Magnolia Marketing Communications

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Rector of St Clement’s Anglican Church, North Vancouver

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

St Clement’s Anglican Church seeks to be an inclusive, welcoming Christian community, faithful to Christ’s call to love God and serve the contemporary needs of a changing world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Magnolia Marketing Communications to accomplish?

• Improve our Google search presence

SOLUTION

How did you find Magnolia Marketing Communications?

Referral

Why did you select Magnolia Marketing Communications over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Magnolia Marketing Communications were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Secure $5000 in Google ad space via Google grant for non profits
• Design and implement a Google search keyword strategy to improve number of clicks through to our website from Google search engine
• Produce slide presentation with monthly data analysis of how well various search keywords were performing

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Identified keywords that were actually directing Google search traffic to our website
• Eliminated keywords from our digital branding that weren't directing Google search traffic to our website
• Verbal in person feedback from newcomers to our church who had found us via a Google search using the keywords recommended by Magnolia

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Reliable. Timely. They followed up with us to set up virtual meetings and always sent slide decks and reports to us in advance of our meetings so we could share the project results with our team. They shifted to email communication when we requested a shift from virtual meetings.

What was your primary form of communication with Magnolia Marketing Communications?

Virtual Meeting

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

They went above and beyond and were able to analyze the problem we were having in a very short period of time. We saw results quickly and one of the team members even gave us some added advice about our website (outside the scope of our project).

Are there any areas for improvement or something Magnolia Marketing Communications could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of a financial services company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Payment technology company with operations in South East Asia

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Magnolia Marketing Communications to accomplish?

• Provide Marketing Management Support (Contract CMO)
• Media management (PRs Blogs, Industry articles)
• Content creation, incl. website

SOLUTION

How did you find Magnolia Marketing Communications?

Referral

Why did you select Magnolia Marketing Communications over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Magnolia Marketing Communications were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Work included: 

• Overall marketing plan for the company to increase global awareness of the corporation
• Subsidiary marketing and product related materials
• Social media plan
• Corporate presentations
• Website
• Joint partnership PR
• PR strategy and management
• interaction with all related corporate team members

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Meeting the overall corporate strategy and plan 
• Articles published 
• Media engagement

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They worked closely with us as part of the mgmt team and built the plan with us and we tracked to the plan together. They mobilized their resources to provide additional support whenever necessary to meet urgent deadlines.

What was your primary form of communication with Magnolia Marketing Communications?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They fit well with our culture. Were nimble in meeting our requirements. Most importantly really took the time to understand our business and goals and match them as opposed to making us fit into a predetermined canned marketing product

Are there any areas for improvement or something Magnolia Marketing Communications could have done differently?

A great team. As they scale their business they will be able to provide more in depth and integrated services.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Lead, Brand Communications and Content of a software company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company is North America's leading provider of intelligence retail management software for the telecom industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Magnolia Marketing Communications to accomplish?

• Brand awareness among telecom, tech, and retail business leaders
• Positive media coverage

SOLUTION

How did you find Magnolia Marketing Communications?

Referral

Why did you select Magnolia Marketing Communications over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Company values aligned
• Knowledge of sector

How many teammates from Magnolia Marketing Communications were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Digital PR Program: Retainer 1-year 
  • Review current messaging and ensure it is relevant and relatable for the media. 
  • Craft a strategic PR roadmap integrated with our overall marketing initiatives and objectives. 
  • Look at potential events / tradeshows for us to make announcements, i.e., product announcements, customer/partnership announcements.
  • Press release program: 
    • Press release roadmap that outlines relevant, relatable news to attract ongoing stakeholder interest. 
    • Draft, finalize, and issue PR over the wire (cost for newswire service is extra) as needed. 
  • Media outreach/media relations program: 
    • Create newsworthy pitch angles by integrating interactive content where applicable to create a more comprehensive, trackable, and measurable PR campaign. 
    • Media outreach to targeted media list to secure media opportunities for key spokespeople. 
    • Secure media opportunities including interviews (in-person or via phone), contributed bylined articles or on-site meetings at industry tradeshows. 
    • Media interview coordination and support – draft media briefing document to prepare the spokesperson ahead of interviews. *Optional additional cost for Magnolia to write byline articles on our behalf. 
  • Media list building (national tier ones, finance, technology, and business media based in North America and local/regional media). 
  • Media monitoring of relevant industry media news, and social listening for brand, industry, and competitor intelligence. 
  • Bi-weekly calls to ensure the program is on track. 
  • Quarterly reporting with key traditional and digital PR metrics. Maintain media hits tracker on an ongoing basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• KPIs: Secure 4-6 media placements (interviews, bylines) per quarter

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team from Magnolia met and sometimes exceeded targets. They are always very responsive. We have a niche sector, so sometimes it has been a challenge to create true understanding of our story and messaging, but they have been eager to learn and share that story, and have succeeded as much as any general PR/Marketing firm could be expected to.

