SCUBE Marketing

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner and CEO of AutoTempest.com, a used vehicle listings aggregator and buyer's resource.

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

We hired SCUBE to run our PPC marketing, particularly using Google Ads. The goal was to maximize our user acquisition on this channel while maintaining an expectation of positive ROI.

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

The selection process was run by our head of marketing at the time, who is no longer with the company. However, the primary factors were a perception of competence—understanding of our industry and needs, and best practices in PPC marketing—as well as cost.

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

They began by reviewing the state of our ads account. Next they planned several test campaigns, including keywords to target and ad content. We started with a budget of a few thousand a month, and have gradually scaled up to about 10k as performance is demonstrated and targeting + copy is refined. We receive twice-monthly written updates, as well as a performance dashboard, and have an account manager available for questions.

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

I primarily work with our account manager directly, but I understand there are others working on the account behind the scenes.

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

We have tried other PPC management firms in the past, but were unable to sustain significant ad spend at the CPC and CPL levels we needed. SCUBE has managed to sustainably grow our account to about $8k per month so far based on better keyword targeting and ad copy.

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

It's been great; no complaints. I prefer to communicate by email, so they've matched that, and they are capable of answering complex questions in detail.

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

Their level of understanding of our needs and of complex details such as the differentiation between branded and unbranded ads, and the importance of keeping the two separate, stood out from competitors.

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

They're not the cheapest option out there, but understandably so.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was president of Hard Core Waterfowl. When we started, the company was a retail wholesale business. Then, we re-platformed it to Shopify to sell direct-to-consumer and sold the company two years later.

What challenge were you trying to address with SCUBE Marketing?

We’d never sold direct-to-consumer, so we were trying to build an audience and drive revenue through paid advertising and social media, primarily through Google and Facebook Ads.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SCUBE Marketing helped us with every aspect of our paid media. They ran our Google Ads and paid social media. Also, they were experts in the e-commerce ecosystem, so they guided us as we moved through the transition. They’d worked with other companies in similar situations, so they took a consultative approach. If we needed anything in terms of expertise or experience, they lent their support.

Initially, we had an onboarding process that spanned two weeks to help them understand our business. Once they understood our company, we set some goals and a budget. Them, we had weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly reporting.

What is the team composition?

We initially worked with Tom (Principal); he had three people working on our account. We also worked with Diana (Managing Partner) as our program manager and primary point of contact.

How did you come to work with SCUBE Marketing?

We got the referral from the agency that built our Shopify site. We wanted someone local, so we asked if they knew a good paid media firm; they mentioned Tom and SCUBE Marketing. We went through a selection process and ended up going with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent at least $200,000 in paid media spend.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our engagement in September 2019 and ended it in February 2021 due to the business’ change of ownership.

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

Our brand had never sold direct-to-consumer before or worked in paid media, so SCUBE Marketing had to come in and build it from scratch. We had equity and an audience, but by October 2019, our ROI was probably ten times higher when the typical ROI in ads is 400%–500%. We got to a point where we even had to slow our ad spend because the ads were so effective — it was an overwhelming operation.

How did SCUBE Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They did really well. They helped us get organized because we were brand new at it. Also, Tom was available any time we needed him. It was nice because they were a boutique shop; we probably met only 1–2 times in person, but they were very responsive and patient with us.

We used Basecamp, Slack, and Google Meets to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Not only were they focused on their clients, but they had expertise beyond paid media. SCUBE Marketing guided us, connected us to the right people, and gave us good suggestions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It wasn’t in the project scope, but they could’ve stepped up or invested more in the design. We provided the design and copy, but it could be an opportunity for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to give direction to your partner. First, organize internally to have a clear strategy, and SCUBE Marketing can edit that. It’s always easier to edit things than create them, mainly if you’re working with an outside firm that doesn’t have firsthand knowledge of your business. Therefore, do your work, and then let them apply their best practices.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of a charitable online business for travel lovers. We help people commemorate all their travels with a collectable and handcrafted keepsake. For every order placed, we provide a meal to a child in need.

For what projects/services did your company hire SCUBE Marketing?

We hired SCUBE for Google Advertising.

How did you select this vendor?

