McAdams Group

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of product marketing at a digital healthcare technology company called Pivot.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with McAdams Group?

I didn’t have the bandwidth to manage a brand overhaul myself and I needed a partner with expertise in the healthcare technology space, so I engaged McAdams Group to help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

McAdams Group helped us execute a comprehensive brand overhaul. First, we had a kickoff call to determine the scope of work and discuss the new brand vision. Then, the team researched the type of branding that would best capture our target audience. 

We went through multiple design iterations, and they ultimately delivered a new brand strategy and guidelines. The brand guidelines included a new logo, color palette, and marketing slogans to support the overall visual identity. Once we established the final branding, they created a presentation and one-pager for trade shows. 

The team also built a new website from scratch according to our updated brand guidelines. They built the wireframes and backend, connected the website to servers, and hosted it. They also created a new menu and landing pages and integrated the site with HubSpot. I supplied a first draft of the website content, but they refined it to ensure it would perform well from an SEO and keyword research standpoint. They were also responsible for pulling relevant images for the site.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two points of contact: Larry (President) and John (Senior Marketing Strategist).

How did you come to work with McAdams Group?

I found McAdams Group through a referral from a marketing colleague. I considered other service providers, but they had a family-oriented feel which made them stand out. They were also relatively affordable and seemed to understand our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2018–April 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

McAdams Group provided solid branding services that increased our brand awareness. Prior to engaging them, we’d return from trade shows with a handful of leads. Once we unveiled the new brand and visual identity, we walked away from trade shows with about 25 leads. Overall, we saw a 225% increase in trade show leads, which was great. 

Furthermore, they did a fantastic job with our website’s keywords; we saw a 400% uptick in visitors. Their presentation improved our conversion rate and made our sales process faster. 

How did McAdams Group perform from a project management standpoint?

I was pleased with McAdams Group’s project management process. We discussed everything ahead of time, including our budget and expectations. Once we developed the statement of work, they would create the deliverables and submit them to us for review. Although we had multiple iterations, the team was open to feedback and refined the deliverables accordingly, which was great.

They were fantastic with timelines; we experienced minor delays, but McAdams Group constantly communicated with us and set new deadlines, which they stuck to. We used a shared Excel spreadsheet to manage the project and communicated via phone and email. We also met in person and via Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

McAdams Group approached our project from a holistic and balanced perspective. They were invested in meeting both our needs and our customers’ needs. As a healthcare technology company, we don’t target the everyday consumer, making it difficult to create effective branding strategies. I was impressed with their transparency and willingness to research the market and take our feedback to heart. Their openness enabled them to deliver the best possible strategy. 

Furthermore, McAdams Group brought the perfect combination of creativity and technical expertise to the table. Not only did they create beautiful visual branding, but they also understood the technical details of our company’s healthcare solution. They struck a balance between representing our complex product in a technically accurate yet creative way. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing they could improve on; they delivered solid value for their price.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend walking McAdams Group through your product, customer, and market landscape. Bring them up to speed and be transparent about your goals so that you can get the most out of your engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing communications manager for a medical device company. We’ve been around for over 50 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with McAdams Group?

First, we needed help with marketing collaboration pieces. Our marketing pieces were pretty date and without many areas to change. Then, we added website design and functionality. We were working with another company, but they weren’t able to produce what we needed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we asked them to come up with concepts and visualization pieces for a product we were about to launch. They were one-page brochures. Then, we reached out to McAdams Group regarding our website.

McAdams Group has developed 13 of our landing pages and created an e-commerce page. They’ve designed it and made it so people can shop on our site. It was an existing website, but they basically had to start fresh. They’ve done it using WordPress and Elementor.

We have branding guidelines to adhere to, but they can move a little beyond them. They’ve collaborated with us; we’re still creating the landing pages and working out the kinks of the website. In addition, we’ll do SEO in the future.

What is the team composition?

Larry (President) is our main point of contact. We’re in contact with four people and have several team members.

How did you come to work with McAdams Group?

