Hiller Agency

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the principals and three owners of an insurance brokerage company. We provide commercial and personal insurance to clients in California and several other states in the US. We’ve been in business since 2006, and I joined the company in 2011. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Hiller Agency?

We needed help engaging with the press and generating media attention about our work and the clients that we serve. The goal was to get our name out there.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We spend five hours a month working with the Hiller Agency team. They’ve done media training that shows us how to be the best spokespeople we can when the media needs us. Their team has also arranged feature articles for us in email newsletters and other critical media outlets. 

What is the team composition?

I work with Denis (Head of Marketing). Our team also conducts calls with publicists and a creative director, but Denis is our main point of contact.  

How did you come to work with Hiller Agency?

I wasn’t sure what exactly I was looking for, so I reached out to several PR agencies in the Bay Area and one in LA. I also reached out to another one in New York. When I landed on Hiller Agency, I liked their responsiveness. We had a good intro call, and I had a good feeling about it. Then, they gave me a proposal of how they could help me, and what they said there made a lot of sense to me. From there, we started working together. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our company pays around $1,500 a month, so we’ve spent around $6,000 on their services so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I hired them in June 2021, and our engagement is ongoing. 

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

We need help in the PR space since we have no expertise in it, and Hiller Agency has helped us when we need them. They truly know what they’re doing. 

Quantitatively, I don't keep track of specific numbers. The commercial insurance space is a long-term game, so we don’t expect to see results immediately. However, we’ve already seen an uptick in the number of inbound leads we’ve been receiving — that’s highly positive. We’re getting more calls and emails from clients, so our salespeople have been truly happy about that. 

How did Hiller Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Hiller Agency is highly responsive, and Denis gets back to me quickly. He’s also proactive about coming up with ideas that I’ve never considered before. If I ask him a question, he won’t just answer my question; he’ll go above and beyond and give me more ideas that I can bounce around in my head and explore. On top of that, I like having one point of contact instead of being unsure where to go for everything I need. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Apart from the uptick in prospects that comes from their work, Hiller Agency has been educational in their work by explaining the reasons behind their actions and suggestions. Simply put, they truly help us engage the press and publications that we want to be featured in — we couldn’t have achieved that without their help. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them a shot; let Hiller Agency give you a proposal. They’re an all-senior team so they know what they’re doing. It’s comforting to have a senior team behind you rather than dealing with a salesperson that puts you under an account manager. Moreover, trust that they’ll follow through on what they say they’ll do. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief creative officer at an online media platform. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Hiller Agency?

I’m a creative, and I work with Denis (Head of Marketing) on the analytical and data-related sides of our projects. They essentially serve as the yin to our yang. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hiller Agency has helped me with a number of projects, including Facebook marketing, Google Ads, and everything else that’s not in my wheelhouse. They also handle our budget analysis, ad spend and optimization, and other things that I don’t know how to do. Denis tells me when things aren’t optimized — he even explains what “optimized” means in certain contexts. 

What is the team composition?

I only work with Denis, but I’ve also met with other people from his team. 

How did you come to work with Hiller Agency?

I met Denis and Hiller Agency many moons ago when I was manager for a Swedish studio. At that time, I was the head creative of the world’s largest music management company. That was when we started working together. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent around $10,000 for their services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2011, and our partnership is ongoing. 

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

My clients are happy with Hiller Agency, so I’m also happy. Everyone has a boss up the food chain, and as long as my bosses in my food chain are happy, I trust Denis. He’s been great in guiding me and identifying areas that I don’t know how to do. They’re exceptional in explaining technical things to people like me who have some level of intelligence but have the attention span of a four-year-old child. 

How did Hiller Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Hiller Agency’s project management is great. Denis has always been a highly organized person. In fact, around ten years ago, he introduced me to project management tools when I was rummaging through the world of product management suites. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Denis knows how to work with me. I’m a busy person, and he knows how to get on with my schedule. He knows when to call me and when not to; if something has gone drastically wrong, he knows how to get my attention. 

On top of that, Denis puts out fires without me knowing about the fire in the first place. That’s massively important to me and my quality of life. He intuitively knows what to do in such situations. Moreover, I don’t ask him to be a rocket scientist, but he knows the best practices to use while working with me.

