Pennebaker

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the communications/brand manager for a large nonprofit.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pennebaker?

We have worked with Pennebaker for many years to create print and digital materials showcasing our work and impact, donor groups, and other initiatives.

How did you select this vendor?

Our organization's partnership with Pennebaker began before I came on board, but we have gone back to Pennebaker year after year because they are a creative and strategic partner that we can count on both to lead a project from start to finish and to jump in and help us when we get stuck.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

While Pennebaker’s work with our organization precedes my tenure with the organization, I have worked with Pennebaker for the last 12 years. During that time, they have created our annual suite of campaign materials, our annual reports, several advertising and social media campaigns, videos, and other pieces highlighting our work and impact. Some years, they created campaign themes that were carried throughout all of our materials, and other years, they helped us make the most of existing creative by finding ways to tweak and refresh it.

What was the team composition?

Our team has worked with a dedicated project manager, the creative director, CEO, and a talented team of designers at Pennebaker. We've also worked with Pennebaker's digital marketing strategist on some special projects.

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

While it can be difficult to gauge or quantify the success of each individual piece, in the 13 years I have been at the organization and have worked with Pennebaker to create our campaign and marketing materials, we have raised more than $1 billion for our community.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We generally have a kickoff meeting at the beginning of a big project and then communicate regularly with our project manager, either on a project management platform or via email, depending on the scope of the project. We usually work out the timeline and milestones at the start of a project so we know exactly when to expect drafts, feedback, etc.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We have quite a few different target audiences we communicate with and have multiple stakeholders involved in creating our marketing materials. I've been impressed with the way the Pennebaker team takes in and incorporates feedback from many different people while also helping us make sure we communicate succinctly with our various audiences.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

This is something we have figured out and incorporated over time, but it would have been beneficial from the start to always begin a project with a kickoff meeting and set a clear timeline, internal project lead, checkpoints, talk through concerns, nuances, etc. We have been doing this for several years now and it makes a big difference!

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.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Powell is a manufacture of electrical distribution equipment. I serve as the Corporate Marketing Manager.

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

Provide services to re-design our website.

How did you select Pennebaker and what were the deciding factors?

Based on their presentation and ability to meet our needs.

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

We have many meeting to review our current website design, discuss areas that needed improvement, and determine the best path forward to reach our goals and desires.

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

Six. Marketing Specialist, CEO, CFO, HR representative, IT representative, Corporate Marketing.

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

We are currently in the re-design phase of the project with completion on or about April 2022.

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

Good communications and follow-up.

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

Their knowledge of our business, our products, and our people has been impressive.

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

Not that I can think of at the moment.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Riviana is America’s largest processor, marketer and distributor of branded and private label rice products. I am the Technical Manager and Developer managing our digital infrastructure.

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

Build and deploy 2 new websites with a modern CMS.

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

We met with a list of the top 4 development agencies in our area, and having worked with Pennebaker in the past I knew their knowledge and expertise would be a perfect fit for our needs.

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

Build and deploy two Craft3 based websites for two of our major brands. Built with Craft3 a PHP based CMS

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

we worked with a team of 3-4 people. Project Manager, Technical Director, Developer, Designer

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

After launching the site we saw a 80% increase in user engagement and 70% increase in traffic.

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

We had weekly meetings, on some occasions more than once per week. We primarily communicated and collaborated through Email, XD, and Asana.

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

They gave us a much more user-friendly site for our visitors. They make it more intuitive for them to navigate and convert to our online retailers.

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

None at the moment.