Disruptive Advertising

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a senior CRM analyst for a lawn and garden product company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

The main goal was to give them key oversight projects that we couldn’t handle internally. We initially started giving the one-off partners, eventually they became a third team member.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the most part, it’s email campaign development. They do everything from A to Z, from developing the strategy of the email, to copy and image assets. They have a design team that does the design work, and then Colton (Marketing Strategist) puts it into our email platform, schedules it, and emails for us.

When we launch a new brand, we have Disruptive Advertising kick it off. They develop the entire email strategy, calendar, and what the brand needs from the email program. They put together a deck and present it to the design team. They design everything on Adobe.

What is the team composition?

Every week we have a meeting with a team lead, a project manager, then we have Colton, and then another person just joined the team recently.

Colton, he is dedicated to all the things we do. He does almost the same thing I do.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

Our performance marketing team had been utilizing Disruptive Advertising for about a year. Then they started offering email marketing services and we brought them on board for that on our team.

How much have you invested with them?

It ranges between $30,000–$70,000 a month (approximately $600,000 in total).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2019 and our partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The brand we worked most closely together on was losing money before we started working with Disruptive Advertising. They were able to automate our emails so we didn’t have to do more manual work. They also created a welcome series. Once it was launched, we subscribed a couple hundred people and earned $9,400. It was amazing how their strategies, and this series in particular, could take us to the next level.  

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

I have a weekly meeting with them and I chat with Colton every day . We use Jira for daily contact.

We give them a lot of work. They do a pretty great job of working sort of blindly because they don’t know the ins and outs of our business. We have some work to do to make the process more efficient. Communication with them in Jira is a little slow. We’re looking into other project management tools because it seems that there are too many projects on the board in Jira. They fall behind when our design team gets swamped. They’ve definitely gotten better, but it’s still a working point.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The strategy that they take with our emails. They don’t have direct contact with the brand team; we just give them a deck and they run with it. They’re professionals and can tell what a brand needs from the email marketing campaign. I’ve always been impressed by their ability to strategize.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Project management could be improved. Sometimes I think things could be done a bit faster. Some of that could be because we give them so much work to do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them as much onboarding information as possible. Once we started to involve them in our day-to-day, it was easier for them to understand our goals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing manager for a community retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

When we brought on this team, we wanted to improve our site experience. We wanted to begin a testing program to streamline areas on our site where customers bounced.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Disruptive conducted a complete site audit, assessing everything from the analytics to the UX/UI. They came back with a detailed funnel that showed our key blockages. Their team assessed areas for optimization and created a testing strategy.

Then, they worked on testing scenarios, developing the tests’ hypothesis and strategies. Their team designs, develops, and implements the tests. They collect learnings from A/B and multi-variable tests to eliminate blockages on our site and increase conversions.

What is the team composition?

We’re primarily in contact with two individuals from Disruptive. In the beginning, we also worked with an account representative who focused on getting the contracts through.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I worked with them as a paid search agency when I was with another company. As I had great success with them, I pushed for their team to come on board at this company. Disruptive pitched to our leadership team and knocked it out of the park.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

This relationship started in December 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped us with yearly realized revenue from these tests. When we get results, we can estimate the potential impact of the full implementation of that solution.

It’s great that their team designs and develops the tests, so it’s a lighter lift for us. We don’t have to wait in our internal development queue. It’s easier and quicker to work with Disruptive, which our leadership appreciates.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

We created a pod that included a designer, a product owner, and a developer. I'm also in the pod as the person who manages the project. When we receive results, we review them and check the box.

We use JIRA and Microsoft Teams. To run the tests, they use VWO. We both use Adobe Analytics to work on our funnel.

Their communication’s great. When necessary, they’re available to talk on the weekends. Their team’s ready to go at the drop of a hat.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team can explain specific solutions to a variety of audiences, from the C-suite to the designers. They can speak in all of those languages, which is helpful. If any questions or issues pop up, I’m fully confident that Disruptive can speak to them no matter who asks the questions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing that comes to mind. To be honest, the blockages usually come from our end.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ensure that everyone signs off on the initial strategy of the future client roadmap. For their tests, be sure that they work towards the larger organizational goals.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Vice President of Innovation at a security guard and patrol franchisor. We are innovating in the physical security industry and are expanding globally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising?

