Leff & Associates

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a chairman and broker at Sterling Seacrest Partners. We’re a comprehensive independent insurance agency. We sell all types of insurance to businesses and non-profit entities.

What challenge were you trying to address with Leff & Associates?

We needed a PR firm to help us advertise and maintain a high profile in the business verticals we target.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We prefer a subtle approach to media instead of traditional advertising. We engaged Leff & Associates to forward our media presence through several efforts. We designed a client survey to generate analytic data and apply it to media formats. They provide article placement in trade publications that target relevant industries like healthcare, real estate, transportation, and hospitality. They also helped generate an educational series to differentiate us in the marketplace. Those events allowed them to create more articles and promote different marketing materials through social media. Most notably, they provided opportunities for us to promote our brand through live interviews on television and large market radio.

What is the team composition?

Mitch (Founder, Leff & Associates) is our primary point of contact. We also work with a couple people from his team.

How did you come to work with Leff & Associates?

Our previous PR firm was a small shop that went in-house with one of their other clients. They referred Leff & Associates to us, so we reached out. The engagement evolved from there. We probably interviewed a few other firms, but none were seriously considered.

How much have you invested with them?

They cost $40,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together for several years and the engagement is ongoing.

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

It’s difficult to point to specific metrics because we don’t expect the brand awareness they generate to directly yield additional sales. However, Mitch is instrumental in getting 6­-10 articles about us published in trade publications per year. Satisfaction with their performance is widespread and our decision-makers consider it a successful partnership.

How did Leff & Associates perform from a project management standpoint?

They stay in communication with us and push the process forward. This effort is extracurricular for most of the personnel involved, so it’s important that Mitch and his team keep the project on track. They largely accomplish that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Mitch is a great editor. He leads a confident team that accomplishes our goals. They bring ideas to life and turn them into something tangible we can use to promote the business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any criticisms. They push for us to do more despite our limitations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a managing director for UHY Advisors. We are one of the top 25 national and top 20 international accounting and professional services firms.

What challenge were you trying to address with Leff & Associates?

The largest challenge we were facing was building our brand awareness. While UHY is a large national firm, we did not have the consulting presence we wanted nationally, nor a large enough general presence in the Southeast.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first step Leff & Associates took was to really figure out what we were looking to accomplish and then build a PR plan for us. The PR plan included everything from print and magazine publications to social media presence and a budget. We liked the look of the plan and decided to engage them on a retainer basis in order to roll it out over the years.

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with the CEO and one of his consultants.

How did you come to work with Leff & Associates?

I had previously worked with Mitch (President and CEO, Leff & Associates) at another company. I thought he did a fantastic job there so I had him follow me over to UHY.

How much have you invested with them?

We have them on a retainer that comes out to around $25,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work with us began in July 2009 and is ongoing.

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

Since working with Leff & Associates we have been mentioned in major publications across the country and have consistently grown 10%–15% year over year.

How did Leff & Associates perform from a project management standpoint?

Excellent. We are a difficult client because we have limited resources and are pulled in a lot of different directions, but they are very good at making sure we stay on course and hit our deadlines. We mostly communicate over email and Excel tracking, but have used project management platforms in the past.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One thing that has always really impressed me is that, for their firm size, they have a great ability to get us print and publication in major periodicals and news outlets. Other parts of my firm have used other agencies that have not had the same reach as Leff & Associates. The CEO is highly respected, and his ability to get requests to our experts for articles or news interviews has been outstanding. They really understand their client and work to meet their needs and demands. As I mentioned, we are a pretty challenging client, but that has never deterred them from making sure we get everything we need at the highest quality possible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Anything over the years that I might have mentioned is usually a one-time issue that is immediately resolved. Things will always happen in the normal course of business, but there is nothing significant they need to fix or change.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of communications for a government administration.

What challenge were you trying to address with Leff and Associates?

We wanted to gain exposure for our mission to increase our commissions, especially in the Atlanta regional area.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Leff & Associates provided expert market strategies by identifying program areas within films, music, and digital gaming where we could obtain earned media. They connected us to paid media opportunities such as the local television outlets and radio stations. Their team gave us constant feedback and a plan of action for the most exposure.