They were a recommendation of Kurt. I spoke with Tom from SCUBE and he did a great job explaining their value proposition.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

SCUBE Marketing manages all of our Google Ads. They adjust budgets, find the best keywords, and stay on top of the latest updates to maximize our profit.

What was the team composition?

I work directly with my account manager. Shout-out to Hallie (prior Account Manager) and now Luke (current Account Manager). They do a great job of working with me and helping me to execute any ideas I may have on top of the ones they recommend.

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

For the year of 2021, we are seeing a 500% ROAS on our Google Advertising.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow is very seamless. SCUBE is very communicative, professional, and timely. 5-stars here!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What I found most impressive about SCUBE is how they have been willing to test new ideas, even if it means their results may not look as good. They have also done their due diligence in making sure that only a small portion of our spend goes to branded keywords while the rest is spent on bringing in new traffic.

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

SCUBE Marketing is the real deal, and I've loved being a client of theirs for over a year now. It's not easy to find great agencies but I lucked out here. The only area of improvement is that I wish they used Slack for communication as I personally dislike emails. But other than that, I can't recommend them enough!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing manager for a company that manufactures thermal covers for cold chain logistics use. I am also part of our parent company's corporate marketing team.

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

We were getting heavier into digital marketing and as adoption from ownership and management grew, we were able to take our SEO in-house and outsource SCUBE to manage grow our PPC campaigns on google as well as a little on the microsoft side.

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

We followed a referral and after introductions and an audit of our SEO, PPC and homepage, their recommendations, service capability and value add matched our criteria for a partner to help move us forward. We were looking for an agile, flexible and tight knit team to work with us as we were growing our digital footprint, and that's exactly what we found.

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

Our market is a niche corner of the cold chain logistics world, providing a challenging market to work in. Our colleagues at SCUBE were excited to take on a new industry and took what we had and ran with it.

They learned quickly and were able to come back with great strategy for campaign development, ad angles, and bidding on keywords and search terms after conducting powerful research and audits of our product types, competition and learning the industry language across the huge markets we serve, i.e., Pharma, Food and Beverage, and Chemical manufacturing and supply chain logistics.

Key deliverables include target conversions per month as well as a very challenging cost per click that they worked diligently to obtain and surpass.

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

One of the major deciding factors for us bringing SCUBE on board was the criteria of open communication not just with our account manager, but with the team members actually implementing the changes and tweaks to our campaigns. We got that and more from SCUBE and have open dialogue with top level management down to our everyday contact who is knowledgeable and knows our campaigns inside and out.

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

We regularly rank in the top for many of our high-volume search terms across our different campaigns sometimes playing second or third fiddle to only amazon, uline and the like. When we do our own keyword/search term research against competitors using SEM Rush, we often see huge gaps between us and our main competition.

SCUBE hit our cost per click goal of $75, which we honestly were shooting way low and last month our CPC was right around $60! Every month this year has gotten more conversions than the last and September 2021 was not only the best performing month to date but also came in under budget and was the lowest CPC we've had. We have tracked revenue back to digital leads and have a strong ROI leading into 2022.

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

They have been very proactive in identifying opportunities to improve our overall campaign and aggressively push to drive better performance through each month. They are on point with their deliverables with great email communication or a quick call if needed. We feel like response and communication is as if they are an internal part of our team across all the business units they work on under the Lanco umbrella.

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

Willingness to tackle our account and excitement in taking on a challenging niche industry was a great signal to me upfront that SCUBE was the right group to get us some wins and grow our online presence. Also, the great character of the team members and ease of collaboration has been 5 star and a great balance of kindness, understanding and professionalism.

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

Nothing comes to mind. There's always room for improvement, and constructive criticism, but in this case I do feel that any concerns or immediate needs/changes have been received quickly and met with reasonable sense of urgency. The SCUBE team embraces learning and growing and we've done so as well with great collaboration.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Fractional CTO for J.L. Matthews, which is a distributor of safety equipment for linemen/women, arborists and ironworkers. The company has deep roots in these industries as we've been around for 75+ years.

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

Our goals with SCUBE Marketing was to increase our revenue through our Shopify site. We've always had great results through our retail store. When we started the online shop, we needed help getting the products in front of the right people.

