REQ

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a public affairs manager at a self-driving technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

In our space, education's important. We needed to reach people within our markets. We brought REQ on board to help us build out our public education campaign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ built a multifaceted digital approach. They completed a series of videos featuring our partners and self-driving technology. Their team filmed long-form videos that they cut down into shorter assets to use for advertising.

They built our public education campaign website from scratch. Their team redesigned the website several times since the initial build. They maintain and are currently redesigning the website.

Their team helps us manage two different social media channels: Facebook and Twitter. This year, we plan to do more work on LinkedIn and Instagram. They also manage digital advertising for us including web-based and digital radio ads.

Their team runs our e-mail marketing campaigns, sending weekly emails to a growing subscriber list. We target audiences to join that list based on our priority markets. Their team helps us maintain our presence in our existing markets and helps us to enter new markets with the same digital approach.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a steady group of people over the years. Eric (Chief Client Officer)—who’s incredible— is our main point of contact. We also work with Steven (Senior Brand Strategist), Heather (Assistant Account Executive), Greg (Senior Account Executive), and Amanda (Senior Content Strategist).

How did you come to work with REQ?

REQ was the best company for us because they could serve all of our different needs. The breadth and depth of their experience set them apart from other companies. I’ve worked with companies in the past with strong expertise in certain areas. REQ had strong expertise to answer a lot of our needs in one place.

What is the status of this engagement?

REQ was with us before I joined the company, but I believe they started in January 2018. We’re in the third year of our engagement right now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In one year, we grew our email subscriber base from zero to 22,000 people, which was impressive. A majority of those subscribers were in a specific state, so it wasn’t a national campaign.

We created 21 video ads. In six months, they received over six million views in total. Our digital ads targeted for one state received over 49 million impressions, which was great.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication has been excellent. We have weekly calls and their team’s communicative between those calls. They’re flexible in adapting their reporting to fit their clients’ needs.

They’re responsive. I’m in California and they’re on the East coast. Unlike my past experiences, I’ve never felt a time difference issue. When I worked in New York and had clients in California, there was a lack of response on occasion.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They embedded themselves into our team well through their hands-on approach. Agencies tend to be a separate unit that completes the work and hands it over. They’re ingrained in our day to day business, which is helpful. We don’t have to catch them up to speed on projects because they’re involved on a daily basis.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you have regularly scheduled meetings. Work with them to build customized reports.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a network services organization. We enable our customers to provide wireless networks everywhere.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

I started the business in 2009 and we had grown our revenue significantly in five years. However, from everyone’s perspective, we were still a one-man shop. We talked to some creative agencies and they did some work for us, but the messaging was never there.

Our goal was to effectively convey the message externally and show everyone that we are truly a force in the industry and we’re solid. At that point, we had $38 million in revenue and 400 employees nationwide, so we were a viable company. So we wanted to create and develop our brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ did everything involving branding our company and putting our name out there. They didn’t need to completely change the brand because it already held a certain stickiness with our customers, but they did elaborate on our leadership. 

The team worked with us to outline who we are, why we’re so special, and why our company is so unique. They helped us through a story development phase which involved getting our narrative out into the news media and going for business awards. 

What is the team composition?

We interacted with Elizabeth (EVP) and other teammates. 

How did you come to work with REQ?

Out of all of the PR specialists I’ve met, Elizabeth is the most out there. When I asked for recommendations, her name and company kept coming up non-stop. Additionally, she was working with big brands at that time. All of these factors made my decision easy. 

How much have you invested with them?

I spent $300,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in about 2014. Our organization was purchased by a larger enterprise, but I’ve maintained my relationship with REQ.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They managed to get us into several publications such as Forbes and Ernest & Young. 

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

I wasn’t involved all the time in the initial project, but it went well. We communicated via email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team got us to understand what branding means. Elizabeth and her team didn’t just tell us what they thought. They allowed us to see different types of PR exposures and work closely with them.

A lot of people try to use verbal communication to explain the options, but without any context of what a PR campaign looks like, you get lost. REQ offered us exposure to PR by letting us see it through community events. The team helped us understand exactly what we were looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could scale faster. It would be better if they could do what they do with more people.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Always continue the dialogue with Elizabeth at all times. She is full of knowledge and capability. Use her as a sounding board of where things are going because she can listen to your concerns and address them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Respondent 1: We support our Medicare product line with digital marketing strategy, Our focus is doing Medicare campaigns to drive prospects in sales. We work in different digital media channels to promote our campaigns on social platforms.