We hired them to manage our social media advertising and Google search programs. Those are both used to attract new franchise candidates and also security contracts for our existing franchise locations.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to hit a target of inbound leads for each business division as well as increase the quality of lead and therefore decrease our cost per acquisition. Also vital to this was to expand into YouTube and also cross-target our audiences on google through facebook and vice versa. We also want to expand our viewership by getting more followers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had a series of calls with multiple firms to consider what level they would be on a scale between custom and off the shelf, an extension of our team vs. a generic rep, how frequent the calls would be, how often they look at our account and identify issues, and lastly, the level of the strategy they'd put forth to further our growth.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Once we launched, there was a discovery and strategy call. Initially, we didn't need them to change anything as our accounts were working well, however we had some ideas on how to further optimize it.

They started out by taking over the management and did fully restructure our Google accounts. The previous firm had made it very complicated and now it's much more simplified.

What was the team composition?

We have a primary dedicated rep that conducts all of our calls, emails, and does the main strategy development. She has a secondary person who implements most of the campaigns in the accounts. Our primary is the strategy and quality control person, it seems.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

On Google, our cost per lead has decreased greatly and we are getting a higher volume of leads. On facebook, they've been able to optimize the account in a few areas.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Fantastic. Emails are detailed but still informal as if they are part of our team. We have weekly calls to review the accounts as well and one monthly strategy call.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their expertise and how nimble they are with us. They seem very focused and attentive with our accounts and have never mentioned time allocations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Implementing new platforms, like YouTube, but I know they were looking to learn more with our account before jumping into anything new.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Bender Gloves is a golf brand specializing in unique golf gloves. I am one of the managing partners of the business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising?

We previously did all advertising and marketing in-house. We decided to outsource it so we could focus on other areas internally.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to take our brand to the next level and get it in front of more people. We didn't think we could do it with our limited knowledge, so we looked for professional services.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Honestly, their name! There are several companies out there that offer advertising services. Our company exists because we offer non-traditional products. When we saw "Disruptive Advertising" we associated it with our business in the golf industry.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We've worked with them for several years. They handle all areas of our advertising and marketing from a PPC and digital aspect. We even had them shoot some videos for us in the past. Definitely couldn't do it without them.

What was the team composition?

We work with an account manager for each platform. Very knowledgeable and easy to collaborate with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We couldn't put into numbers what they have done for us. Outcome has been 10X what we imagined it would be. It's justified by the fact that we've worked with them for so long. We've also suggested them to other businesses we are familiar with.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

A couple individuals have been assigned to us, we keep in constant contact via email and have monthly strategy calls. They are always available if I need them. They are very knowledgeable and work well together with each other and my team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

How flexible they are. I'm the not the easiest person to work with or get in touch with. They know and understand that and are always willing to shift their schedules around so we can discuss strategy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I couldn't think of any...they know their stuff.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at Scotts Miracle-Gro, a lawn, gardens, and hydroponics company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We hired them to be email marketing partners for our team. We have a lean email marketing team internally, and we’re in the process of expanding our email marketing across more than just our core brands.

We’re expanding into more of a digitally native brand territory while launching mini new brands that are only available through e-commerce. Because of this, we really needed support from an outside partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started working with Disruptive Advertising on small email marketing projects.

What is the team composition?

We work with five teammates for email marketing, and we also work with three teammates for email acquisition. 

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

We had been using Disruptive Advertising for paid media for a couple of years, but we didn’t know that they had other teams that we could leverage. So, they were recommended to us internally for this particular project. 

The original recommendation came from our director of performance marketing who had seen one of their paid ads. One thing I noticed from the get-go was that they were top-notch and that they understood email marketing. They had a depth of experience. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I began working with them in August 2019, and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When working with them, we don’t have to train them on how to use our platform or what the best practices of email marketing are. They know all of that and can pick up on things very quickly. It feels like Disruptive Advertising is an extension of our team. 

