The House of Poppins

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for the world’s largest specialist recruiter. We have over 11,000 employees across 30 countries. The team focuses on highly skilled positions in areas like accountancy and finance, life sciences, construction, and oil and gas. 

I’m the communications manager working for the central marketing team. My responsibilities include working with our free countries and producing a global publication that assets us as thought leaders in the space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with the tree?

I started my work with the tree in regard to our global report publication. The report looks at 34 skilled labor markets. It’s quite data-heavy and complex. We wanted them to translate that data into a microsite that was easy for our viewers to use.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was important for us to create a microsite that added something extra to the data that we normally showcase in print. We provided them with a brief at the start of the project. They took that information and used it to create a microsite that brought our vision to life. It functions essentially as a destination for anyone who wants to learn more about the report or draw comparisons between labor markets that we feature. 

What is the team composition?

I’ve spoken to five of their team members, but we know that there are others working in the background as well. One of our contacts was a project manager.  

How did you come to work with the tree?

We received a recommendation from another company that we were collaborating with. In our initial meeting, they presented us with some of their past website work and provided ideas for what we could do with ours as well. Our team had a microsite in place already, but they had ideas for vast improvements on what we had at the time. We could tell that they could make the user journey so much better, so we hired them to help us. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The officially took over the microsite in 2018, and our work together is ongoing. We release the report every September, so they start prepping the site in May to ensure it’s ready for that launch date.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We use Google Analytics to closely monitor the success of our efforts. So far, we’ve seen a 40% increase year-over-year in site traffic. While that can be attributed in part to the report itself and our social media marketing, I’d definitely give some of the credit to the work that they’ve done. Making the data digestible has helped bring people to the microsite as well.   

How did the tree perform from a project management standpoint?

They gave constant updates, and I was able to reach them when I needed to. Because the reports launch early in the day, they worked outside of normal business hours. They were always very reassuring when giving updates to let us know exactly what was happening. There was never a moment when we felt left behind on their process. They told us about progress, telling me exactly what they needed from us as well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to visually present data in very engaging ways. By incorporating interactive elements into their work, they set themselves apart from others. The level of support they were able to provide and their ideas on projects really impressed us. We know that they can come up with suggestions when we present issues. They have a great understanding of our brand and work their suggestions around our guidelines. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re really pleased with them and happy with their process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them a certain level of freedom in the ideas they present to you. That’s one of their strong points. They’re personable and approachable, taking feedback seriously. They make sure that your feedback is incorporated into their work.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing and communications for an education and training company that’s focused on helping our learners progress through their careers. We partner with various universities within the United Kingdom, providing a mix of offerings for students. These include degrees and pathway programs for international students.

We also run branch campuses with some of our partner universities. In those situations, we manage recruitment and marketing for branch campuses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with the tree?

We started working with them about four years ago when we were looking for a partner to create a new website for one of our offerings. It was important that the agency could design, develop, and maintain the site as time went on.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website that I discussed earlier was the first of many that they created for us. We work with them on a retained basis. At this point, they run much of our online advertising and a few campaigns. We use them for Google PPC activity, Bing, Facebook, and YouTube. They also manage web development. We brief them on our requirements and collaborate with them to roll out developments. 

In their site development work, they’ve handled both redevelopments and creating a product from scratch. The site they’re working on currently is being built from scratch. We work with them to produce content and infographics. They handle site mapping for sites. The majority of the other projects have involved them moving an existing site to a new CMS, also undertaking a redesign and rebuild.

How did you come to work with the tree?

I first came across them because one of my friends had worked there. When I asked him to point to someone who could design and build a website, he seemed confident they could do it. They also understood what we were looking for and had a like-minded approach. We appreciated that they were local, too.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around June 2015, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We obtain monthly reports based on our always-on advertising. Our team is able to track their progress based on that information and whether or not the ads produce inquiries. We also produce monthly web reports for the site. Their work has been very well received.  

How did the tree perform from a project management standpoint?

They work with many teams within the marketing division. We have a weekly call with them on Fridays, involving everyone who works on our account on both sides. In those meetings, they run through performance updates. 

In addition, we have regular catch-up calls that allow us to get frequent updates on progress. Our digital team also has a development queue that their team examines to map out current development projects. We’ve used many collaboration tools, which have worked very well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understand our challenges and industry, always aiming to be proactive in their work. They’ve grown alongside us. That’s impressed us, too. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. We’ve developed a transparent relationship. If anything’s wrong, we work through it together. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’m a big fan and would highly recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a consumer privacy advocate at a VPN provider company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with the tree?

We had a pretty small core team, and one of the functions that we wanted to do was social media and social activation within those channels. We brought the tree on to provide part managed services and then also provide creative planning.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They managed our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram channels. Recently, they’ve been handling LinkedIn as well.

Their efforts were broken into three areas: First, they’re responsible for day-to-day moderation and management of our channels. Second, is content planning, in terms of strategy and planning for those channels. Third, is the actual content creation based on that strategy.

They work closely with our customer service team, and in some cases it’s more pertinent for them to reply in lieu of our team, but it depends on the situation.  

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with six people from their team, with one account manager.

How did you come to work with the tree?

I selected them based on awards they won for their work in the UK, and after seeing their work and credibility I approached them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in February 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a core set of metrics for our channels, mainly around traffic and engagement. Within the first six months of working with the tree we’ve seen steady improvements across the board. We’re very pleased with the progress we’ve been making.

How did the tree perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a very clear, well structured, set up process. Thy did well in terms of information gathering, documentation production, and reporting back to us. Our weekly contact with them is very good as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take a lot of time to understand our tone and voice as a company.

They’ve gone above and beyond my experience with other agencies, in that they understood the new territory we were approaching; they worked around the fact that we didn’t have set brand guidelines in place. Their patience and understanding have been wonderful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve had some concerns addressed about QA. At times it seemed like certain individuals cared more about the final product than others on the account. They’ve been very quick to rectify those issues when they’ve been raised.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend them. My advice is to take advantage of the initial briefing process, even if you don’t end up working with them; you’ll get quite good feedback about where your company is at and where you’d like to go.