What was your primary form of communication with Magnolia Marketing Communications?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They've been extremely collaborative and responsive. Also proactive in seeking out new opportunities.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Magnolia Marketing Communications could have done differently?

A high turnover of staff has meant a steep learning curve each time we have a new Magnolia person working on our account; on occasion the curve has seemed too steep! But we now have a more stable situation and have found the balance. 

Also, I've heard other firms can be more proactive in terms of writing up content, such as guest blog posts, etc - I do find that sometimes a lot more work is created for me to have to take on, on the content side. But our team has the specialist sector knowledge that makes it hard for Magnolia to take this on and be able to do it accurately.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President, Business Development of Ekona Power Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Ekona is developing a novel methane pyrolysis solution for clean and low cost hydrogen production.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Magnolia Marketing Communications to accomplish?

• Develop marketing communications plan
• Build web site
• Implement social media campaign

SOLUTION

How did you find Magnolia Marketing Communications?

Referral

Why did you select Magnolia Marketing Communications over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Magnolia Marketing Communications were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Magnolia produced a marketing communications strategy for Ekona. As a startup clean energy company, Ekona had no internal resources to manage and execute the development of a communications program. Magnolia's communications plan highlighted the needs and actions for building a new web site, engaging in social media promotion and formalizing communications messaging. 

This work was done in support of Ekona's Series A financing round, which was executed in 2022. Magnolia produced a new web site for Ekona. Magnolia delivered all of the content, graphics and videos in support of the web site. Magnolia established a social media campaign, focussed on Linked In, that was used to promote Ekona's technology, team and brand. The team generated approximately a post every two weeks, which helped to enhance Ekona's presence in the public domain.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Ekona completed its Series A financing round in 2022 and raised more than $70M (CAD).

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Magnolia delivered on time and on budget. They were very professional in responding to our needs.

What was your primary form of communication with Magnolia Marketing Communications?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We really enjoyed the working culture of Magnolia and their ability to get into new technology areas that require learning.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Magnolia Marketing Communications could have done differently?

no

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior marketing director of an IT services and consultancy firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Magnolia Marketing Communications?

We needed someone to provide us with SEO and digital marketing services to improve our lead generation efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Magnolia Marketing Communications executes our ad programs and contributes to the overall strategies of our content marketing and campaigns. They maintain our keyword research efforts to enhance our SEO and generate high-quality leads.

Some of their responsibilities include the management of our Google AdWords account, social media channels, media buying, and setting up allegiance programs with various media outlets.

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with three specialists from their team.

How did you come to work with Magnolia Marketing Communications?

A former colleague of mine highly recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably invested somewhere between $350,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy with the quality of Magnolia Marketing Communications’ work, which is why we continue to work and explore more aspects of the project with them. 

They’re an extremely flexible organization that consistently adapts to our needs.

How did Magnolia Marketing Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform well from a project management perspective, as they always meet our deadlines and adhere to our budget. We primarily communicate through Zoom and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their ability to adapt to our needs as we continually evolve as an organization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could maybe do more research on our industry so they can improve the content they provide us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Magnolia Marketing Communications isn’t a difficult company to work with, so I don’t have any specific advice for people looking to partner with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the General Manager of Manufacturer of industrial products

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Magnolia Marketing Communications, and what were your goals?

To raise awareness about our product and services with the end-user of the products The goal is raise the number of followers on the different social media platforms

SOLUTION

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

Based on their area of expertise and our previous positive experiences from work they had completed on other projects.

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

Needed a digital marketing program that tied directly with the launch of completely new product line of products to our existing customer base

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

Over the course of the project there were several team members involved . There at least 4 team members who each brought their own area of expertise to the table

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There were several outcomes:

• Increased followers on social media platforms
• Increased open rate on the information packages we sent out
• Cannot correlate directly to the program, but we did hit our revenue targets

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Great collaboration right from start. They always took the time to fully understand what the deliverables, what the challenges, our areas of weaknesses and then most importantly used their knowledge and expertise to educate, keep us track while enabling us to deliver a high quality solution to our customers.

