Sculpt

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager at Schneider Electric, a global energy management and industrial automation SaaS company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sculpt?

We were looking to elevate our social media presence as a B2B company and needed their team to leverage our efforts and strategies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sculpt handles our social media campaigns by raising awareness to promote our new offerings. Their team conducts research, evaluates influencer profiles, and launches a vetting process to determine ideal options for our campaign briefs. They’ve particularly reached out to paid influencers, partner companies, and digital platforms to generate more engagement towards our products.

What is the team composition?

I have two main points of contact.

How did you come to work with Sculpt?

We found their team via Clutch, along with other candidates. Sculpt had the skill set, price point, and team size we needed, so we chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Sculpt started in March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sculpt has activated marketable opportunities for us, suggesting and implementing the best practices to elevate our community management and social media engagement. They’ve also amplified our PR coverage and connections.

How did Sculpt perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and ad hoc meetings. Sculpt is an agile team that pivots according to our needs and shares insightful ideas to expedite and improve our project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re most impressed with their in-depth knowledge of social media trends and customer needs. On top of that, Sculpt consistently brings refreshing solutions to the table.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything negative about their work. Sculpt has been an effective partner to us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set clear objectives and metrics and allocate enough time to monitor the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the senior director of marketing engagement at Frontier Co-op. I lead our internal agency of content, creative and engagement teams. We manufacture and market two national brands: Simply Organic and Frontier Co-op. Our products include organic and conventional spices, herbs, flavorings/extracts, herbal teas, baking/cooking ingredients and wellness products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sculpt?

We needed Sculpt to manage digital advertising and brand-lift studies for two 9-month long brand campaigns for Simply Organic and Frontier Co-op. These two campaigns were major shifts for us in terms of brand positioning and communications strategy, so we needed a team that could help us reach our new target market, write great ad copy and manage the day-to-day media and optimizations for us.

What were your goals for this project?

+2.0 lift in purchase intent for Simply Organic and Frontier Co-op 300K ad clicks for Simply Organic 30K ad clicks for Frontier Co-op

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We wanted to work with a local agency known for excellence in managing digital media and creative. We'd worked with Sculpt on a video project for our sister brand, Aura Cacia.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Sculpt built out the paid campaign infrastructure and tracking within the determined social media platform. They also managed creative optimization for paid campaigns, including edits to existing assets. Sculpt also provided regular reporting and analysis and in-depth reporting and analysis on creative performance.

What was the team composition?

I did get to work with the principals at Sculpt, including the managing director and CEO. Other team members included digital media planner/buyer, engagement manager, copywriter and designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We far exceeded our campaign goals for every single key metric!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was excellent -- we started out with a very effective set of onboarding meetings, met weekly as the bulk of the campaign was being developed and launched, then dialed back to monthly meetings and reporting once things were up and running for several months.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The leadership on the team is excellent -- Katelin and Josh are hugely talented! They empower each of their team members as well, which helped us to implement our strategy quickly and seamlessly.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No areas for improvement -- we love working with Sculpt and are very pleased with the results of our campaigns!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is a nonprofit cinema in Iowa City, and I am the executive director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sculpt?

We were embarking on a capital fundraising campaign for our cinema in collaboration with another local arts nonprofit, and we wanted some help getting the word out on social media to both our existing patron base and the broader community at large.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sculpt worked with us to help brainstorm ideas, as well as to guide us through the process of engaging with the community on social media. That started with us doing Facebook live event for our campaign launch, and since then has consisted of regular updates on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to communicate what was happening with the campaign and try to engage people with the philosophy behind it.

The various have included everything from just discussing the arts and why they matter, to spotlighting some of the people who were supporting us, and even social media quizzes and other things that provided a little more interactivity, all with the goal to drive people to the campaign website and hopefully pledge support.

What is the team composition?

I’ve been in contact with a few different people on their team. I think they have 4–5 individuals on the project in total.

How did you come to work with Sculpt?

We had actually worked with them a number of years ago when we started out as a cinema, so we were familiar with their work and what they were capable of. Since they are a part of the community and have a good understanding of our organization as well, we decided to work with them again.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $5,000 on the project in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from February–October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of numbers, we had 570,000 overall impressions from the campaign, as well as 11,000 comments and reactions and 800 shares, which was way more than what we were initially expecting.

People seemed really engaged with the project, especially around some of our supporter spotlight posts. A lot of people were happy to see familiar faces from the community, which definitely helped in terms of getting a response. The Q&A went over very well too, so we were quite pleased with the overall level of engagement.

How did Sculpt perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was very organized and scheduled regular meetings with us to make sure that we were up to date about what had happened since we last met and any changes they wanted to propose. For the most part, we communicated over Slack and Airtable, which made things pretty simple to keep track of.

