Favoured

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO and co-founder of Accessercise, the worlds first ever fitness app, specifically designed and built for the disabled community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Favoured?

We were looking to grow our marketing and reach as a new start up. We wanted a company to support us in content generation, market penetration, user economic growth and be the experts in the field where we needed them.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After research and careful consideration, we shortlisted 5 companies, interviewed them all and after speaking with George, we agreed this was the correct direction for the company.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They look after all of our marketing and paid for user reach. The help generate the content for marketing ads, control ad spend, drive downloads and user engagement into the app, refine scope based on the results of the test phase, liaise with the development team on tech related issues, support our brand image and awareness in the market place.

What was the team composition?

They have worked with our board of directors, our sub contractors, our development team and other members of the team at Accessercise to ensure the right people are working on the right things, in the right way. They very much feel like an in house team to us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our user economic metrics have got better month on month, over the first 2 months of being on the market we have seen 200+% and 100+% growth in each month, as well as huge gains in other user economics.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have weekly meetings, and all the team are within quick communication channels for urgent questions. We always try to set deadlines, and where we do, these are stuck to.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their passion for what we are doing, and their genuine drive to help us develop and grow our brand. It is refreshing working with people with great attitudes, amazing skill sets and that feel like family to us.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

We would love to provide a wider scope of work to the team to help us across more areas. As Accessercise grows, we will want to bring the Favored team onboard with more aspects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of e-commerce growth and marketing at a consumer goods company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Favoured?

We needed help growing our social media channels.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the beginning of the project, we briefed Favoured on the campaign, and they came up with the strategy in terms of the segmentation to go after on Facebook and Instagram. We defined a few KPIs, mostly around net revenue and growth. From there, the team comes up with the ads, imagery, and other material for the campaigns and executes. 

What is the team composition?

We work hand in hand with Sonam (Performance Marketing Manager), as well as with their creative team led by Andy (Co-Founder). 

How did you come to work with Favoured?

When Tik Tok started growing in popularity from a marketing standpoint, they were one of the first certified agencies. That’s how we began our engagement, and we’ve since moved on to other channels.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe we began working together in October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re looking at a couple of things. For the collaborative element, we find them very fast and agile in the way they deliver for us. We can easily turn around a campaign in two days, which we wouldn’t have been able to execute if we weren’t working with Favoured.

They’re quite flexible, fast to execute, and the results are great. That’s why we’ve continued to work with Favoured. From a broad perspective, they’ve helped us deliver some good campaigns. 

How did Favoured perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of deadlines, it’s been very positive. Favoured is quite fast, which is good because our process is very fluid. Every time we come up with a new strategy, they’re there to provide the creative and execute the campaign. They’ve always been on point in terms of delivering what we want them to deliver from a timeline point of view.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The flexibility and agility of the Favoured team is quite remarkable. We really value their ability to move really fast and execute with excellence.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They have an opportunity to increase their creative output, but what they’re delivering now is understandable considering how quickly we request turnaround time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When you have a good working relationship with your vendor, your project will always go way better. Collaboration is key, as is the clear delivery of information. Also, make them feel like they’re part of your team. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Work and Communications. The app helps millions of workers keep track of their hours, pay, and manage their bills and spending money.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Favoured?

We had a successful soft launch of the app, but we needed to grow the business and increase marketing. As a result, we needed help with paid ads, and potentially, ads on the App Store and Google Play. As a company, we didn’t have experience in paid advertising.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They launched Facebook and Instagram campaigns. Recently, we started advertising on the App Store. We’re also focusing on how to convert downloads by doing things in the app. They helped connect different platforms as well to make sure we’re analyzing the data properly to help us grow the business. 

What is the team composition?

I work closely with two people from their team. Sonam (Performance Marketing Manager) helps me more with acquisition at the top of the funnel, and then Katie (Performance Marketing Manager) helps with the communication side of the business, so further down the funnel.

How did you come to work with Favoured?

I found them through a Google search. We specifically needed help with increasing our downloads, and it didn’t seem like many other companies could give us the support we needed. It was clear that they understood what we needed to do. They outlined what we needed to work on and how it needed to be done to meet the standard we were looking for.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent $2,400 per month (approximately $19,200 in total).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020 and our project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were perfect and clearly worked to a high standard. The experience was fantastic. It was exactly what I was looking for.