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

Their ability to make sure we started a project that had clear measurable outcomes, they brought some very innovative thinking and strategies for us to consider. Their team is always professional and courteous in every interaction with us.

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

Non that I can think about at this time

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a boutique financial institution based in British Columbia, Canada that offers a full range of personal and business banking, wealth management, insurance and commercial lending solutions. We pride ourselves on helping clients achieve financial wellness by providing expert advice and personalized solutions delivered in our unique Financial Spa environment. As the organization’s Communications Specialist, I lead the execution of our PR strategy and serve as the primary point of contact with Magnolia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Magnolia Marketing Communications, and what were your goals?

We selected Magnolia as our PR partner to contribute to our business growth by increasing brand awareness, building on our positive reputation highlighting key differentiators including financial expertise and thought leadership, as well as contribute to attracting top talent.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking to take our PR program to the next level and evaluated several PR firms to find the right fit for our organization. Magnolia Communications’ stood out based on their well-thought out strategy and deliverables to reach our goals, as well as competitive pricing. In addition to their standout proposal, the head of the Communications department at the time had previously used Magnolia’s services and could speak first-hand about the quality of the team’s services, delivery and reputation.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

• Providing strategic PR counsel
• Developing pitch topics to attract media attention based on timeliness and relevancy
• Conducting media outreach to target outlets
• Developing media briefs for spokespeople
• Building relationships with journalists to secure interview opportunities
• Conducting media spokesperson training
• Conducting bi-weekly meetings with BlueShore Financial and providing quarterly progress reports

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

We work with the founder of Magnolia and our main point of contact is the Digital PR and Content Team Lead. We also sometimes work with a few other Magnolia team members that support our account

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before partnering with Magnolia, we were limited to local news coverage and rarely secured Tier 1 publications. Once we began working with Magnolia, our local coverage increased substantially, including print, television and radio, and we are now regularly featured in national media.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Magnolia Communications is professional and keeps to deadlines. We mainly communicate through phone and email. We also have bi-weekly meetings with our main point of contact to ensure we are on the same page, Magnolia provides quarterly status reports of all PR coverage, and we have annual planning sessions as a larger group.

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

For an organization of our size and geographic reach, we secured exceptional local and national exposure since partnering with the Magnolia team.. What we find impressive is that they are a small firm, but achieve large results.

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

Not at this time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Digital Marketing Manager for Somfy North America. We manufacture motors and controls for motorized blinds, shades, and other window treatments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Magnolia Marketing Communications, and what were your goals?

We were having trouble keeping up with publicity for all the new products we were rolling out, so we hired Magnolia to help us keep our products and our brand in front of trade publications as well as consumers. We were also looking to capitalize on the outdoor dining trend of 2020/2021 and wanted to approach it comprehensively with both PR and digital ad campaigns.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We'd worked with Magnolia previously on standalone projects and always enjoyed working with their team. They are responsive, friendly, helpful, and skilled in digital communications.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Their services have included writing press releases and pitches in addition to release distribution and pitching. They have also come to us with additional opportunities for featuring our company in a wide variety of publications related to restaurants and outdoor dining as well as typical trade and consumer publications in our industry. They have even helped us find social media influencer and television opportunities.

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

We have worked directly with the owner as well as a Digital Campaign Manager and a Digital PR and Content Team Lead.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since working with Magnolia, our business has been covered in several high profile outlets, and we have been consistently visible to the trade audience; it's extremely important for us to stay in front of them, so this has been a big benefit for us.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We have bi-weekly meetings where we review the status of all open and pending projects. Their team communicates with us frequently via email as well, and they provide a PR tracker document that lists all coverage.

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

Their PR expertise is one of the most impressive things about Magnolia. It's an area where our team has knowledge but not skill (or time!), so working with Magnolia truly complements our company. They are also very consistently on top of our product release schedule and attempting to be as proactive as possible.

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

Nothing I can think of!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing for signs and screens for a manufacturing company in British Columbia. We manufacture home improvement products, specifically manual and motorized retractable screens for doors, windows, and outdoor spaces like porches and patios.

The main audience we’re after is builders, architects, interior designers, and remodelers who mention our products to their customers. We also go after homeowners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Magnolia Marketing Communications?

