Full-service, data-driven marketing agency
At Effective Marketing we develop innovative media programs to achieve positive ROI. Digital and traditional, B2B and B2C media research, planning, buying, management, measurement, accounting. Key Differences: Big agency talent on-demand without big agency overhead. $1B+ media buying experience. Proprietary systems for budget setting, conversion modeling, partner selection and performance reporting Track record of innovative and creative media programs that increase brand engagement, achieve business goals and generate insights on the drivers of performance.
Focus
Portfolio
AMA, Amlactin, Banfield Pet Hospital, Bob Evans, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Chamberlain, Chicago Bears, Crowne Plaza, Equal, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, IBM, Intel, Jet's Pizza, KidSnips, Kellogg's, Leer, Lyft, Northern Illinois University, Near East, Nuveen, Omron Healthcare, Peapod, Pepsi, Phillips66, Robert R McCormick Foundation, Roosevelt University, Santa Margherita, Tastykake, ThoughtWorks, V&V Supremo, Whole Earth Sweetener Company
NIU candidate recruitment
Challenge:
Drive registrations for campus tours
Insight: Feeder schools represent majority of new student applications
Action:
Geo-fence top feeder schools, engage with content about exciting new programs, drive to open house RSVP
Took school from no digital to full digital marketing approach
Took school from no tracking to complete tracking of cost per website visit, cost per campus tour registration
Success:
Delivered 35% more RSVPs than goal
2x more website visits than goal
500k bonus ad impressions
Roosevelt Speak Your Mind
Challenge:
Get prospective students to speak their mind
Action:
Instigated debate on social justice topics and created forums where prospective students could ‘speak their mind’
Success:
Rich media ads with live text boxes asked users to “speak your mind” and click to join the discussion
Users clicked through at three times the category average
Roosevelt renewed the campaign
Near East Shopper Digital Media
We worked with Nielsen Catalina Solutions and MyWebGrocer to employ purchase-based targeting in order to steal share and win back lapsed users with beautiful photography of recipe ideas using Near East
Success (vs YA)
Catalina: Dollar sales per HH +8%, purchase intent +140%, positive ROI +17% and buy rate growth +75%
MyWebGrocer: +10% sales, +15% purchase penetration, Flat buy rate, +14% unit sales
The client loved the performance and accountability of the plan and renewed the program at 4x higher investment.
Marketing to 1st party data set
Challenge
Retain donors and achieve gift goal despite name change and loss of house ad support from Tribune Media
Action
Developed integrated, performance-oriented program
- Appended email addresses to postal-only addresses to add 2,700 new email addresses
- Onboarded McCormick past donor database to create Matched Audience
- Used Acxiom data to target people who live in Chicagoland and donated to children's charities in the past year
- Tracked each dollar spent, identified winning combination of media channels and message
Result
Met campaign donation goal
Retained 35% of donors
Exceeded ad impression goal by 46%
Equal relaunch
Delivered 2x impressions, 4x engagements and 4x website visits vs. goal. Cost per visit to equal.com was 5x lower than goal
Optimizations more than doubled engagement rate on native call to action to visit equal.com
Equal dollars sales and share increased and were positive after 24 months of decline
Amlactin Meredith Sponsorship
Revised program and over 10 campaign optimizations over 3 month program delivered exponentially more impressions, engagements and conversions than the original promotion.
Intel B2B
Drove engagement with dynamic creative based on user inititiated actions.
Morning Star Paul Kahan Influencer Program
Kellogg's called it the most successful food service marketing program ever.
Reviews
the project
Paid Media Buying & Strategy for Food Brand Launch
"They provide both high-level strategic thinking and targeted deliverables."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I’m the founder of Underthink, a brand studio that combines nimble brand development with robust creative and production resources. We specialize in launching and scaling brands through targeted social content and advertising.
For what projects/services did your company hire Effective Marketing?
Sam K. and Effective Marketing have been valuable partners in planning and buying media for several good launches. Sam and his team are especially adept at achieving superior ROI through real world message testing and fitting the creative to both platform and audience that resonates with the target consumers for our brands.
What were your goals for this project?
We needed to target specific psychographic audiences based on store distribution in specific locations across the US. Sam and his team vetted platforms, predicted and planned spend, and contributed countless creative suggestions and problem solving solutions. They provide both high-level strategic thinking and targeted deliverables.
How did you select this vendor?
I was introduced to Sam Karow and Effective Marrketing through a trusted friend in advertising.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
Effective Marketing provided real time hands on keyboard natural experiments and Paid media adjustments as Well as high level strategic planning and brand partnership.
What was the team composition?
We are a team of experts from different disciplines and Sam is the media and analytics expert we trust to deliver real results.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Our return on investment and ROAS exceeded goals and benchmarks of industry. Our you tube pre roll achieved 2x the normal engagement for instance. Most importantly, the brand is selling through, adding distribution and our client trusts Effective Marketing. Sam is a valuable and fair partner in the room and at the table. Transparent and accountable.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Sam and Effective operate as if an in house resource. Communication is clear and easy. Even launching a meat brand during the pandemic there was no lag or difference in delivery or collaboration.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
Transparency. Communication. Analytical rigor.
Are there any areas for improvement?
No.
the project
Digital Media Strategy for Global Design Firm
"They are not only experts in media, but also have a sensitivity for making creative work."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
SGK is a global design firm that helps Clients build better marketing ecosystems through smarter content and packaging solutions. We have a robust integrated marketing practice. Effective Marketing has been a linchpin in rounding out our integrated offering to Clients where digital marketing and media play a role.
For what projects/services did your company hire Effective Marketing?