How did Favoured perform from a project management standpoint?

At the beginning, we communicated over email. We met very quickly, but we no longer do that because of COVID-19. They were keen to come up and meet me. I actually think they came up from London to Leeds and I was able to meet the team.

They provided a personal experience that I hadn’t seen before. We continued talking over the phone, but the majority of our conversations are over WhatsApp. The WhatsApp group is running 24/7. We also have a weekly call.

They’re good at meeting deadlines and will follow up with me when needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s a very personal experience. They understand my needs and they get really involved in the business. For them, it’s not just about making money, it’s about ensuring that our business is successful too. They’ll do whatever it takes to help their clients.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As long as new clients know what they want to achieve out of this partnership and are able to communicate it, they will be successful. To be honest, I didn’t really know what I needed, but they were able to direct me based on the goals that I outlined.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of programs for a digital publishing platform. Our solution is predominantly an app for mobile users.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Favoured?

We launched our mobile app in Q1 of 2019 to test the market. Since then, we’ve gathered sufficient market data and are ready to invest a large amount in our growth strategy. Favoured supports us through their advertising and marketing services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Favoured helps us with digital advertising, strategies, and campaigns. We use Facebook and Instagram as our two primary social media platforms and are also extending their services into web and SEO.

What is the team composition? 

We work with four people. There’s the co-founder, the creative director, a mobile app analytics specialist, and a campaign success manager.

How did you come to work with Favoured?

We were previously working with a mobile marketing agency for over a year. When their contract went up for renewal, I thought it would be a good opportunity to see if there were any alternative agencies that could better respond to our needs.

That's when I found Favoured and brought them through the usual procurement process. They were up against a couple of other agencies but ultimately ended up on top.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay a monthly fee for a core set of services. If we ask them to work outside of that service agreement, then there may be additional costs.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together since June 2020. Currently, we have a service-supplier agreement in place, which will likely be in excess of a two-year arrangement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s been an excellent experience. The team has never tried to hold us back, instead being keen to listen to our needs. They work out exactly where we are, identify what we need at this point, and share their expertise to get us there. It’s also great that they’re proactive and can move at our pace.

How did Favoured perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly calls where we touch base to review the current performance of our advertising activities. That also gives us an opportunity to discuss any additional work in progress and address general issues or topics. Beyond that, we correspond via Slack and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team has quickly come up to speed with our internal expertise and can now communicate with us at our level. They just want to help us execute and achieve our objectives so that we grow. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

None whatsoever. They’re an absolute joy to work with, and the feedback from my team has been very positive, from the C-suite directors down to the managers.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Favoured is very keen to deliver and move quickly, so you have to be prepared to move at a healthy pace. If you know what it is you’re after, then there are no worries.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder and CTO of Save Your Wardrobe. We have a digital wardrobe platform that helps people reconnect with their wardrobe and become more sustainable in their shopping behaviors. 

We created a platform that is available on both iOS and Android which enables consumers to digitize their wardrobe, take care of their clothes, and track them. On the B2B side, we help retailers and brands do the same thing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Favoured?

We didn’t have any in-house expertise in marketing. We had an intern who was doing our social media, and we wanted to find someone who could actually help us improve the way we use our social networks and use social network campaigns to do some paid ads. 

We also wanted someone to help us with acquisition and engagement and with creating our creative assets for social ads. We had some designers working for us on the UI/UX of the app but nothing specific for marketing and social ads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We decided to go ahead with them on three services. Favoured helped with our acquisition by setting up campaigns on the main social ads with the marketing budget of £5,000 (approximately $6,000 USD) a month.

They gave us the proposal to split that budget on a few marketing channels. We would test them and optimize them. As a target, we had a cost per install (CPI) and a cost per acquisition (CPA). They also worked on the engagement to improve our formal engagement inside the app.

The team optimized our funnel and set up in-app marketing campaigns, emails that are sent when users sign up, and push notifications to reengage with the customers who have downloaded the app. 

Last but not least, they've provided us with design services. We have a package with unlimited design services per month. They can create an unlimited amount of creative assets as we didn’t have any. These included images, videos, and things we need for the ads.

What is the team composition?