First and foremost, we were trying to structure and improve our PR strategy. After our in-house marketing communications person left, we had a gap, so we decided to bring Magnolia on board to manage that area of our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Magnolia has worked with us on defining our strategy and understanding our target audience. We began the process with a discovery meeting, and they got involved from a planning perspective. They worked with us to understand who our target audience was and our corporate goals. Then, they made specific recommendations on what they could do to help us meet those objectives.

One of the key things they’ve done for us is putting together press releases. We participate in the International Builders’ Show, and Magnolia put together a communication campaign for our attendance in 2019 and 2020.

They also did some event coordination when we partnered with other vendors to host some of the top builders and architects in the country to showcase our products. This was one of our key projects, and they helped generate traffic to our booth. Additionally, they’ve supported us with customer relationship management, setting up our HubSpot platform.

Finally, we’ve used them to coordinate a distributed conference. We had to make it a virtual event in 2020 due to COVID-19, and Magnolia’s team was instrumental in helping us define the event, build the virtual platform, coordinate the content, and make it available to our network.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Phoebe (Principal) and Megan (General Manager), who acted as communications manager.

How did you come to work with Magnolia Marketing Communications?

When the need came and we had to find an external agency to support us, I enlisted someone on my team to do the research. I can’t remember how she found Magnolia, but she came back to us with three options.

How much have you invested with them?

I don’t remember our budget for 2017 because we started halfway through the year. However, our yearly budget beginning with 2018 has been $60,000–$70,000. Overall, we’ve spent $240,000–$300,000 with Magnolia so far, excluding expenses.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started around June 2017, but our first full year was in 2018. We’ve been with them since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We use several KPIs to measure the effectiveness of their services. Regarding press releases and content, we look at pickups in awareness, impressions, and engagement. For example, Megan was able to sign us on to a big project with an industry magazine, which gave us a lot of exposure. 

Additionally, we’ve won some industry awards thanks to Magnolia’s work on the media side.

How did Magnolia Marketing Communications perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly meetings with the technical staff and monthly meetings to keep track of our activities and performance. The team also takes part in our quarterly meetings, where we decide where we’re going. I’ve invited Magnolia to join our strategic planning team, where we coordinate with many other vendors.

We use Monday.com internally to track projects, and Magnolia’s team contributes to our monthly KPI reporting. We have some specific metrics to report, which must be done by particular times of the month. All in all, we’ve maintained a regular communication schedule to make sure they deliver things on time, and any changes in the budget come specifically from us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Communication is key. All aspects of my professional career are about communication, and it’s effortless to maintain it with Magnolia. As the company owner, Phoebe is very accessible and easy to talk to, and she always has something to contribute to our discussions. They’re always a phone call or email away, and I really appreciate that about working with them.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Treat Magnolia as an extension of your in-house marketing team. Keep them involved in the decision-making — Magnolia should be given as much information as possible so they can deliver to the best of their abilities.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Marketing for North America at an international payment and fx risk management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Magnolia Marketing Communications, and what were your goals?

Our business has been rapidly expanding over the last few years and we wanted to better manage our existing reputation and continue working on increasing our brand awareness across the international payments space. We hired this vendor to provide general PR support.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We went with this vendor because of their price point, communication skills, and general expertise within the realm of PR. They also proved to be very adaptable to our needs as the space we are in is constantly changing.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Their services include writing press releases, pitching various outlets for features, and writing industry-related content. As part of their outreach efforts, they’ve helped us spread awareness for events we’re attending/hosting and successfully gotten us featured on popular industry podcasts and magazines.

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

We work with their digital campaign manager. Their general manager and other PR executives also help support different stages of the work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since working with them, our business has been covered by several high-profile outlets, including multiple magazine bylines and podcast episodes for members of our executive team. Our social media engagement has increased with the help of these outreach opportunities. Overall, their PR and outreach efforts have been very effective.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We have bi-weekly meetings with multiple members of their team to go over each part of their outreach strategy at the time and any next steps that may come. We communicate frequently over email and receive updates whenever an outreach opportunity goes lives.

They always keep us updated on outreach opportunities and any outlets that are on the radar for the future.

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

They have a clear commitment to learning about our business and respective industry. They take the time to conduct in-depth research that helps facilitate outreach efforts and aligns with our business goals.

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

Not at the moment as our project is ongoing.