Kaminsky Brand Group

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're the leading personal insurance company in Massachusetts.

For what projects/services did your company hire Kaminsky Brand Group?

Tom and his team handled multiple branding and advertising campaigns over a number of years. He was instrumental in the development of a campaign during the transition to full competitive rating in Massachusetts.

What were your goals for this project?

Reinforce to our customer base that they have selected the right company and that the organization, along with their professional independent agent, would continue to meet their insurance needs.

How did you select Kaminsky Brand Group?

We had been working on other projects and had always been impressed with the options they delivered as well as their execution.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Developed a multi-media campaign to reach out to clients and potential clients stressing the value proposition delivered by the company.

What was the team composition?

less than five members who were consistent during the project. Project was completed on time and on budget.

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

We were able to maintain favorable market share results given the influx of competition. Our message was well received by customers, vendors, and distributors based on the feedback received.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent communication between teams.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The people and their commitment to success were most impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the interim head of school at Mount Alvernia High School. We are a private all-girls school with grades 7–12.

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaminsky Brand Group?

We were looking for an admissions consultant.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kaminsky Brand Group served as our admissions consultants. We spent time looking at where we had attracted students from in the past and which neighborhoods we could potentially attract new students from. From there, their team helped us create print and digital campaigns to drive prospective families to our website. Their team also created a marketing and advertising strategy for us.

They created various materials for these campaigns, including a series of videos that are available on our website and social media channels, including Facebook and Instagram. We also ran ads on local television stations and news outlets, such as the Boston Globe.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Tom (Creative Director). 

How did you come to work with Kaminsky Brand Group?

We worked with Kaminsky Brand Group about 10 years ago to help increase our enrollment, so we brought them back to help us again.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement began in September 2020.

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

We’re currently in admissions season right now and have seen a higher yield of applicants. We have seen a direct impact from the ads, and many families have been commenting on them and providing positive feedback. 

It’s often difficult to get messaging correctly when you bring a consultant in, but, having worked with us before, Kaminsky Brand Group really nailed who we are. The quality of the ads is fantastic. Everyone we interacted with from their team was professional and experienced. They made sure we dug into the data and numbers to target the correct audience. 

How did Kaminsky Brand Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We initially reached out a year earlier than the engagement, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, it just didn’t end up working out. When we did reach out later, we gave him very short notice, but Tom was able to pull things together very quickly. He easily delivered anything at any time. They answer questions quickly and always follow up. Our teams utilized Zoom to collaborate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Having worked with Kaminsky Brand Group in the past was a huge help. He has done similar work on larger scales with colleges, so he knew what we were looking for. We were able to have very productive and open conversations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they did a great job, especially given the global circumstances.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of a residential building developer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Kaminsky Brand Group?

We hired Kaminsky Brand Group to oversee all our marketing efforts such as developing collateral and creative processes whenever we’re launching new neighborhoods and products.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Kaminsky Brand Group oversees everything in terms of email, collateral production, creative concepts, executive signage, logos, and ads. They manage our corporate website and we’re shepherding through our third website.

In terms of marketing, Tom (Creative Director) develops our print, media, and internet ads. He oversees the blogs and our social media marketing. He creates the displays we use in our sales offices such as business cards, brochures, floor plans, color schemes, and anything we need to launch a new neighborhood.

What is the team composition?

We directly work with Tom.

How did you come to work with Kaminsky Brand Group?

I’ve known Tom for over 20–25 years. He worked in the ad agency that initially did some previous work for us. When I came on to the company, we moved to another ad agency due to logistics, and we reconnected with Tom some years ago. I’ve been working with him consistently and exclusively for the last 18 years.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $8,000–$10,000 a month. We have them on a retainer and it changes periodically depending on whether we’re launching something new or when we have a corporate outreach. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in January 2000 and it’s ongoing.

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

We do a regular analysis of the digital projects that go out. We get the statistics on a monthly basis and everything else is done through surveys. In terms of walk-in traffic responses, people come in carrying collateral ads that they’ve gotten – whether it’s from the local newspaper or from a regional newspaper. We’ve done a direct mail piece with the creative concept for our event and he's driven a lot of traffic for those events.

How did Kaminsky Brand Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Tom is good at managing the engagement. He has several resources with whom he works and he saves me from having to work with all of those individually; whether it's the people who write our blog, handle our social media posting, or any kind of production work. 

Tom spearheads everything and reports back to me diligently. He always stays in touch with me and he knows what kinds of tasks I don’t need to be bothered with. He’s good at streamlining the process and he gives me updates on things I want to be part of. He’s a good communicator and he’s responsive. I never go more than 1–2 hours without him responding to an email or a text even if he’s somewhere else. I can also email or call him at night and he picks up the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Kaminsky Brand Group is a small company and that enables them to pick and choose their customers. Tom has great loyalty and understanding of my business. Every time we start something, Kaminsky Brand Group understand how it differs, what’s the essential point of view, and helps craft the messages. With that in mind, they're diligent in understanding what we’re trying to accomplish and translating that to marketing efforts.

I appreciate the fact that when Tom takes on a project, he’s thorough about the scope of his approach and what his plans are. I also appreciate that he comes up with comprehensive messages. He’s not a piecemeal person — he can do anything on the fly, and if I need something quickly, he can do it. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have comments or anything in mind about areas they could improve. Tom’s great and I don’t desire to work with anybody else.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Include Tom as an integral part of your messaging and that will work well.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Pure Hockey is the largest retail/etail business of hockey equipment and apparel in the US. I'm the owner and CEO of the company

For what projects/services did your company hire Kaminsky Brand Group?

We had recently acquired 2 of our 3 largest competitors and a plan to consolidate the businesses including systems, facilities and brands. We hired Kaminsky because of its reputation directing digital strategy and helping companies to build brands.

What were your goals for this project?

First, I wanted the company to rally around a singular brand name. Secondly, we needed a firm digital strategy that would drive not only our e-commerce business, but which would unify all of our digital marketing initiatives.

How did you select Kaminsky Brand Group?

We interviewed multiple traditional and digital agencies, all of who tried to convince us that they understood our business and could do 'remarkable things' for us. Tom was different. He has a unique way of selling his agency, to the point where we were basically begging him to take us on as a client. Before presenting to us, he studied our industry, understood our position, was extremely respectful, but unafraid to tell us where we were falling short.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Tom basically moved into our offices for several months so that he could understand and eventually influence our culture. He completely immersed himself into our operations feeling that it would give him better insight into our operations and more importantly, giving our people daily access to him.

What was the team composition?

We have a marketing staff of 9 people.

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

The project was completed by the end of 2018. Since bringing Kaminsky on-board, we've seen significant market share gain, in a slow growth industry. Our branding and digital footprint is far ahead of any industry competitor.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless. They were great listeners and had extraordinary communication skills.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The proof is in the pudding!

Are there any areas for improvement?

I'm a huge fan given the success we've had. There is an ongoing communications pipeline between the companies. They care!