In total, we’ve worked with at least 5–6 people from their team. We have one project lead, an account manager, a design lead, and then we had people who were covering off for holidays or coming on for specific social networks where they were experts.

How did you come to work with Favoured?

They reached out to me two years ago on LinkedIn to offer their services. We didn’t have our startup at that time, but we had a conversation about what they do. George (Co-Founder) was really knowledgeable when it came to mobile marketing. 

He gave us a lot of insight at that time on how we should work on our marketing budget, and we used that when we did the funding for our startup to do our cost estimation for marketing and acquisition.

Two years later, when we had the funding, the app was live, and we had marketing challenges, we reached out to them. Especially during the COVID-19 crisis, we wanted to use that time when people were stuck at home to get them more engaged with our app.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around £40,000–£50,000 (aproximately $52,000–$65,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in April 2020, and we are still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is very high. Favoured knows mobile apps and our industry very well. We have people that were specific to the fashion industry, so they quickly became part of the team and the quality of the data that we had was quite amazing.

How did Favoured perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly use Slack, and we have a weekly meeting via Google Meet. We also use tools such as Google Drive to share different assets. They’re very good when it comes to scheduling and managing deadlines. 

We have a dedicated project manager who does the weeklies, tracking, and orchestration of all the different people working on the project. They are quite good at managing the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Favoured’s knowledge of the industry and the fact that they have different talents on the team that can address any type of need you have are the most impressive things. We are in a business where sometimes we need to be reactive and manage an opportunity, and they have always been there.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that the analytics part is actually set up on the app and things like that. Have all the metrics that you require so that they can then optimize your funnel. 

You could waste a lot of time asking them to do that when it’s not what they should be doing if your app is not well thought out from the beginning in terms of tracking different funnels. Make sure you have thought about your KPIs before you engage with a marketing company. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of Marketing and Communications at an international education charity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Favoured?

To create the design of a new monthly online and print magazine

What were your goals for this project?

To have a high end look and feel publication to delight a sophisticated and discerning audience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Recommendation from a contact in the industry.

Describe the project in detail.

Favoured designed the publication(s) from start to finish, delivering to brief and on deadline.

What was the team composition?

numerous designers, consultants, art director and freelancers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The publication won two awards within its first year of circulation with judges praising the high end artwork and design.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Good; efficient and productive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Creativity, innovation, multi-disciplinary nature of staff and leadership.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior global development producer at Endemol Shine Group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Favoured?

We needed assistance with video and graphic production.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Favoured to help with pitching material. From doing actual edits to the footage, their team is involved. They also assist with 3D animation. We can give them an idea, and they can produce the 3D model of it.

Usually, a project starts with a brief, and then there’s constant collaboration and feedback involved. We send their team a brief, and then they send us drafts, which we give notes on. We usually go through three or four rounds.

One of our projects was for MTV Europe, where they created graphics for pitch materials and the actual show. For the tv show, they helped with a graphics package that included a logo and other design accents.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Andy (Content Director, Favoured). I go straight to him, but he also has a team.

How did you come to work with Favoured?

We found them through word of mouth.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between £5,000– £10,000 per year (approximately $8,500–$17,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Favoured started in 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team at Favoured delivers beautiful material that amplifies our ideas. They’ve had a strong impact on our business. I always recommend Favoured to my peers, never receiving any complaints.

How did Favoured perform from a project management standpoint?

Along with being responsive, their team takes great notes and hits deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate that they’re not a massive company. Their team cares about their clients. It’s also more personal of an engagement because they don’t use a template for every customer.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve their relationship with feedback. We also have to get better with it as well. Sometimes an email has to be read three times to see every single thing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients should be clear in briefs if they want a clear product. If you don’t visually know what you want, let them run with it because their team is flowing with creative ideas.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Co-Founder of Rough Runner, the UK's only game show-inspired obstacle event series. We deliver sports events to c.30,000 participants per year

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Favoured?

We turned to Favoured to help us create campaign strategies for our entire digital presence - from social media, to websites, to email comms, data gathering, analysis and more. In a nutshell, to outsource our marketing needs.

What were your goals for this project?