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

SCUBE was a great company to chat with, as they shared some strategies that aligned with our vision. The ROAS they promised fit with our needs and budget, so we were definitely interested.

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

We have various projects running with SCUBE Marketing, including Google Ads and Facebook Ads. Within these platforms, we are running various subcategories of campaigns such as vendor specific targets, retargeting, high value products, etc.

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

We mainly work with the account manager, who brings in others on a per needed basis. We've worked with the CEO as well as analysts outside of our account manager.

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

SCUBE Marketing has been able to produce a 700% ROAS on average for our various campaigns that we run.

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

We meet SCUBE Marketing account manger on a monthly basis, before which we're provided with a monthly report for us to review and prepare for the meeting. The various to dos that come out of this meeting, we communicate over email and Google docs to keep track of them.

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

SCUBE Marketing has a very good professionalism and is willing to work with us as we see different changes needed in our business or digital marketing strategies.

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

Overall, SCUBE Marketing executes very well. As there are lots of things going on in their business and ours, we've had difficulty aligning the tasks that need to get done by specific times. I would love to see a bit more attention on follow ups.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Demo Duck is a video production company specializing in creating digital content for business. As the Managing Director, I'm in charge of our marketing budget and efforts.

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

We engaged with Scube to help manage and optimize our Google Ads account and spend. Our goal was to decrease our budget by 30-40% and increase our conversions...no small feat.

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

I learned about Scube through a colleague that had found great success in partnering with them for his business. During a quick discovery call with Scube, with some quick suggestions for tweaks to our account, I had already decreased our spend and increase conversions-all from a quick 30 minute chat. From there, I was all in on Scube!

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

They manage our monthly Google Ads spend and performance.

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

Two - a dedicated account manager and account specialist.

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

After a few short months, we were able to hit our goals in decreasing our spend by 30% and increasing our conversions. Additionally, this freed up a lot of my own time to focus on other areas of the business.

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

Scube effectively uses Google Data Studio dashboard and weekly email updates to keep me attune to the performance of my account. That's paired with an informative monthly call to dive deeper into the numbers. I also appreciate how responsive Scube is to my emails!

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

Scube is very honest before we started working together about how and what they could achieve with our account. In the past many Paid Media agencies promised the moon but drastically underperformed (and barely made a positive dent in the numbers). Scube was self aware, honest, and modest.

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

No

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of sales and marketing for a manufacturing company.

What challenge were you trying to address with SCUBE Marketing?

We hired SCUBE Marketing to replace our previous marketing firm because they weren’t bringing us the most innovative and detailed strategies anymore.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve expanded our current channels by evaluating and segmenting our PPC campaigns. They manage all of our US and global PPC accounts. They’ve created detailed dashboards for each of our accounts. Each dashboard is about 20 pages long and gives us insight into how our campaigns are performing in real-time.

What is the team composition?

We work with Tom (Principal) and Hallie (Account Manager).

How did you come to work with SCUBE Marketing?

We found SCUBE Marketing on Clutch.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started working on our accounts in July 2020 and still do.

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

They provide significantly more value than our previous agency. They’ve been able to maintain or exceed our return on ad spend goals while increasing traffic to all of our sites, even in our slower months. The dashboards that they created allow us to dive into the nitty-gritty details of our campaigns.

How did SCUBE Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re easy to work with and take feedback very well. They understand our business needs, our priorities, and our timelines. Their communication has been much better than other firms we’ve worked with. They’ve done a great job outlining what they plan to do each month, following up in each call, and reviewing what they’ve achieved.

They’re quick to respond regardless of the day or time. If they don’t have an answer right away, they at least respond and then get back to me within a few hours.

I really appreciate that each dashboard outlines what they plan to accomplish each month. We also have bi-weekly calls and monthly meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and attentiveness really impressed me. They work quickly and around our schedules. We’re a very fast-paced company and they’re very nimble. They listen to all of our feedback and make changes as quickly as they can.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any constructive feedback for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d definitely recommend them. We went from a larger firm to a smaller firm, and it has worked out really well for us because SCUBE Marketing provides a lot of personalized attention. I’m sure that new clients won’t be disappointed with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a company that manufactures optical accessories and ophthalmic consumables.