Respondent 2: I work on the same team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

R1: At the time, we didn’t have a digital support system in place. Being a small team, we needed to leverage outside support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

R1: They facilitate our media for digital channels, expanding across paid search and social. They’ve been a big part of proposing and executing strategy. They’ve also provided creative support. So, they’ve developed landing pages and creative components for those campaigns. They’ve also played a heavy hand in the management of our social media channels. They create calendars, content, and engage with respondents.

R2: They’ve done a series of webinars for digital marketing: 101, tutorials for other departments, and email campaigns.

What is the team composition?

R1: We have an account director, who has been on our team for the last 18 months. Before that, we had another account director who had been with us since our relationship began. There is also direct support from department heads for the different media channels.

How did you come to work with REQ?

R1: We conducted an RFP process and elected to go with REQ because I was intent on finding a digital-first agency.

What is the status of this engagement?

R1: We started working together in May 2014 and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

R1: Our two biggest metrics are lead volume and cost per lead. In both of those areas, those metrics have improved by about 10% each year. They’ve done an effective job at increasing lead volume from these channels and reducing the cost per lead. Their work over the years has resulted in very tangible results.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

R1: They’ve done well. Things have evolved over the years, and our industry is a bit behind the times, but they’ve done a good job aligning themselves in the right way. We have a good relationship and they’re very responsive to our needs. They’ve managed everything effectively, and we have some short-term immediate needs, and some long-term efforts and they do a good job staying on track. We have regular check-ins and they hold themselves accountable to delivering on deadlines.

R2: We work with a few other agencies, but REQ is the most responsive to edits and things like that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

R1: They’re very fair. They don’t price gauge and they’re not trying to push more business. They’re dedicated to building a strong, long term relationship. I trusted that they were knowledgeable experts and that they would do the right thing for our business. I always felt like they were looking out for us and our company, and I really appreciated that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

R1: Their presentation could be improved. I’m more metrics-driven, but as the relationship continued, they didn’t convey results super clearly. The results were there, but they could communicate them better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a unit of a plumbing manufacturing company. We do direct to consumer efforts. I am the paid social media manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

Our director of marketing saw a need to grow our online presence through SEO and content.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They develop earned content, blog content, and SEO content. They also support social media platform like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. This includes creating content and scheduling when everything is posted. We’ve also used them for graphic design and they’ve done some web development.

What is the team composition?

My primary point of contact is our account director. I’ve also come to know some of the other team members, including an earned content specialist, a strategist, a writer, and a developer.

How did you come to work with REQ?

When I came on, they were already working with my company for a couple of years. From what I understand, REQ was working with a competitor in our space. They had an opening portfolio and reached out to us. They were good with content and the SEO component, so that’s why we started working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $27,000 per month (approximately $2 million).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2016 and we continue to work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They deliver at a level of design excellence that makes a 150-year old brand proud.  Quantitatively, the work around our earned presence and our organic traffic is the most profitable traffic sectors that we have.

Qualitatively, they take direction well and execute at a greater level than what I could do. I had some ideas, but didn’t have the design experience.  

They have an excellent SEO analytics department, who is able to figure out relevant keywords to write content for our audience. They also have great content strategists and writers who leverage the research and analytics. They listen to what our business needs and they deliver. They’re also happy to adjust content based on business needs.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s good, but I do have difficulty wrapping up web development projects. But in terms of content—our calendars, blogs, execution, and delivery— they have that completely under control and I don’t need to be involved. They will send me stuff to review without prompting.

I will forward web development requests to my account director, but I will also speak with a developer.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their content creation is top-notch. It’s results-oriented and it looks good. They execute on time and take feedback.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

The web development arm of their company is weaker than their content side. It’s hard to get quality-assured work out of it. They could improve their web dev and the speed of response.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them steer content generation as much as you can.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a data analytics firm for governments. We work with federal, state, and local agencies to help them transform their organizations to become more data-driven.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We worked with REQ to provide marketing expertise across the board in all areas.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have helped us to plan out and execute practices including PR, lead generation, relationship development, messaging, and specific ad campaigns.

In one particular case, we have been developing a solution for Virginia that involves data-sharing around the opioid crisis. REQ was instrumental in that campaign in terms of getting the word out through articles and interviews on a website for the project as well as a press event in conjunction with the Virginia government.

Their team helps out on a number of projects like that, but they’ve also helped us identify and win awards and take several other steps to position ourselves as innovators for the government. That work has helped us to provide better service to our clients as well as to significantly raise the profile of our company.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is their client relationship person, Katie (Sr. VP, Client Service).

How did you come to work with REQ?

It can be very hard to find a really broad range of expertise with one individual, so we were looking to bring on a firm that could really help us tackle every angle of account-based marketing.

