads and other advertising materials they put on the website. Overall, I know that what they do is part of why our sales are generally good right now.

How did Cox Media Group Local Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Cox Media's project management is good. They respond quickly whenever I need them to do something, such as creating ads or responding to special requests, which they also accomplish quickly. No obstacles exist when it comes to project management flow; they’re pretty good at doing what I ask. To communicate with them, we usually use email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge distinguishes them from other providers, and they have plenty of people to ask if they don’t know the answer to something. Their creative designs have been great, too. They produce high-quality and artistic ads for me without me paying extra. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s better if they have an automatic notification system that sends me a recap of everything they’ve been doing, the results, how it’s going, and what it looks like. That’s better than putting together a PowerPoint presentation and presenting it over a Zoom call. It would be great if I could simply look at and analyze the data on my own time and ask them questions afterward. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep close communication with their sales representatives and team. Ask them to help you with design work because that’s an important part of doing digital ads. They do design work for me for free, and it’s been key to our engagement because I don’t have to pay another agency to do that. 

Moreover, make sure that you let them know any sales or special deals going on so that they can push them out on your target dates. Communicate with them about these dates so that ads won’t stagnate, in which case they’ll have to change the ads up and attach a deal to them. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for a credit union.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cox Media Group Local Solutions?

We’re always trying to grow our membership, so our ultimate goal is to bring in more members to the credit union.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cox Media Group primarily helps us with digital advertising. We do digital display, OTT advertisement, social media advertisement, and they also do portions on TV and radio. On a monthly basis, we determine what products we want to advertise and at what percentage through the media. We have an outside agency for our creative, but Cox Media Group puts the ad in a format that they need. They usually make the ad into a gif, and they’ll make some final adjustments to it, and they’ll activate it based on our strategy.

Initially, Cox Media Group does everything for us. We didn’t even have any TV, radio, or any other service — we’ve changed that portion a little bit just to reach a different audience, but we’ve kept our largest portion of our buy with them in the three years since.

What is the team composition?

I’ve been working with them for about three years now, and it’s been different over the years. At this given time, we work mostly with someone from the client services and sales side, and Taylor (Digital Sales Specialist).

How did you come to work with Cox Media Group Local Solutions?

I inherited the relationship when I came into the company. The previous director had done a very big study and analysis of the different options in the market, and from what I was told, Cox Media Group came in with far more impressions and a lower cost.

How much have you invested with them?

Our media budget is about $600,000, but not all of that is for Cox Media Group so I’d say we spend about $580,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

My partnership with them started in June 2018, but my company has been working with them prior to me joining the company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They do a really good job of providing us with monthly analytics reports on our marketing efforts, impressions, click rates, and overall engagement. Additionally, we also track how many apps are clicked on from our website, and we call that our conversion rate. Over the last year, we’ve noticed an uptick in the number of apps that are filled out and clicked on — in that regard, I think it’s really been successful. We’ve really settled into a good spot, and they give us ideas on our yearly assessment where we have good strategic conversations about where we want to go. They’ve pushed us into some of the digital spaces, and convinced us that that’s been a good use of our money.

It’s been really easy working with Cox Media Group because they know our credit union. We’ve worked long enough to work well together that they understand our needs and are getting to where they anticipate things.

How did Cox Media Group Local Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

I think the way they manage the project has been really good. They work with a national organization, and while it can be really awesome having all those resources, it can really be frustrating at times when we just want to get an answer. Cox Media Group really has to wait for the national team to make the time, so I think there are pros and cons to all of that. It affords them a lot to have a national team, but it comes with red-tape bureaucracy sometimes. It’s a mixed bag, but they deliver on what they said they will.

We mostly communicate through email and phone, and it can be a little more formal depending on the tactic. For instance, we’ve embarked on an SEO campaign which they ramped up this year, and they’ve really formalized the deliverables on that. There’s documentation involved, but it’s nothing like a smart sheet or any kind of project management tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because of their national backing, they’re able to help us take that search engine approach and make inroads with their buying power. Our company benefits from their relationship with big organizations such as Google and Amazon.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One thing that we’ve never really been able to move forward with, is figuring out a true convergence of how we can integrate our backend systems with the marketing. It would be really nice if there was a way to see the level of transparency in the journey, from advertising to the end result. That’s a big challenge for marketers and I’m not saying it’s an easy fix, but given their breadth and size, it would be really cool if they invested in that level.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re a small team like us, it would be really nice to have someone like Cox Media Group, who has the resources to deliver, and be your support system from a marketing perspective. There are only two of us doing everything in the marketing department so it’s nice to have their level of support in a cost-effective way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as the marketing director at Richardson Richardson Boudreaux, a personal injury law firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cox Media Group Local Solutions?

We needed them to help us with lead generation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our business centers on how many cases we get, and we need leads to get cases. Cox Media Group Local Solutions’ team strategizes with us to boost our media and digital marketing. We work together to flesh out creative ideas that can help us land more leads through our campaigns, and ultimately, more cases. 

We’ve recently updated our commercials to get more qualified leads, and Cox Media Group Local Solutions has also helped us make our messaging feature more mobile-friendly to keep up with newer technologies. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Jeff (Digital Sales Director), Mike (Digital Sales Manager), Matt (Account Executive), and Taylor (Digital Sales Specialist).

How did you come to work with Cox Media Group Local Solutions?

They’ve been acquainted with our attorneys even before I started working at our firm.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our marketing project commenced in January 2009, and it’s ongoing. We share a long working relationship with Cox Media Group Local Solutions’ team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We base the success of our engagement on the total number of impressions and clicks that we get every month. Our current rate is at 1.29%, which is in line with our metric goals. Our conversion rate has also increased by 6%. Overall, I can say that Cox Media Group Local Solutions has given us good and reliable metrics through the years. 

How did Cox Media Group Local Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate via Zoom and email. Cox Media Group Local Solutions is a very approachable and professional team, especially in terms of project management. We needed to come up with monthly meetings since I was onboarded, and they’ve been very cooperative with us. They follow our protocols and help us stay on target with all our campaigns. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cox Media Group Local Solutions is attentive to our needs — it’s always apparent that their team pays attention to our feedback and demands. Apart from that, we value their creativity and how this drives positive results to our business. Marketing is a crucial part of business, and their team always adapts to different situations just to deliver the best results for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ll appreciate it if they are more upfront about any contract changes that they wish to make. They could give us a background or a forecast prior to our meetings, so our internal team is well aware of these changes before we all proceed with the board meetings. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Determine your objectives and timelines — be as upfront as possible from the get-go. They’re completely open to communication, so you just need to relay your needs clearly for them to deliver these accordingly.