They’ve gone above and beyond our expectations. I’ve worked with other email marketing agencies, and what differentiates this team from others is that they have a wide range of skills in project management, email marketing execution, and deep strategic thinking. 

What they provide us is exactly on-brand with what we expect. Our organization is an enterprise business, so we expect enterprise business-level work, and Disruptive Advertising has always brought that to the table. We’ve gotten so much value from the partnership.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

The team has been able to adapt to how we manage our projects internally. We use JIRA, Asana, and Monday, and the team has been adaptable to what we use and need. 

We meet on a regular basis to touch base on the status of projects, and Disruptive Advertising is always on schedule and on par with what we expect in terms of communication and deliverables. We also communicate with them via email and phone. 

They have specific people on their team dedicated to project management. This is helpful to us because those teammates help to drive tasks and prioritization and to break down projects. I can very quickly and easily relay information to them. 

The team asks minimal questions because they know what we’re looking for, and they turnaround high-quality work. If they don’t produce something that’s up to the level we want, they always go back to the drawing board and make sure that they get it to that level. 

We love working with them. They’ve been able to grasp certain elements so quickly, that we’ve continuously added tasks to their plate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

What’s unique about Disruptive Advertising is that they are very warm and welcoming. I’ve met with them in person a couple of times, and they really go out of their way to be helpful in any way they can. 

For example, when anyone is onboarded as a partner with our organization, there is a period where people have to learn the products and understand the business.

Some of the individuals on Disruptive Advertising’s team didn’t understand lawn care, but they all made an effort to try our products and help out people on their team with their lawn care.

They really care about the partners they work with and about each other, which shows the type of people they are. This has made our relationship that much stronger. The team is caring, and they go above and beyond to do the best they can in any way possible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing is that we have a lot of brands that Disruptive Advertising has to juggle, so things get mixed up. It’s hard to decide on their priority when juggling 8–10 brands. There have been times when they’ve been underwater because we’d put too much on their plate.

Sometimes, we’ve had to take over a few tasks to meet the deadlines, but we’ve worked through it; it’s not a reoccurring issue. 

The great thing is that the team takes our feedback about project management and workflow improvements and implements it almost immediately. We always collaborate with them to make things better and they're always striving to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’re going to have a great partner. The team is dedicated to learning the business, they are smart, and they understand digital. You’ll be happy with the results. It may take time for them to get onboarded with the brand, but if you give them time, they will show you amazing quality work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CMO of a cybersecurity company. We have about a dozen employees and work mainly in the B2B space with other government contractors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising?

We work in compliance and although the DoD supply chain is large not many individuals are proactive with their compliance. We wanted to create a PPC to go after those few in the segment that were proactively searching for solutions.

What were your goals for this project?

We are trying to reach 200 new clients in 12 months with our PPC campaigns. Although we aren't on track for that goal yet we are well on our way. I feel like a few more tweaks and optimizations we will make it very close to our goal.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Disruptive has a very good reputation not only online but in my personal network as well.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Creating PPC campaigns for searches, re-targeting, and some branding.

What was the team composition?

Disruptive has a few team members aware of our project but we have one main point of contact that works directly on our account.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are still new but are capturing 3-4 leads a day.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The ads we create are very targeted and so the workflow in bringing quality leads is very high.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We have a lot better communication than I have had with other marketing companies. They know their stuff and how to deliver. They are very specialized and cut out all the "fluff"

Are there any areas for improvement?

Every company can always improve but very satisfied and don't have anything specifically to call out.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and owner of Central Park Dental Aesthetics. We are a boutique dental practice located in midtown Manhattan in between Carnegie hall and Central Park south.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising?