Effective Marketing is our digital media partner of choice. Our team utilizes them for all media placements – small and large.
This effort was a manufacturer-led paid media effort to boost sales on distributor sites for a myriad of product categories and brands.
What were your goals for this project?
Specifically the goal was to reach operators and decision makers, educate them and push case discount offers and achieve 2x ROAS.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
Tasked with developing a digital marketing plan for a complex distributor-targeted e-Comm media plan, Effective Marketing needed to ‘interview’ the various distributor partners and recommend a division of the media buy budget across all of them.
Effective Marketing produced all of the initial analysis and media buy recommendations for our client to consider.
Once the ads started running, Effective Marketing’s role shifted to managing the ads and the analysis of the advertising so that any optimizations could be made as the yearlong campaign progressed.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
A collective effort with Effective Marketing and our team, we exceeded goal of 2x ROAS with a result of 16x ROAS!
On this project, and overall we find that Effective Marketing is a unique media partner because they are not only experts in media, but also have a sensitivity for making creative work the hardest and not stifling, but enhancing the creative process.
the project
Event Media Strategy for Chicago Sports Team
"They are able to mirror our priorities and share common goals: If we are successful, they are successful."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the VP Fan and Brand Development at the Chicago Bears.
For what projects/services did your company hire Effective Marketing?
Effective Marketing provided media strategy, execution and reporting optmization for Chicago Bears fan events (e.g. Miller Lite Draft Party, PNC 5K, Meijer Family Fest and Training Camp).
What were your goals for this project?
Goals and objectives varied by event. However, in general we wanted to drive attendance amongst fans who were monst likely to enjoy the events.
How did you select this vendor?
Effective Marketing was a subcontractor for one of our agencies.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
Effective Marketing was charged with the following for each event. - Participate in briefing meetings - Contribute cultural, consumer and business insights - Recommend strategies to deliver on plan objectives - Recommend media execution inclusive of: target fans/consumers, communication goals (reflecting creative approach/messaging), geography, scheduling/timing, KPIs, budget feedback, optimization approach - Plan execution and optimization work and meetings - Project completion - including learnings, recaps and final budgets
What was the team composition?
We worked most closely with Sam. Sam was woven in with the primary agency team and acted as the liason with other contributors and vendors.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
There were a variety of different projects that had varying degrees of success and learnings. The key thing is that Effective was comfortable celebrating successes as much as mitigating or redirecting from underperfroming elements that did not have as much in market effectiveness.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
The workflow between our teams was excellent. Sam has deep and broad experience. He is able to collaborate effectively with a variety of different personality types both at our agency and within our organization. He leaves his ego at the door and has the same priorities as our team.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
The most impressive thing about this company is that they are able to mirror our priorities and share common goals: If we are successful, they are successful.
Are there any areas for improvement?
No areas for improvement - all good.
the project
Paid Social Campaigns for Internet Firm
"Their agile work behavior impressed us the most. They were always open to pivoting based on results."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am in charge of brand partnerships at a content and media company. We create engaging videos for brands to better market their products to make consumers more confident in their decisions.
For what projects/services did your company hire Effective Marketing?
Run and optimize paid media campaigns for our clients.
What were your goals for this project?
Drive conversions for client
How did you select Effective Marketing?
They're our preferred choice
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
They create, execute and optimize campaigns using our video content and analyze the results.
What was the team composition?
our leadership team and their leadership team
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
they've proven at low budgets they can drive ROI and conversions that satisfy the clients needs.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
very
What did you find most impressive about this company?
their agile work behavior always open to pivoting based on results. They keep the CPA very cost-effective
Are there any areas for improvement?
we can always drive more results...
the project
Media Buying Services for Marketing Consultancy
"The head of the company is intimately involved throughout the process, making sure everything goes smoothly."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the founder of Stratecution Marketing, a marketing consultancy. I was the acting CMO for a large restaurant chain (consulting engagement) when I hired Effective Marketing.
For what projects/services did your company hire Effective Marketing?
TV media buying
What were your goals for this project?
I hired Effective Marketing to manage TV buy for my client.
How did you select Effective Marketing?
I worked with Sam (owner of Effective Marketing) when I was the head of marketing at Bob Evans. He did a great job then, so I hired him again.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
- Develop the media buying strategy
- Build a comprehensive media plan based on target TRPs and budget by market for 20+ TV markets
- Work with the cable TV holding company to execute the buy per approved media plan
- Track results and recommend adjustments to the media plan
What was the team composition?
I worked with the principal of Effective Marketing, Sam, and one other person from the same company.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Effective Marketing did a great job managing the entire process from crafting the media buying strategy to building and executing the media plan effectively and efficiently.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Very effective. We had weekly calls plus frequent phone calls and emails to coordinate.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
The head of the company is intimately involved throughout the process, making sure everything goes smoothly.
Are there any areas for improvement?
I can't think of anything.
the project
SEO Optimization for Kids Hair Salon
"They are good people to work with."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the Co-Owner of a group of 8 Chicago area kids hair salons.
For what projects/services did your company hire Effective Marketing, and what were your goals?
Effective Marketing is responsible for SEO work for us. Our Google rankings have improved tremendously.
How did you select Effective Marketing and what were the deciding factors?
We selected Sam through our digital agency SmallGood. They knew Sam via other projects they have done with him. He came highly recommended.
Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.
Sam Karow's intelligence and knowledge of metrics keeps helping us refine our keywords and maximize the value of our $$$
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
1- Sam Karow
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
We consistently rank in the top 3-8 for various keywords.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.
On time and on budget with good results. What more could you want. Until Covid we were meeting quarterly to review results.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
They are good people to work with.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
no