Finzel Public Relations, S.L.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Marketing Officer of Scality

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Scality is a recognized industry leader in the field of distributed file and object storage software - delivering reliable, secure and sustainable storage solutions for enterprises and service providers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Finzel Public Relations, S.L. to accomplish?

• Build awareness for Scality in Spain

SOLUTION

How did you find Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

Referral

Why did you select Finzel Public Relations, S.L. over others?

Great culture fit, Referred to me, Company values aligned, Other

What was the size of Finzel Public Relations, S.L.’s team?

6-10 Employees

What was your primary form of communication with Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

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

Finzel PR was tasked with building awareness for Scality in the Spain & Portugal regions. They were the company's first PR/communications partner company in the region and delivered the following: - High quality PR coverage with notable technical and business press in Spain. - Amplified Scality corporate PR messages and industry-leader recognition from analysts Gartner and IDC - Helped us to achieve a notable win from ASLAN, the leading ICT community in Spain. -Translation of English PR and articles into local language

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Measurable and continuing increase in press coverage in Spain.
• Our fastest growing PR region globally

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

Finzel has always delivered on time and with high quality results. We have learned that we can put 100% trust into their commitments - they will deliver.

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

Timeliness, quality and ability to make an impact with a very sharp and focused team. They created value for the company both on the marketing and from a sales perspective.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Finzel Public Relations, S.L. could have done differently?

FInzel delivered everything we could have asked for.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Head of Communications at Deposit Solutions. I worked closely with Finzel PR in this project.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Finzel Public Relations, S.L., and what were your goals?

Finzel PR supported us in all PR and press engagements activities in Spain. This included regional press office duties, e. g. story pitching and answering media enquiries, translation and adaptation of centrally designed communications collateral, editorial services, event support etc.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Finzel PR was already working with us when I joined the company. As with all vendors, I reviewed performance and successes of Finzel PR and was impressed by the agencies expertise, market knowledge and operational excellence.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

We were mainly pursuing a centralized communications approach in which we would develop compelling stories and angles on a Pan-European level, and then localize and adapt them to market-specific messages and storylines together with our PR agencies. This is what Finzel PR did for the Spanish market. The agency consulted us in finding regional angles on global content that would resonate well with Spanish audiences, took care of localizing all content as well as distributing it to Spanish media.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked directly with the Managing Director of the company, Piers Finzel. Support on more junior level varied throughout the years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At Deposit Solutions we were very much focusing on leveraging research and thought leadership content to engage with the press. Finzel PR continuously succeeded in securing tier-1-coverage for our studies and broad media awareness for our announcements.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

With our team sitting in Hamburg, Germany, we maintained informal and uncomplicated communication with Finzel PR via email and telephone. The management style of their team was hands-on and results-oriented.

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

For us as an English-speaking company, it was especially valuable to have both native English and Spanish skills at Finzel PR, which secured the highest possible quality of text and content.

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

Since the agency is rather small, there is a relatively high dependence on the skillset of a few employees.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing and sales specialist for MiR Robots SE & MEA. We are the leading manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

Our mobile robots are used in various sectors such as automotive, food & beverages, healthcare, and more. They’re used to transport and handle internal materials in a smart way so that you can redeploy employees for high-value tasks, increase production, decrease costs, and have the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage on a global level.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

Our main challenge was to position our company as a leader in the local market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Finzel helped us increase our brand awareness among our local target audience.

They provide copywriting, translation, and distribution of press releases in the local market. They do PR work where they organize and produce our case studies — this includes videographers, photographers, and voice dubbers.

They also provide the development and placement of leadership articles in the media, conduct interviews with key company spokespeople, and support us during trade shows.

Additionally, they’re also helpful in terms of consultancy, day-to-day press office duties, and media relations management

What is the team composition?

I mainly work with Piers (Founder & Managing Director) who established the company a couple of years ago.

How did you come to work with Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

They are very well-known in the local market in terms of media familiarity in industrial automation. They were relatively easy to find because there’s not a lot of competition on that level. Their professional approach, friendliness, and insights into the local market were some of the main reasons why we chose Finzel.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our partnership in January 2019 and we’ve been working together since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

First of all, they’re a very professional and friendly agency, and they are very familiar with the local market.

With our local case studies, they helped us gain better visibility in the local media. As a result, we have more brand awareness. Piers also collaborates with the Association of Robotics — which we are also a part of, and from time to time, we send them articles to publish. The main idea was to gain brand visibility and I believe we achieved that.

How did Finzel Public Relations, S.L. perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s really easy to work with Piers — I find him very flexible and friendly. Their personal approach, combined with their in-depth knowledge and understanding of our business has been very much appreciated.

We mainly handle communications through calls over Microsoft Teams, online meetings, or regular phone calls. He always makes himself available. When there’s something urgent, I don’t need to set an online meeting on Microsoft teams. I can just pick up my phone and call him.

We also communicate through email and store information in our shared Dropbox.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We think they’re very effective and capable of working in-sync with other team members of the regional network. Piers not only knows the market, but he knows what kind of interviews to crack. In this way, they get the right attention from our team and approval.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always a place for improvement, but to be honest, there’s nothing I can really think of right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

First of all, they need to be clear on what they want. Finzel is very much familiar with industrial automation and I’m sure they cover all types of media as well. If you’re looking for good visibility in the Spanish market, flexibility, and the know-how over the local market and media, Finzel is a great choice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former head of PR for a software company that’s developing an end-to-end robotic platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

We hired Finzel Public Relations, S.L. to support some of our go-to-media activities when we first opened our office in Madrid, Spain. At the time, we didn’t have many people there, so we drew on Finzel PR’s previous experiences and local media connections.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Finzel PR devised a communication and media strategy for us in Spain. This mostly comprised of them helping us craft our messaging, writing press releases, localizing our global strategies, and executing the media outreach.