Our other company wasn’t working out, so we spoke to Larry. He was known internally from a connection here and was able to help us out.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent over $50,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2022, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has been exceptional. They’ve come up with new ideas to improve our functionality and make our life easier, and the quality of their suggestions has been phenomenal. We’ve actually re-established, and our global partners have decided to utilize some of the things they’ve come up with.

Moreover, McAdams Group has brought something fresh and modern-looking to our website. We’re getting traction there, although we haven’t done any of our SEO.

How did McAdams Group perform from a project management standpoint?

All of our projects have been delivered on time, if not before the deadline. We communicate in multiple ways, including phone, email, Zoom, and text messages.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re customer-focused internally and externally. We’re their customers, but they care about us as well. They take it to a new level with their fresh ideas; working with them has been a pleasure.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we have no complaints whatsoever.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d 100% go with Larry and his team; they can solve multiple problems for you. However, don’t use up all of their time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO and senior VP of Hampton Products International.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with McAdams Group?

My relationship with McAdams Group spans over 30 years. We’ve worked together on different branding, design, and advertisement projects for at least three companies and probably 30 different brands. They’ve been very important to me during my career all this time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the companies that I’ve worked with over the years, McAdams Group has not only helped me with a variety of projects regarding corporate image, product branding, brand image, and brand design. Additionally, they’ve done advertising campaigns and television advertising production for various things, from consumer products to medical instruments.

On one of our biggest projects, McAdams Group was pivotal key in helping us create a comprehensive branding for a chain of retail department stores. The project included branding and product design for various products sold in the stores, particularly for clothing products. In addition to that, they were in charge of the advertising campaigns to promote the retail stores in Eastern Europe.

For Hampton Products specifically, they created our corporate image, logo, and branding. However, as my current position is more focused on customer care, and our company has a big marketing and design department, McAdams Group’s scope is different than it was before. I still have opportunities to work with them on projects for my department, but I’m not involved in branding and design anymore.

What is the team composition?

Larry (President) leads every project, and he brings from 5–10 people from his team to the table, depending on the project.

How did you come to work with McAdams Group?

In 1990, we were looking for advertising and design agencies. The internet wasn’t what it is today, so I believe we found McAdams Group in the phone book. We interviewed various agencies in Orange County, and Larry stood out from the rest.

How much have you invested with them?

The amount spent on McAdams Group’s services over the years is in the range of millions of dollars.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 1990, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything that McAdams Group has done for me over the years has added tremendous value to every project. 

How did McAdams Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Working with McAdams Group, we’ve always felt like the only and most important client for them. Larry is very good at project organization, and I always feel like he’s a step ahead of me in that regard. I’m never waiting on him; he always knows what needs to be done on every project. We’ve had a lot of in-person meetings, and we communicate via email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Understanding their clients’ needs and establishing relationships is what matters the most to McAdams Group, which is impressive. Larry spends the necessary time to develop a relationship with his clients to know their needs instead of just producing exactly what they ask for. We’re not professional designers or advertisers, and he can see through that and understand what we’re really looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they could do better — it’s always a pleasure to work with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The best thing you can do to have a successful engagement with McAdams Group is to communicate. Let them learn about your overall goals and needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Video, alarms, access control, analytics - NAVCO is your value-added business partner with unmatched expertise - more than 50 years of experience installing and repairing electronic security systems nationally. NAVCO gives you the peace of mind in knowing that your business, employees, customers, and property are secure.

Our technicians are expertly trained and dedicated to customer satisfaction. We're committed to helping you enhance the value of your business while maximizing the return on your security system investment. As the Director of Marketing & Events, it is my job to generate new leads for the NAVCO sales team.

Over the past couple of years, we have shifted our focus to digital marketing to really build our brand and create new opportunities and channels for our customers and prospects to connect with us.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire McAdams Group?

NAVCO is well-known in the enterprise security industry as a trusted brand amongst large, enterprise businesses and McAdams Group has been our long term partner. But a couple years ago, we expanded our focus to include local business. We enlisted the help of McAdams Group to help us build our brand in the local markets around our offices and began focusing on creating a digital marketing strategy.