We were looking to broaden our reach to get new patients through the door, especially in this crazy covid 19 era.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to continue to see our dental practice grow despite uncertain times and most dental practices shrinking or closing due to covid 19. We were determined to still be in a time of growth and expansion as we’ve hired on two new doctors.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Disruptive Advertising was the only digital marketing company that I felt was sincere and honest. They didn’t promise the world but gave a reasonable, yet lofty, goal. They walked me through the process explaining my role versus their role. They were transparent with costs associated and the breakdown of costs. Their responsiveness and professionalism through the process has been remarkable.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Disruptive Advertising is helping with all digital marketing for my practice. They manage all online content and drive patients to my office. They’re doing google and social media ads as well as finding patients that have similar make ups of my current patients.

What was the team composition?

I work closely with Trent who is my account manager. He’s been incredible in helping me learn the process, helping me navigate which direction to go in and getting things done extremely efficiently. Trent has an entire team behind him who helps with the process as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within the first two weeks, I’ve already had new patients calling the office and coming in for appointments. Success!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was seamless. Trent kept me in the loop with all steps and it required so little time on my part. It made the process really manageable. The communication has been really exceptional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I find their responsiveness and honesty the most impressive. Too many marketing companies make sales pitches promising things that just sound too good to be true. It is unrealistic to think spending $1000 a month will drive 100+ patients through my door a month. Disruptive Advertising listened to my goals and walked me through the plan on how to achieve them. I never felt like their were selling me or just throwing numbers out to hook me. Additionally - they’ve concretely created results within 2 weeks!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything with Disruptive Advertising has been amazing!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of Natura Pest Control LLC. We specialize in residential pest control with focus on safety by using organic products whenever possible.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising?

Sense we stared in 2012, we have been utilizing a door-to-door direct marketing approach. As time has passed we have felt a need to diversify our customer acquisitions. We felt the need to start to advertise online. This was very much outside of our comfort zone because we have alway used a direct marketing approach.

What were your goals for this project?

When we started we wanted to add 100-200 new customers per year outside of our direct marketing efforts.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched online and met with many different Marketing companies. Our goal was to find a comany that we felt fit with our culture, company and growth ambitions. After meeting with 8 different companies we felt that Disruptive best fit what we were looking for.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Disruptive developed landing pages, build ad strategies based our differentiators. They did A, B testing with ads to see what adds were best in the markets that we are in. They manage all of our ad budgets and analytics.

What was the team composition?

$500 or 20% of ad budget whatever is greater.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They have exceeded our sales goals and have worked hard to ensure that they are always addressing my company's needs. When we started our goal was to add 100-200 new customer per year, we are now adding an average of 60 new customers per month.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I have loved my contact at disruptive. Quinn has a quirk turnaround time whenever I need anything and is constantly checking in to insure we are happy. There was a time when our ads were being denied by google during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quinn worked hard to find out why it was happening and until we found out provided solutions in the interim so that we could continue to have ads visible. We found out later that the ads were denied because of internal issues with Google and nothing that disruptive had done.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their results are the first thing. Secondly I would say their williness to reach out and make sure that we are on the same page and working as a team. Then there are some small touches that make thing nice. They sent my family and a gift randomly. It was a very soft blanket, we use it often. It shows me that they value me as customer.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. I thoroughly enjoy working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

As the VP of marketing and enrollment for my University. It is my responsibility to engage in activities and partnerships that support our mission with integrity through the different initiatives we need to achieve our student population goals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising?

We hired Disruptive to support us in engaging in a paid search strategy. Paid search, social.

What were your goals for this project?

New student generation is our primary goal with Disruptive. Additional goals include branding, reach, awareness and storytelling.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I have worked with Disruptive in three different capacities and companies. I trust the structure Disruptive offers to engage quickly in paid search needs that is priced competitively with account support that still remains top tier in my workings with many advertising and marketing firms.

Describe the project in detail.

The university I work for needed to recreate its digital strategy from the ground up. In addition to re-establishing goals and priorities, new landing page development, content strategy and and placement strategy was required.

What was the team composition?