What is the team composition?

The president of the company worked directly with us as the primary consultant. They provided us with a team of marketing consultants as well.

How did you come to work with Leff and Associates?

We found them through a referral from the chairman of our commission board. We arranged a meeting and confirmed their experience in media marketing, especially in the Atlanta region.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested around $30,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with them in July 2017 and the engagement is ongoing.

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

They opened up a number of press engagements for us through print media, the web, and television.

How did Leff and Associates perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed very efficiently and were very regimented. They gave us full visibility into their marketing plans and strategic summaries/debriefs. They compiled all the work they’ve done for us and were always on top of emails and late-night requests.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are always on the job and constantly working to keep us in the loop.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there is anything they could improve on yet.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the public relations and communications lead for Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. We offer multiple degrees and training programs for business students and executives, and train future scholars in business research.

As the PR and communications lead, I create content for our various media channels, write stories about research, post on social media, oversee our magazine publications, and work with the media on behalf of our faculty. Anytime local television, radio, or print media need an expert in the business field, they will turn to us for comments from our experts. We also actively try to promote our faculty’s research to the media as well.

What challenge were you trying to address with Leff & Associates?

At the time I first contracted Leff & Associates, I was one person trying to do all of our PR and communications work, such as talking with reporters every day to build and cultivate relationships to sell our experts. As one person, I didn’t have the capability to do all that work alone. Our goal was to own the Atlanta media market so that anytime someone in the media needed a source with business expertise, they turned to us, but I needed help.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since working with Leff & Associates, we have been able to get our experts daily placements in Atlanta media. This includes the area’s leading newspapers, T.V. stations, and radio programs. They also produce full communications and PR campaigns for the programs we offer at the school. Specifically, we have research centers with researchers, students, and staffers that are producing reports, putting on awareness events, and offering classes. Leff & Associates run those programs, write press releases to distribute to the media, and really offer beginning to end service.

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with Mitch Leff, the President and CEO, and his lead associate.

How did you come to work with Leff & Associates?

I decided I wanted to contract with them for two reasons. One, they are local, so they have solidified relationships with the local media. Two, they are flexible and nimble, allowing me to hand off large pieces of work that they could wholly takeover.

How much have you invested with them?

We have them on a $3,000 per month retainer, and also hire them for $5,000 media trainings. In total we have spent close to $120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in September of 2015, and we still have them on retainer.

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

The largest piece of evidence that shows their impact for us in the number of media mentions we receive in the Atlanta media market. On the low-end, we have 40%–50% more mentions as a result of their work. Since working with Leff & Associates, I feel we have met our goal of becoming the top source for business experts in Atlanta. We receive more calls from reporters, and we are building more long-term relationships and stories with journalists.

How did Leff & Associates perform from a project management standpoint?

They are great project managers. The best vendors will manage a project in a way that the client can sleep easy at night, and Leff & Associates does that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There are so many things about them I find impressive. They really keep me on task, which is something that I appreciate. They also have a great personality and PR approach that is very hands-on.

There is increasing pressure to do things more quickly and lose the personal touch in this industry, but not at Leff & Associates. For example, if a faculty member submits a paper we think might be good for publication to the media, I’ll hand over the paper, they will set a meeting for a week later, and in the meantime they will be talking with that faculty member, reading the paper, and reaching out to media sources. They are extremely productive, and it is something that sets them apart in the industry. They wouldn’t dream of having less than two or three meetings with a faculty member before pushing their work, and because of that they develop the best possible pitch.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think one area of improvement for them would be to grow their team and provide additional coverage and services. I understand that is a strategic decision they will have to make on their own, but I think they have a unique offering for Atlanta and national media. I would love to see them take their approach and do it in more of an individual PR service manner where there is a chance for building their clients’ websites and books promotions, etc. Right now they outsource those types of things, but I would like to seem them bring it all in-house.