SOLUTION

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

McAdams Group has been a valued partner for over 20 years, helping us refine our brand, our messaging, and our national image so that we were able to triple our size in both revenues and profits.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

McAdams Group has been NAVCO's long-time partner helping us to build our brand. Whether developing print materials for our team, tradeshow booth graphics, and direct mail campaigns or designing and deploying our website and adding lead generation tools, McAdams Group is always looking for new, innovative ways to help us get our message out to our target audience.

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

Larry and John are both wonderful to work with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are seeing a huge uptick in traffic to our website, our ranking and brand presence have improved dramatically and we have had an increased number of leads coming from our digital strategy.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

McAdams Group is easy to work with and keeps on top of the projects they manage and keeps us moving in the right direction.

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

Their brand focus is on point and they can help drill down to what makes each company unique and help you find the 'why?' that makes you great.

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

I don't have any suggestions for improvement at this time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization is Jesus Film Project. We’re a campus crusade for Christ and we’re working on a film that was made in 1970 — it’s our flagship film that we’ve since been translating into different languages, and we’re over 1,900 languages at this point. What I do specifically is helping organize the fundraising events that fund our projects and app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with McAdams Group?

We hired McAdams Group and worked closely with them to develop the marketing materials for our events.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Apart from developing our marketing materials, McAdams Group also helped build our website and create our invitations — these assets include save the date postcards, formal invitations, RSVP cards, and reminder postcards. In addition, they also build the HTML emails that we send out, as well as the landing pages for the events — they also design our printed programs for conferences.

Recently, they’ve been following a branding guide to help them with some design elements, and then we’d give them an idea of what we’re looking for. 

What is the team composition?

I typically work directly with Larry (President).

How did you come to work with McAdams Group?

Larry is actually one of our donors and he’s been involved with Jesus Film Project since 2000.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $20,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Larry in October 2017, and we’re still working together. They’ve helped us with every donor conference we’ve held since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I would say they’re very gifted and knowledgeable in their field. They often give us advice on how to approach certain things, and we rely on their expertise. The times when we’d gone against Larry’s advice, we saw that he did actually have great points, so that was a lesson learned from us.

McAdams Group just really understands what we’re trying to do and accomplish, and the more they learn about our organization, the product gets better and better. Additionally, they’re really great with feedback, and they take it very graciously — if we want something changed, they’re more than happy to help and will readily hop on a call with us to talk through things.

How did McAdams Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re really great about setting deadlines, and sending that for me to look over and approve. Once those deadlines are settled and we’ve agreed to them, they always meet them and whenever they don't, it’s because we’ve gone and changed things.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed that they know our mission and that they’re also passionate and invested in it. That’s a huge part of our relationship because we feel the importance of the mission that we have — and I think it’s reflected quite well in their work.

The other thing we’re impressed about is that they’ve never had an ungracious moment whenever we get a bit high maintenance on the editing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, the variety of the pieces start looking very similar to one another after a while — but it’s probably because I do them so often.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would say to be as clear as possible about your vision and direction, so that McAdams Group can have a strong foundation of what you’re looking for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing and business development at a company focused on helping improve chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with McAdams Group?

We needed help with naming and branding strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Larry (President) and his team help us with naming, branding strategy, and logo work. They’ve also managed our website virtually since its inception. Additionally, they’ve assisted with PowerPoint templates for investor presentations. The team also created an animated video for us.

What is the team composition?

We work with Larry, one other contact, and several copywriters.

How did you come to work with McAdams Group?

Larry was recommended to me in 2000. When I first met him, I didn’t see a huge medical background. He proved his worth very quickly and always did a great job.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $200,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

For this latest project, we started working together in June 2018, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The views for the video on our website were quite high. Larry does a good job of translating what we do in a conversational tone. I’ve trusted him for over 20 years, and I consider him as a strategic partner. Whenever Larry presents something, he shows you how you’ll stand out. All the feedback on their work has been very positive.

How did McAdams Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re proactive in keeping us moving forward. They’re also reactive when there are questions about specific matters. Larry does a good job of managing our budget and timelines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They keep their work simple and understandable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a small startup, costs could be cheaper. That being said, we highly value the work that they do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Call Larry up and discuss your needs. His team will provide good communications tools.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of Customer Solutions at ECA Medical. We’re a company located in Thousand Oaks, California and, we’ve been around since 1979. Our company is a world leader in designing and manufacturing single-use surgical instruments for a variety of procedures. Our instruments are primarily used to secure pacemakers and defibrillators as well as heart pumps and many orthopedic and spine implant product lines.