They were also quite active in developing thought leadership content alongside us and getting it in the local media. With their team securing media opportunities for us, our spokespeople in Spain could talk about our various highlights and milestones.

Finally, they were involved in collecting customer success stories, interviewing people who’d previously agreed to be a part of customer advocacy efforts. We worked with them to craft those stories and publish them on our website. 

What is the team composition? 

I worked with the two co-owners of the agency, which was a good mix. One of them was a native English speaker who could help us develop our customer success stories from our US-based customers. The other was a Spanish woman who had been active in the landscape for plenty of years and had excellent connections to the local media.

How did you come to work with Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

We were originally working with a PR agency in the US that referred us to a UK agency and Finzel PR. Since we were growing so explosively at the time and didn’t have time to do a proper pitch, we decided to act on their recommendations for both agencies.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between September 2018–September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were very impressed with the quality of their results. Not only did we look at the media pieces that we got on a monthly basis, but we’d also look at the quality of the media and the subsequent publicity that we’d get out of an effort. Finzel PR’s work was consistent. We had pieces in niche trade magazines as well as appearing in daily newspapers and other informational channels for the general public.

I’d also highlight that they did a great job understanding our customers and working within our industry. The quality of their pieces attested to the fact that they were doing their research to learn about a specialized industry that isn’t for everyone. That meant that we spent less time editing their materials, which was really helpful.

As for our team’s experience working with them, our local spokespeople were always complimentary to Finzel PR’s work. They were responsible for facilitating relationships between our spokespeople and generalists and influencers who we wanted to be in touch with. It was clear that they were doing their due diligence to arrange meetings, prepare materials, brief documents for our team, and prep the generalist.

How did Finzel Public Relations, S.L. perform from a project management standpoint?

It was very satisfactory. We were a small team that also had to deal with many other regions, so I appreciated that they were always very proactive and sensitive to our schedule. 

While we didn’t use any project management tools, we did collaborate through online documents and mostly communicated through email. There was a biweekly call, too, where we’d go through all of our activities and tactics one by one. This was also the time to touch on strategic items and evaluate our direction.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Finzel PR had very subtle knowledge of the local media landscape, which translated to strong, existing relationships with key editors at key publications. They were always great facilitators in getting us the details that we needed.

Then, from a customer-service perspective, I appreciated that they didn’t treat us like another client in the rotation. They gave us the proper time, attention, and resources as expected. I never felt like they were preoccupied with another customer. Instead, they were very proactive and didn’t make us wait for them to get back to us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This might sound a bit nonsensical since they are totally dedicated to Spain, but it’d be a plus for them to have even better English capabilities. 

Besides that, we did have some initial challenges around some of their written work. Our company had always been interested in storytelling and making our written materials stand out, and I think that our expectations were higher than they’d thought. However, we soon became more compatible with each other, and they delivered to the standards that we were looking for.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Trade & Marcom Marketing Manager for OKI Europe in Iberia. OKI is a global business-to-business brand dedicated to creating cost effective, professional in-house printing solutions which are designed to increase the efficiency of today's and tomorrow's businesses.

For over 60 years OKI has been delivering advanced printing solutions worldwide introducing ground-breaking technologies that have supported the needs of businesses large and small.

From printers to faxes and multifunctional devices to managed print services, OKI offers a complete range of fast, high quality, reliable products and services that help to improve business productivity and deliver cost savings and efficiencies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

To manage ongoing media relations in Spain and Portugal as well as translating and posting social media content on our local profiles.

What were your goals for this project?

Create brand and product awareness amongst our target audiences in both markets and position the company as leading vendor of printing solutions for businesses.

SOLUTION

How did you select Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

Finzel PR was recommended to us by our PR agency in the UK, and after evaluating their proposal for activities based on the budget we had available and their credentials in the tech PR field, they were selected for the project.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

• Translation and distribution of international corporate press releases;
• Copywriting and distribution of local news releases;
• Development and placement of thought leadership articles and media interviews with key company spokespeople;
• Media relations support during trade shows;
• The creation of company social media profiles in Spanish and Portuguese, and continuous update of profiles with regular posts;
• Day to day press office duties and media relations management;
• Consultancy and advice.

What was the team composition?

The project was managed centrally from Finzel PR’s Madrid office, with a dedicated account manager in Spain and another in Portugal

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our primary objective was to ensure a seamless handover from our incumbent agency to Finzel PR and for them to maintain, consolidate and subsequently increase volumes of coverage of our brand in the B2B media and that was achieved very quickly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Having Finzel PR’s team managed centrally from their Madrid office and covering both countries through a single point of contact saved our internal Marcoms team a lot of time and helped create a more efficient and effective use of earned media content in both markets.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their flexibility and willingness to help at all times, even with tasks that sometimes fell outside the agreed scope of work. They were also very knowledgeable of the local media landscapes in both countries. They were able to creatively make the most of any earned media opportunities.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing of note

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We cooperate on global PR activities for our clients :) The cooperation is based on full angegement and great attitude and knowledge of Piers team!

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

PR for our global clients.

What were your goals for this project?

Wide publicity and building the awareness of our common clients' brand.

SOLUTION

How did you select Finzel Public Relations, S.L.?

We belong to a common PR network.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We do the complex strategy reviews together, exchange the know-how and experiences.

What was the team composition?

We do love working with Piers team. All proffesionals are hihly commited to achieve PR goals.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

PR peaces in the most important media.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very fluent and up to date.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We love the analytical attitude of the Finzel team. We admire the knowledge and PR techniques they use.

Are there any areas for improvement?

no, all is ok.