Pennebaker

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the vice president of investor relations and marketing at an energy company. We are a private equity-backed company and were formally created in February 2013. Our company focuses on oilfield services and technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with Pennebaker?

When we first started, we had four companies we were bringing together and were looking for a company to rebrand them and create one new company image. We also needed help with the integration and rollout, both internally and externally.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pennebaker helped to develop our website and start building our brand. Our engagement has evolved over time, but they started with us when we were first entering the market and now we focus on gaining market share and brand recognition. They’ve aided in the revamping of our website since our initial launch.

Their team came up with our name and helped develop our brand guidelines. This included the creation of a logo, choosing colors, and picking a font. Since them, Pennebaker has helped us name our technology and aided in the design of our collateral. They’ve been a partner to this company on everything branding and design related.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with a project manager, who has admittedly changed a few times. We work closely with two to three project managers depending on the number of projects we have going on. 

How did you come to work with Pennebaker?

We knew we needed to bring the company to market so we met with 3–4 agencies based in Houston that we either found online or through recommendations. What set Pennebaker apart was that they thought differently. They understood that we didn’t want to look like every other company in the industry. 

Pennebaker has unique approaches and different ideas than other companies. We really wanted a partner who would come and advise us. They make us think differently and push us outside our comfort zone.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Pennebaker began in January 2013.

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

It’s really hard to measure growth since we started from a concept on paper in 2013 and became a public company in 2018, making subsequent acquisitions between then. Our website traffic has grown with the company and Pennebaker has been a big part of that. 

We certainly feel like we have a lot more recognition as a brand. We’ve seen growth across all the major marketing metrics.

How did Pennebaker perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re quite good when it comes to deadlines. My project managers are the best at executing on a day to day basis. Their communication is very good overall. We feel very comfortable interacting with them. 

Deadlines are hit when they’re supposed to be. If we need something turned around very quickly, they always try to do that for us. Pennebaker really takes care of us. Jeffrey (Principal & Creative Director, Pennebaker) is truly incredible. We’re blown away by what they’ve created for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Pennebaker is able to come up with things that are so outside the box while still being applicable to our company. They take the needs of our industry into account. Their creative team is their biggest value add.
 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Pennebaker could improve their listening. We love having them as an advisor and want to hear their opinion, but I think they have an idea of what they think is the best way to do things.

Marketing agencies in general have theoretical ideas of how marketing should be, but don't always understand how and if they apply to a real company. Sometimes, we have to push back on what’s realistic and what makes sense for our company. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’re going to get the most out of them if you engage them as a real partner rather than doing projects here and there. Pennebaker creates the best work for us because they really understand the company and how we’re trying to position ourselves. Their deep understanding of what we’re trying to message to the external market is really important. Pennebaker has a very unique way of messaging our culture to the market.