We sell our products primarily to implant companies. We’re pretty much a turnkey company with multiple buildings, and we sell to customers like Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Zimmer, Johnson & Johnson, and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with McAdams Group?

Before reaching out to the McAdams group, we refreshed our logo design with another service provider. As a result, we needed to refresh our messaging and some of our positioning. We also hired them to update our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Larry (President) and his team have been working with us for three years and they help us refine our messaging and assist us in building our brand. We also consult them for our marketing needs. They’re working towards making it easy for our customers to connect with us. Moreover, they make our good surgical instruments and procedural solutions accessible to our external stakeholders.

McAdams Group has managed our trade show booths, outbound emails, slide decks, and more. They’ve also helped us establish the overall theme and culture of our company. They’re now focused on refreshing our website.

They refresh all our pages and ensure that we have an intuitive and clear UX that will lead our customers to the product line or solutions that they’re seeking. On top of that, they help us optimize and tailor our services for our third-party customers’ implants. 

We provide them with content, pictures, and more. They then reach out to us if they need any feedback. In a way, they prequalify our third-party customers before they contact me or my internal team. That way, our external stakeholders already know us pretty well through our unique value proposition. McAdams Group is now about to roll out the website update in the next couple of weeks.

What is the team composition?

Larry is the lead, but other team members from McAdams Group are also involved in the project. They also have third-party companies who help out on certain projects.

How did you come to work with McAdams Group?

Larry reached out to me through an email four years ago. He had a few bullet points about what his company did and I thought it was interesting. I checked their background and looked at their site. After that, I arranged for us to get together when I went down to their neighborhood. After we talked, I thought they were a great match for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $20,000–$30,000 on our recent project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2018, and we continue to collaborate.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The real success metric for us is our ROI. McAdams Group knows our business, and they know how to give good feedback. They've also made it easy for us to know where to go.

Additionally, the team has been helpful in stepping back and telling us what our real value proposition is. They’ve also helped us how to position our messaging. We value their opinions, and we believe that that they’ve looked at our company with a fresh set of eyes using a third-party customer’s perspective. As a result, our external stakeholders have nothing but positive feedback about their work.

Moreover, they know what contemporary tools to use, and they know what resonates with our target audience. Above all, they do a good job of asking the right questions and they don’t waste our time and money.

How did McAdams Group perform from a project management standpoint?

If I have to rank them on a scale of 1–10, I’d give them a 9–10 on their project management process. We email a lot and we don’t use any SaaS tools. We give them our content and they fine-tune it. Then, they share it back to us through a storyboard, a simple slide deck, or an electronic format. We also have some great communication sessions where we’ve discussed ideas about our projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their understanding of our company and how we should present ourselves from a marketing point of view has been impressive — from pricing, positioning, packaging, and promotion.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, McAdams Group has a good formula. I’ve been working with them for a long time and they have a good track record. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your scope — about what you want to do. Give their team the opportunity to digest and understand your business so that they can come back with some good options and recommendations.

In addition, be open-minded so that you can benefit from their breadth and depth of experience. Even though they have different thinking or approach, you might get some value from their insights.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing leader for healthcare technology solutions. I've worked with McAdams Group on several projects at numerous companies

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire McAdams Group, and what were your goals?

Projects range from messaging to website design, marketing campaigns, collateral development and event marketing. Goals have ranged from market awareness to demand generation to thought leadership.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I met McAdams Group as the incumbent agency at one of the companies I worked for. Their expertise, creative genius and attention to detail led me to rehire them for projects at numerous other companies.

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

They start with a deep review and understanding of our solutions, buyer personas and competitors and helped us develop key differentiators in how we tell our story.

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

I worked directly with Larry McAdams along with various project members of his team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

too many to list here but I'm happy to act as a reference if there are specific questions

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

regular updates and reports.

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

They learn about our business and our competitors, creating messaging and a visual style that makes us stand out.

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

nothing specifically comes to mind