Level Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a former executive at a financial services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Level Agency?

The company was going through a rebrand, and we needed a new website presence, digital advertising, and SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Level Agency helped us develop and design the new website from scratch and craft new messaging. I told them what we wanted to do, the content and message we wanted to get across, and that we wanted to capture leads.

After the website was finished, they helped us with digital advertising and SEO. We told them the keywords we wanted to rank for, and they built a strategy around that. The team also presented us with other options and expanded the SEO program. In terms of digital advertising, they helped us with Google Ads and Facebook Ads.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around 10 people from Level Agency, and our main point of contact was Patrick (Partner & EVP)

How did you come to work with Level Agency?

They came as a referral, and I just liked them; they had good energy, a good plan, and good staff.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $200,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January 2015–December 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Level Agency’s work was great. The website they created functioned better than our previous one; we had a lot more traffic and a huge spike in leads.

Additionally, they were there to optimize the campaign and website continually. Level Agency’s team was super easy to work with and very responsive. 

How did Level Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good at meeting deadlines. We communicated in many ways; we had a project management dashboard and used email, phone, and regular meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by how much the team got involved, how much they cared, and their passion for the project. The diverse level of expertise across Level Agency was also remarkable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything they needed to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Provide all the deliverables from your side on time; most projects are held up by the client and not the agency. It becomes difficult if you fall behind on deliverables because they’ll be pulling you. As long as you’re prepared, working with Level Agency, and staying ahead, you’ll do great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing of an online university.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Level Agency?

We were looking to efficiently acquire potential leads while simultaneously building the brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Level Agency managed our digital platforms for paid media and their main responsibility is to drive leads and get prospective students to enroll in our school.

They were particularly in charge of media buying for both brand and non-brand paid search, as well as social media management, specifically for our Facebook and LinkedIn.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was the account representative, but we also worked with a lot of people from Level Agency, including the partners, technology group, and media coordinators.

How did you come to work with Level Agency?

We were connected to Level Agency through the president of our university. We decided to work with them because of their experience in higher education and data-driven approach to their services.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested more than 5 million dollars over the course of our engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2013–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Level Agency, we’ve significantly improved our lead acquisition efforts, CPL, and enrollment frequency.

How did Level Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent from a project management perspective. The team was highly responsive and they had a very good follow-through.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were very impressed with the strong partnership we established and their approach to analytics performance.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could’ve brought more ideas forward throughout our partnership.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise having strong communication, clear objectives, and implementing KPIs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing for a college for nursing, healthcare, and trades programs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Level Agency?

We were trying to secure leads for potential students; we were also transitioning from traditional media to digital initiatives. As a result, we hired Level Agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We primarily used Level Agency for PPC campaigns, social media marketing, and creative design. They also worked on our core messaging. 

The team also helped us completely change our approach to doing business by putting up new platforms and analytics. Their resources developed a data-driven approach to marketing for us. That way, we wouldn’t rely on traditional media. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with the founders of Level Agency, including the lead of their EDU team. All of them worked on PPC, social media, analytics, and IT integrations. 

How did you come to work with Level Agency?

We went through an extensive RFP process to find a vendor that was a leader in digital marketing. I evaluated 15 vendors and ultimately selected Level Agency after a contentious review process. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $600,000–$700,000 per year. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership lasted from July 2018–October 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measured success based on the number of leads we generated and our cost per lead. With that in mind, we brought our digital cost down from before, and we increased our digital leads by a significant amount. 

Specifically, our total lead growth was up by 36%, with digital leads rising by 46% within about two years. At the same time, we reduced our media spending significantly; social media and digital media channels proved to be more cost-effective. 

How did Level Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Level Agency’s project management was good. The team set up a great process as they integrated different parts of their team into our process. They had a great philosophy in terms of working as an arm of our company. As a result, we all felt in tune with what everybody else was doing. Overall, this process worked truly well.

Meanwhile, they had their own project management tools, and we did a regular review of performance analytics. To communicate, we used phone calls, emails, text messages, and Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were an incredibly professional team with talented people who know their space. They also prided themselves on being an extension of our team. Put another way, they seemed to have a personal stake in the success of our business, and that carried from the executive team to all other team members. Overall, it was fun to work with them, and we learned from their group. Hiring them was one of the best agency decisions I ever made. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. I was truly happy with them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Share your strategy and involve Level Agency in the earliest stages of planning for your marketing instead of simply telling them what to do. When you do that, you’ll find them as a great partner. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Trident University is a 100% online school offering certificates to PhD degrees. I was the Sr. Director of Marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Level Agency, and what were your goals?

Digital paid media + analytics + Landing Page design.

SOLUTION

How did you select Level Agency and what were the deciding factors?

Fit for our organization (personality and goals), Higher Education background, Analytical, and Cost We sought a highly sophisticated, analytical digital marketing agency who specialized in or had a strong and successful background in Higher Education.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

Discovery Phase that lead to budget setting and results objectives. Key deliverables were weekly and monthly reporting against the media bought - which was approved through recommendations and a MAF (Media Authorization Form)

How many resources from the Level Agency team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Approximately 6 FTEs working from planning, strategy, creative, buying and reporting to account management

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Media placements and results become more transparent with a decrease in CPL (meaning our efficiency improved). Additionally, in concert with the optimized buying, we also got strong results through use of newly designed landing page templates and optimization processes... testing.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Extremely effective effective. We did some of the design while they did others.. but our teams worked together as if they were under one roof.

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

Attention to detail, customer service and digital knowledge. I seek partners over vendors and they are a partner. They're not afraid to teach us and transparent about what they are doing, which made for a productive relationship.

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

While we worked hard to break down the barriers of time, but they being on East Cost time and we being on west did cause some communication issues. Othewise, no real problems.