They were recommended to us by a business advisor that we have who had worked with them in the past, and when we talked to them their understanding, commitment, and passion were all very impressive, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent about $280,000 on our work with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in December 2017 and is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We track quarterly metrics on pretty much all of their work in order to help strategize and shift goals as we move forward. Some things we look at more consistently, like open rates on our outgoing email campaigns, and click through rates and monthly visitors on our website.

For the most part, we target quarterly goals in terms of pieces of press, certain numbers of events, responses from certain types of activities, and that type of thing. They have always been able to fulfill our larger project targets in that regard.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

They do an excellent job of staying on top of our deadlines and communication. A large portion of our communication takes place over email, but we have a regular weekly phone call and usually try to touch base before the phone call around our weekly reports.

They also have access to some of our internal systems to help us track the work, including the OKR system we have for our entire company, which helps us to communicate more clearly about those things as well as to treat them like a part of our company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their dedication to customer service, making sure that they get it right for us, is absolutely spectacular. I love sharing ideas with them because they are so good at figuring out what we need and then finding a way to deliver that for us. The breadth of their services is always growing, and that has made our long-term relationship incredibly valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really don’t have anything in particular that I think they need to do better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Any marketing relationship has to involve investment from both sides. They need the feedback from you in order to know whether they’re on the right track in terms of the market and direction, and then adjust if not.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're an energy company supplying natural gas and electricity, and we supply energy to your home or your small business. I am focused on prospecting new residential customers through digital marketing and advertising.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We have worked with their team for almost six years in helping us market our services to a variety of customers online.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started by helping us roll out paid advertising efforts, and their team handled the administration and creative work behind those campaigns. Over the last few years, the relationship significantly evolved as we were able to give them more projects and services based on their performance.

More recently, they have handled social media and earned media and content creation for those channels, including everything from ad copy for search ads and display banners, to blog posts, landing pages, and infographics. They’ve also handled some larger projects focused on optimizing conversion rate and leveraging some of their relationships with developers to handle more technical aspects of the work.

What is the team composition?

Steven (Account Director) serves as our main point of contact, and he manages a dedicated team with a lead for each of the service names that we’ve scoped out with them.

How did you come to work with REQ?

When we first started opening new sales channels, we went through a full RFP process to vet a variety of different partners, including several rounds of proposals and presentations. Their team stood out in that process and we ended up deciding that they were the best fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We started with a $2,000,000 budget for them and have expanded from there spending closer to $4,000,000–$5,000,000 per year with them at this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship with them started in 2014 and is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we’ve worked with them for so long, we’ve gathered quite a bit of data over that time about how they have continually performed. Overall, their work has drastically improved our conversion rates, and on the creative side, their resources have been admired and requested by other teams across our larger corporate group.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team acts on everything with urgency, almost as if it was their own need, which we really appreciate. They are always very timely and communicative, as well as open to shifting priorities when something changes in our plan and good at communicating how that will impact the rest of their work on other projects.

That level of coordination has been crucial to our ability to plan and set expectations internally. They’ve been a very solid partner across the board, but their ability to communicate and flexibly prioritize has been key for us getting everything done in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When we share business results and feedback, they truly take it to heart and go back to their team to brainstorm solutions. Any time we have a problem, they are able to come back to us with a set of ideas and solutions that push us to think differently and are always very helpful and often eye-opening for our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think with every agency, turnover is a challenge, so the biggest difficulty we’ve had is in people leaving the company over the six years that we’ve worked with them. Obviously, that isn’t something that they can control, but any effort they are able to make to be proactive in communicating that with us is really appreciated in allowing us to adjust more quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Establishing clear goals and business metrics, as well as being as transparent as possible so that they have a really good understanding of what you need and how to deliver that, is what will allow you to develop the best relationship and have the most success.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a casino in San Diego. I’m the community and social relations manager. My responsibilities include processing sponsorships and donations for the casino and managing web advertising and social media work.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We’ve worked with them as a company for a while. When we no longer had a web team in-house, we needed an agency to help improve our SEO rankings and make modifications to our site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We work with REQ on our organic search results. During our monthly meetings with them, they provide us with our top-ranking keywords. At that point, we can recommend keywords to target. 

With our website, they add and create new functionalities. Additionally, they optimized all of our blog content and landing pages for SEO. If there’s anything new that comes up, we can reach out to them. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily worked with Melissa (Account Director), but we also worked with Jeff (Director of Client Services), Lindsay (SEO Strategist), and Christa (Content Strategist). 

How much have you invested with them?

Our annual spend with them is about $90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2015, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since I’ve taken over this position in that past six months, our month-over-month and year-over-year metrics are increasing. 