We have been looking to drive brand awareness across the UK, increase ticket sales to our events and carve out and defend our niche in the sector.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They approached us in a very novel, compelling way. It was this direct but clever approach that told us that this was an agency who were a bit different, and could find new ways of cutting through the advertising noise to deliver impactful messages to our millions of potential customers. After a few calls and meetings, we were convinced that this was the agency to deliver for us.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We started out in a discovery phase, spending time assessing the market, current strategies, past performance, new avenues and opportunities, and with that knowledge created overarching strategies to cover the priorities. Favoured then got on with the work, and we continue to meet up weekly to analyse performance and pivot where needed.

What was the team composition?

We've worked with the owner of the agency and his senior team on a regular basis. This has been a breath of fresh air, especially compared to agencies we've worked with in the past, where senior account management is non-existent, or just incredibly expensive.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They have taken ownership of our campaigns, which shows the level of trust we have placed in them. Within the first quarter of taken over the key ad accounts, they had increased our ROI by 25%, at significant levels of spend.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. We have used multiple platforms to communicate and manage workflows, including Slack, Whatsapp, email and Trello. In the end, we've settled on Whatsapp as the most effective. They are VERY responsive, and even at weekends and in the evenings they are reaching out to us to let us know if there's anything urgent that needs doing (e.g. if something isn't working as it should be).

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was very impressed by their 'tech stack'. Novel use of systems and platforms working in sync with each other to create automated yet personalised messaging, with vast scope and far greater results than we've seen through more traditional means. The senior level of contact, and out of normal hours attention is also a complete revelation.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There's always room for improvement with anything! Generally we're very satisfied with the work they've done with us, but if I'm being picky, the creative input could be improved, as opposed to simply focusing on the targeting and delivery of the existing creative.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder and the CEO of a company that’s making a mobile app for football fans. It gives them the latest news and commentary in one place. We identify what users like and personalize it for them.

We aggregate news, bring it all into one place and break it down into bite-sized chunks. We look at what users are clicking on, and we personalize the feed for them. We also give users the ability to interact with each other. The app is available natively for Android and iOS.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Favoured?

We were looking at growing our user base by learning and testing different channels—learning what worked, optimizing, and ultimately determining what our course of acquisition would be.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Favoured handled the marketing side of our business. We wanted to gain a minimum of 10,000 new users, as well as learn what digital channels worked best, what our cost per acquisition was, and what would best resonate with users from a messaging perspective. 

Those were all things we tested with Favoured by using ads on Facebook, Instagram, Google Play, App Store, Twitter, and Reddit. We went through several ads to learn how to position the app on the market and what would resonate with users better. We wanted to learn how we could grab their attention and ultimately get them to download our app.

We determined our cost-per-acquisition, when to target our audience,  and, ultimately, when we’d win and when we’d lose.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from their team, including a project manager.

How did you come to work with Favoured?

We’d worked with George (Co-Founder, Favoured) in a freelance capacity before. 

We had a full review process with three different suppliers about what we wanted to do. In the end, Favoured came out on top by a long way, both in terms of price and their agile abilities.

How much have you invested with them?

Their cost so far has been around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Favoured in May 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Favoured’s work has resulted in 16,000 downloads in the UK across different channels. We learned fantastic insights around which channels will work. We learned that advertising around some more niche areas and using bespoke messaging would be a real win for us.

How did Favoured perform from a project management standpoint?

They held our hands throughout the entire project, and they were fantastic about making sure we were set up in the right manner. We had weekly update calls to discuss progress and optimize based on what was and wasn’t working. It was a great process for our team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were performance-and data-driven, beyond anyone I’d worked with before. We went to them with a brief listing of the results we wanted, and we’ve achieved those results. 

They were very honest about what they could and couldn’t achieve and told us what they thought would be a challenge. Favoured was always honest when they thought they couldn’t achieve something within a certain timeframe or budget. This was a key part of the whole relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some things in marketing work and some don’t, and we have to realize that. We did spend time in areas that didn’t perform, but they ultimately delivered what we said on the brief. So, we’re happy.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

This is related to the client company, rather than the marketing provider. It’s important to run at a pace that’s in line with your own team. We have fulltime designers and social media people, so, when we needed to create new content, we could do it quite quickly. Some people don’t have that ability and need to make sure they have a good amount of creative ready to test. Otherwise, it can be a bit of a bottleneck in the process.