We have many areas of expertise involved in our campaigns with a primary contact and account manager. A role Disruptive does a great job in supporting and prioritizing this position. We also have a social expert, CRO expert as well as many folks behind the scenes supporting web page development and creative asset creation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our campaigns are less than a year old, some newer that that. To date we have exceeded our first priority goal launched in October of 2019 of filling every available seat in our graduate programs which we have accomplished with Disruptive support, even in the state of COVID-19. Our next priorities are already showing significant progress and early indicators that point to meeting enrollment goals for our next level.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Like any team, learning communication preferences and tools was necessary. Some of the standard means of communicating and project managing didn't work for us and Disruptive was quick to adapt and recommend solutions to support our long sales cycle.

We used a custom project engagement system on a shared document site that allowed for budget, project and approval updates in one place. Orchestrated by the Disruptive account manager allows me to get high level updates and granular details if I need to go there without much fuss.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Disruptive is nimble in working with the different outcomes and constant changes in product offering allowing me to stay focused on the end objectives without reinventing or needing to handhold partners to adjust as we do.

Are there any areas for improvement?

A constant challenge in digital marketing is content, asset and version control. Though we continue to make progress, having a system or structure for auditing and quality control would be of extra value to all involved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a full-scale construction company. We do everything from interior and exterior remodeling to building new homes. I’m half owner and CFO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We’d worked with three other marketing companies over the course of a couple of years, and all of them were extraordinarily disappointing. They burned through a ton of money and provided very poor lead quality. 

We interviewed Disruptive and went with them, and they’ve been extraordinary ever since.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They manage PPC advertising for us. For a short time, they also managed social media advertising.

They did an initial audit on our account and reported 20–30 low-hanging fruit items that they could fix to make things more efficient.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Amanda (Marketing Strategist) since the very beginning, and she’s incredible. We also worked with someone else on social media advertising.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

We found Disruptive Advertising on Clutch. We had a pretty good understanding of what platforms we wanted to be on, which was consistent with Disruptive’s offerings. We also knew what we didn’t want, which was the results we had before: high cost of acquisition as well as poor lead quality and volume.

We perused Google and other review sites, and Clutch seemed to be a pretty good resource. Disruptive Advertising was well-represented on Clutch, and I also liked their website. They clearly had a very good ad campaign for themselves because their retargeting and Google display showed up for me for the next nine months.

How much have you invested with them?

The PPC campaigns cost around $15,000 a month. Their management fee is about $1,500 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within the first month of working with them, we saw a giant improvement. Our volume and revenue have gone up significantly. To give you an example, we worked with one company for a year before bringing on Disruptive, and the best they ever did was generate 40 leads in a single month, and we spent $20,000. Half of those leads were poor quality and couldn’t be converted, no matter what we did on our sales side.

Last month with Disruptive, we did 139 leads, and we spent $12,000. All of those leads, except for maybe 1–2, were terrific quality, and our conversion rate was great. It’s a night-and-day difference. 

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re incredible. Sometimes, I email Amanda in the middle of the night, and she responds within a couple of hours. She’s super responsive. She always asks if anything has changed to ensure that our goals are aligned, and they make adjustments if we need to. 

We have monthly meetings by their direction; it’s really good to connect for an hour and talk about everything. They have a platform where we can see the results of our campaigns, such as leads and conversion rate as well as what our spend is and how keywords are performing. They’re all very transparent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their performance is the one thing that stands out. The most important thing to us is our return on ad spend, which they’ve made to be terrific. They have a lot of really good follow-through, and they don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Their promises have been directly in line, and they’ve gone above and beyond that. Anything that I’ve asked for or needed, they’ve followed through on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no. I’d say that trying different strategies seems really daunting at first. They seem to be pretty up to date with all of the changes that happen with Google’s algorithm and some of the changes in different ad campaigns that Google offers. They’ll occasionally pitch those. The different campaigns they’ve suggested that we try within Google have actually performed better than the actual search.

The only thing that didn’t work for us was social media, and I think that has more to do with our industry than their performance; traditionally, our industry doesn’t do social media advertising. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Just be really honest and open about what your budget is, because it is expensive. Trust in the fact that, at least in our case, they’re able to make it a good trade.