Dark Horse

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a founder at Makers Cabinet. We design and manufacture high-quality and life-lasting drawing tools. I also manage the sales administration.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dark Horse?

We were looking for an agency to run our company’s digital marketing campaigns.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dark Horse created and managed our digital marketing campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Google. Initially, we briefed Dark Horse about our project, and they ran our ads campaigns. We supplied video and photographic content, and Dark Horse created and managed the ads.

Moreover, Dark Horse created different target customer audiences and adjusted the ads’ copy for each one, creating individual campaigns for each of our products. Dark Horse also created special campaigns for certain seasons; for instance, they created a Christmas campaign.  

What is the team composition?

I worked with four teammates from Dark Horse. During the initial negotiation, I worked with Andrew (Sales Director) for administration and follow-up. After this, I worked mainly with Matt (Head of Paid Social), though I also worked with Jack (Senior PPC Executive) and a Google Ads specialist. 

How did you come to work with Dark Horse?

I found Dark Horse online while looking for digital marketing agencies. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent £2,500 (approximately $3,000) monthly with Dark Horse. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Dark Horse from December 2021–February 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We set Dark Horse a clear KPI of achieving three times our return on ad spend (ROAS) during the time we worked together. Dark Horse reached and maintained that increase throughout our entire relationship.

How did Dark Horse perform from a project management standpoint?

Dark Horse met deadlines and stayed on budget. We communicated through email and used phone calls for urgent matters. We also had a weekly follow-up meeting on Microsoft Teams, and Dark Horse sent us monthly reports. 

Additionally, Dark Horse set up a Google Analytics portal, although it was only useful for some time since it didn’t work correctly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed with Dark Horse’s honesty about their services. We had worked with other agencies in the past, and Dark Horse was the only one that delivered what they promised and met our expectations.

Moreover, Dark Horse was nice to work with. They seemed interested in our business and our success. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I believe Dark Horse can improve their reporting platform; I would’ve liked to be able to review our ad spending on a daily basis. I also would’ve liked Dark Horse to have more TikTok-specialized media buyers on their team since I noticed they didn’t have the expertise in some areas our campaigns targeted. 

Moreover, we decided to end our relationship with Dark Horse because they weren’t able to scale our ad campaigns effectively. Even though they reached the project’s goal, they couldn’t increase our revenue. We also required content creation services, and Dark Horse didn't offer them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with Dark Horse — they’re good. They’re a consistent, honest, and reliable marketing agency. They’re not expensive, and if your business isn’t looking to scale up enormously, they’re a good partner to work with. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Director of SuperBike Factory Limited

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Europes largest retailer of used motorbikes

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Dark Horse to accomplish?

• To maximise cost effective lead volumes

SOLUTION

How did you find Dark Horse?

Online Search

Why did you select Dark Horse over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Dark Horse were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

To maximise PPC lead volumes whilst controlling costs to deliver the lowest CPL with the highest volume.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Reduction/maintaining CPL's whilst growing volumes

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

Dark Horse continued to exceed monthly targets throughout the project.

What was your primary form of communication with Dark Horse?

In-Person Meeting

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

Dark Horse feels like part of our team and understands the dynamic nature of our business, and therefore were able to flex to meet our moving expectations.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Director of Function18

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Online Retail

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Dark Horse to accomplish?

• Maintain and build on an existing Google Search Ads campaign
• Maintain a satisfactory Google Search Ads ROAS

SOLUTION

How did you find Dark Horse?

Referral

Why did you select Dark Horse over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Dark Horse were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Rolling maintenance and build out of Google Search Ad campaigns

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increased revenue whilst maintaining a similar return on investment, combined with a lower agency monthly fee.

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

Very responsive to our needs, pro-active, work delivered on time, and issues are often discussed and ironed out by our weekly calls.

What was your primary form of communication with Dark Horse?

Virtual Meeting

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

We're impressed with their outstanding knowledge of the Google platform.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Brand Specialist of Zinus

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Zinus is a furniture and mattress brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Dark Horse to accomplish?

• Technical SEO
• Content SEO
• Backlink Building - Digital PR

SOLUTION

How did you find Dark Horse?

• Online Search

Why did you select Dark Horse over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost

What was the size of Dark Horse’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

• Optimise our UK, German and French websites for SEO. 
• Identify technical SEO issues and build a content strategy with SEO in mind. 
• Increase backlinks and domain authority of the sites.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increase in organic traffic 
• Increase in number of search for non-branded keywords 
• Increase back links to the website 
• Increase in domain authority

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

The Dark Horse team was always highly professional, delivering projects on time, providing updates on the progress and monthly reports.

What was your primary form of communication with Dark Horse?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They were a really good team to work with. Always bringing suggestions and ideas to the challenges we had.

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

Overall, we are satisfied we the work done and the partnership with Dark Horse.