What challenge were you trying to address with SCUBE Marketing?

We wanted to attract more customers to our online presence.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SCUBE analyzed our website and target market. Their team performed a keyword analysis and measured our performance. After we came to an agreement, their team began to work on our site. They continue to manage SEO and PPC campaigns through Google Ads. They also adjust content on our website, enhancing it with keywords.

What is the team composition?

I work with Tom (Principal) but Hallie (Account Management) is our day-to-day contact.

How did you come to work with SCUBE Marketing?

The agency that built our website referred us to SCUBE.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $1,300 a month on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our work in March 2020, and we’re still with them now.

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

Since our partnership started, we've experienced an increase in traffic, conversions, and sales. It’s been absolutely great working with them. They know digital marketing extremely well.

How did SCUBE Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent, managing the project front-to-back. We typically communicate via email but also touch base monthly over the phone. Hallie sends me weekly emails with trends and project updates, so I’m kept up to date.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed by their knowledge and execution of the project. Their team brings impressive ideas to the table too. They tailor their services to us rather than providing us with a one size fits all solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I know of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. We told them what we wanted to accomplish and then they translated our goals into an actionable plan.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO at Heggerty where we publish a curriculum for early education. The company has been around 15 years and we haven't done a lick of marketing until this year.

For what projects/services did your company hire SCUBE Marketing?

We wanted to find out if digital marketing could be a way to get our curriculum in front of more teachers. We have a product that teachers love, but most just haven't heard of it. We wanted to change that.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of this project was to gain exposure and drive sales. We were hoping to see a ROAS of 300% or greater.

How did you select SCUBE Marketing?

This is a significant campaign for my company and a completely untested area. I met Tom a few years back and reached out to him when this project came about. I've always preferred small, hungry agencies that give you the time of day over large, established agencies with a shiny client list. SCUBE fits that bill.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

SCUBE is responsible for developing, running, and optimizing our digital advertising campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube.

What was the team composition?

Tom is the CEO and was involved with the onboarding process and campaign strategy. Hallie is the project manager and my main point of contact. There are 2 or 3 others involved in the background who handle the technical side of campaign.

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

We set out with a goal of 300% ROAS (getting $3 back for every $1 we spend) and we're currently over 1,200% ROAS. The results are measurable which it makes it easy to keep giving them our business. I'm told those aren't normal results, but needless to say, I'm happy.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I have a monthly check-in call with Hallie where we discuss results and strategy. Communication is timely and responsive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The results speak for themselves. SCUBE understands digital marketing and they listen. That's a powerful equation and it's what makes them a great partner.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I had to spend more time than I expected providing copy edits for the first round of ads, but I think we've found a rhythm now.

Please describe your company and your position there.

WeldingStore.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Welding Industrial Supply. As Director of Operations, I oversaw and implemented WeldingStore.com as our new eCommerce platform.

For what projects/services did your company hire SCUBE Marketing?

I needed a marketing team to manage all of our ongoing digital marketing needs for Weldingstore.com.

What were your goals for this project?

The manage and monitor our digital marketing ads through social media, and google while making the necessary changes to meet our ROI goals.

How did you select SCUBE Marketing?

I was referred by Pivofy Web design.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We needed a fully experienced team to manage every aspect of our digital marketing, as we had no one with that sort of experience on our team. They've built different campaigns based on our needs and product mix and dynamically change the campaigns based on product performance and what the google algorhythms show they should do.

What was the team composition?

Diana is our primary contact. She managed a team of 2 that handled our account.

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

We have hit our goal(and then some) every month since we launched back in 2019. Our ROI for every ad-dollar spent has been tremendous. We have far exceeded our own expectations thanks to the team at Scube.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They are clear and concise. Weekly/bi weekly meetings to keep us updated with the trends of our site/product mix along with how each ad campaign was performing and how they would like to alter things for the coming months if necessary. Clean and understandable presentations were given monthly with results and data.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Attention to detail, along with using their experience with other similar customers to help our new business grow. They're uncomfortable with just doing what's expected by the customer and continue to do more than is asked and deliver every single time.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.