For comparison, I’ve been pitched by other agencies, and they’ve all been the same; they’d give me loads of attention in the first month, and then they’d suddenly hand me off to a second account manager and then to a junior account manager. I don’t need that kind of service nor care about how they run their business; I just want to work with one person, and Hiller Agency gives me that. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. I’m sure I can find other vendors that are more competitively priced than them, but I’ve had bad experiences with those companies. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to Denis. He sometimes comes off a bit brash, but that’s because he’s direct. I personally like that, but other people might not. In fact, some people on my team think that he’s intense. Despite that, I love what he has to say. Overall, he knows what he talks about, so let him be himself. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of a mobile-first social platform for dog parents.

For what projects/services did your company hire Hiller Agency?

As I'm preparing to launch the MVP in the coming months, and given the fact that I'm currently a sole founder, initial customer acquisition and growth marketing strategy has been a looming question mark. It's a known fact that most start-ups fail between their MVP launch and finding product/market fit, so it's been a top priority of mine to seek out experienced advisors who can help me figure out the best approach to early growth.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I had several deciding factors as I was searching for a vendor:

1. Someone who has had entrepreneurial experience and can give first-hand advice
2. Being up-to-date with current trends and strategies as far as digital marketing, successful growth strategies in the start-up space and best ways to leverage social media
3. Affordability (currently self-funded)

The Hiller Agency checked all those boxes. Denis Hiller was engaged with the project from the first intro call, and it was clear right away that he has an innate entrepreneurial and creative mindset. The Agency's fee structure was transparent and affordable. Deciding to move forward with them was a no-brainer.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We did a deep dive on the current prototype and what the target audience for the MVP is as I see it. We spent time refining that target audience, and then developed several strategies for acquiring those users early on, focusing on retaining them while iterating on the initial product, and developing a network effect.

They also helped me develop certain mid-term growth marketing strategies based on some of the other features and segments that are on the 6-12 month post-launch roadmap. Finally, the Agency provided insight into the best ways to combine the application roadmap and growth strategy with eventual Seed and Series A funding rounds.

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

Given the deciding factors I mentioned above, I wanted to work specifically with Denis. He was my main point of contact throughout this project.

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

I am already in the process of implementing some of the Agency's suggestions for developing an initial user base pre-launch. While we are still in early stages and don't have specific data to show, the strategies that Denis outlined make me a lot more confident in building that user base concurrently with the application.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had several 1hr+ video calls to discuss the several areas I mentioned earlier. The Agency's turnaround time was less than a week on each major question / area of focus, and our discussions were insightful and productive. Moreover, Denis made himself available via text and would occasionally send me one-off thoughts and ideas.

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

I really appreciated how personally involved Denis was (and still is). It's obvious from the first few minutes of connecting with him that he has an empathy for founders and teams who are trying to win a small piece of people's attention and is invested in helping those teams succeed. Even though our project has ended, he still checks in on me and is super responsive when I send him a question or idea.

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

Nothing really comes to mind here. As I mentioned, given my budget and early stage, I wasn't sure whether I could get any meaningful quality in this area. My work with the Hiller Agency has surpassed all expectations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of a hand-made online clothing store.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hiller Agency?

We wanted more clients for our business, so we needed to advertise to create brand awareness.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hiller Agency does marketing for us promoting our work. We started with consulting sessions where we described our needs, and they told us how they’d engage in increasing our sales. They collaborate with famous bloggers, drive potential clients to our sites, and hire a photographer to do professional photoshoots for our products.

The engagement is mainly social media marketing and content creation for our business.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Denis (Head of Marketing), and he manages the rest of their team.

How did you come to work with Hiller Agency?

They were referred to me by a friend. I chose them because they had marketing knowledge, and they also speak Russian.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $1,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We’ve experienced an increase in sales of our online shop, and our brand has become more recognizable. People started to talk about our business, and we’ve been getting great feedback on Instagram and Facebook as well.

How did Hiller Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re perfect in that area; they communicate, meet deadlines, and understand the American market, which is essential for our business.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The communication with them is accessible — they speak my native language, so I can be clear with the descriptions of what I need.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — I’m delighted with the results they provide for me. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Be clear with your exact expectations.