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication has been wonderful. Whenever I have an issue, I can call Melissa for immediate help. She gets tasks turned around pretty quickly. We communicate mostly through an email thread to help with streamlined communication. I’ve called a few times for emergencies, though.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills and quick turnaround times have helped our team improve. We have a great relationship, and that can be attributed to the quality they bring to the table. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Every time I give them a task, they knock it out of the park. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure your communication is open between your internal team and REQ’s staff.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of marketing for a wholesale data center company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We use REQ for the public relations side of our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ focuses on media and public relations. They help us to strategize around our messaging in the global market space. Their team helps us to write press releases. For example, they’ll write releases about our company entering into new markets or opening new data centers. Their team also develops media lists for those stories and organizes interviews in the hopes of securing media coverage. Their efforts are not only promotional but also proactive. They pitch proactively to secure media coverage in regard to thought leadership. They also help secure awards as well as support our social media presence and content for marketing campaigns.

What is the team composition?

The size of the team is 2-3, including the Vice President.

How did you come to work with REQ?

Our chief commercial officer worked with REQ previously and brought them into the organization because he wanted a PR agency that focused on technology. When I joined the company later, I retained them as our PR firm because I worked with them previously too.

How much have you invested with them?

We pay a monthly retainer and spend between $50,000–$100,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our organization engaged REQ in 2018 and our partnership’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re certainly happy with the amount of coverage that we receive from working with REQ, especially around strategic announcements. For example, we acquired a company that gave us a footprint in Canada about a year ago. In February, we launched our services in Europe too. Their team was key in crafting those announcements. They also secured coverage through their own outreach and pitching. We’re certainly happy with them.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management’s strong. It’s a partnership, so we’re constantly engaged. We connect daily or multiple times a week informally. We also have calls to review key initiatives and KPIs with a formal report every week. They provide analytics and reports to keep everyone accountable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

REQ’s adaptable and knows the technology sector well. Their team is agile and flexible, which is important because conditions change often. Our ongoing partnership’s the important piece. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of any critiques at this point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Approach the engagement from the point of view of a partnership. Don’t isolate public relations. Rather, make sure to look at what the business needs holistically and how all of the pieces can work together from PR to lead generation. Make sure that all of the agencies and vendors work in sync to benefit the unit.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of one of the oldest and largest sauna manufacturers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

When we were a lot smaller, we were doing all of our advertising in-house but everything was getting more complicated. We hired REQ as extra support for these efforts we were managing. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ manages all of our online advertising, including PPC and social media channels. We also work with them on SEO for our website to get the maximum position for all of our keywords. We do keyword research on a regular basis with them. Their social media support covers Facebook and Instagram. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with Danielle (Account Director, REQ). 

How did you come to work with REQ?

We came to work with REQ when they were a different company. Their president bought one of our products and reached out to tell us about their services. We were looking for a team to do that work and they seemed like they knew what they were doing, unlike a lot of other companies. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our ad spend is around $2 million a year, and we pay them around $250,000–$350,000 range. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around 2016 and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our main goal is to increase sales and track it against the return on our ad spend, and they either maintain or move us forward in those areas. We’re seasonal, so they keep fine-tuning the efforts but we rarely move backward. If anything, everything looks better all the time. 

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been great—they’re very on top of everything and stay on top of us to get what they need from our team. They pretty much do what they say and do it on time, so we have very few problems if any. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don’t have a lot of experience with other companies, but from the few I’ve worked with, REQ’s biggest difference is how much they care. They are invested in making sure our project is successful, not just running a campaign to make a commission. They pay attention to all of the details so the nuance allows us to be profitable in our work with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, off the top of my head there’s nothing I can think of. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s helpful to have someone with an understanding of the online advertising world and what the metrics mean for your business. What works for our business might not work for someone else’s. Knowing the high level about how it works will help get the most out of it. No one knows your business like you do, so it’ll help optimize their work. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior marketing manager at a large technology firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with REQ?

We needed help with Amazon advertising.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

REQ helps execute and optimize Amazon search advertising for our products.

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with Tiffany (VP, Client Service, REQ) and Shannon (Senior Digital Marketing Associate, REQ). Shannon is our product manager. 

How did you come to work with REQ?

My company has worked with REQ on other projects. Our work together stems from an outside referral.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together at the end of 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can’t provide any quantitative details for confidentiality reasons. However, they’ve improved our click-through rate, ad optimizations, and sales conversions.

How did REQ perform from a project management standpoint?

They have far exceeded a lot of our expectations compared to other groups we’ve worked with. They’re attentive, have clear communications, can take constructive feedback, and implement changes incredibly quickly. They’re great partners that very quickly earned our trust. We communicate via weekly phone calls and up-to daily emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I know they’re a large company working with a ton of partners, but we always feel like we’re their top priority, which is great to feel.