Our team was pretty focused on other aspects of the fundraising activities, so having a team devoted to just the social media aspect was incredibly helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They did a particularly good job of taking some of our existing campaign materials that we had in place for our brand and translating those into the digital and social media realm. Their team was able to use that imagery and copy in bite-sized social media assets, which we really appreciated because it was important to maintain that consistency through the other changes that were taking place for the campaign.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was very satisfied overall. The biggest challenge was having our team keep up with their pace, so I don’t think there’s anything they should have done differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come into the project with ideas to help you get started but be open to their contributions as well. They brought a lot of great suggestions to the table that helped us refine our goals to the context of social media. Embracing the collaboration between your teams is definitely the key to producing and executing the best results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Campaign Manager for Student facing marketing initiatives at Pearson Education. Pearson Education offers assessment tools, products, and services that are designed to help learners at every stage of life.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sculpt?

Sculpt was hired to help support and drive engagement for our Pearson Students Instagram page.

What were your goals for this project?

Increase followers, engagement, content creation, strategy development

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I was not involved in the RFP process

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

What didn't Sculpt handle??? They did so much. Here's the top things that come to mind:

• Overall strategy development for IG page
• Content creation: mage sourcing, reshare posting, video production, video editing, asset reviews, monthly content review
• Community Management: response matrix development, responses to all comments, DM's and tags, alignment with customer service team
• Promotions, Contests and Giveaways: sourced prizes, selected winners, sourced influencers

What was the team composition?

Initially we had two points of contact, then they were divided to work on each channel (we had two teams working with them) and about three months ago we shifted to another main POC

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our following grew from 2,900 to over 10k! We saw increased post engagement and an overall positive sentiment that we were actually engaging back with students and responding to them via this page.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was a bit clunky and slow at first, as out internal team needed more than the allotted time to review and provide approval on posts.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their creativity, can-do attitude and willingness to do whatever it took to make things successful impressed us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Honestly, I think this relationship was a success!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am in charge of all things marketing for a fleet and asset management company located in Cedar Rapids, IA. We work primarily with government entities to track their assets and inventory.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sculpt?

We hired Sculpt to do the vast majority of our digital marketing, Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, retargeting, CRM and a little bit of website stuff.

What were your goals for this project?

The main goal of this project was to have a better digital footprint in government industries, such as law enforcement, fire and federal. Some more goals were to increase organic and well as paid ads, to ultimately get more website traffic and qualified leads for our sales team.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

In the past, we had been using multiple people and internal people for digital marketing type activities and they were not effective. We wanted to stay local as we enjoy having partners we can meet face to face. We had a few different firms that we looked at but in the end, Sculpt stood out as the clear team we needed. Josh is on the cutting edge of digital marketing tech and has great communication skills. It was also very appealing with their approach and methods to get us where we needed to me.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

1. Google/SEO: This was a big piece in the space that we compete in. This was around paid search and how we wanted to reach our potential targets. With their ability to understand our business, it allowed the keywords and negative words to be much more effective.

2. Facebook and LinkedIn: This was similar to the first but reaching the people we wanted based on titles and locations, all while creating the ads and copy to be effective and continue to monitor.

3. Drift: This was the implementation of a chatbot on our website which has proved to be impactful in its short 6-month life.

4. HubSpot: Another software purchase that would allow our Sales and Marketing team to communicate more effectively and report better on our results that will drive our marketing and sales strategies into the future.

What was the team composition?

I have worked closely with Josh, the CEO, as well as Arlene our specific Account Manager. Josh has been extremely communicative both during and after business hours, basically, when I need help I can count on Josh to get me that answer. Arlene has also been extremely helpful, on-time and communicative with any and all of our needs. I think that they have both went above and beyond what we asked.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There have been multiple leads from web searches, new web pages, new content, better rankings, and a new CRM. This has been effective.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

As I said before, Arlene has been nothing short of fantastic with all of our requests. No matter how outlandish they may be, Arlene is there to talk us through it and help us accomplish the task at hand.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What is most impressive is their willingness to help, and they truly look at our partnership as a PARTNERSHIP. They are not just providing a service, but they are succeeding with us, and we are one team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

At this point, I don't think so. They have been great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the editor-in-chief of a website that markets cities, states and regions as great places to live, work and visit. We receive more than 11 million visitors annually.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sculpt?

We were looking to audit and update our social presence. We needed to figure out how to better serve our clients through Facebook marketing, how to grow our audiences and follower counts, and how to define and amplify the digital voice of our brand.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to grow our social media audiences, and more specifically, we wanted to make sure those audiences align with our target audience (millennials who are interested in relocation and travel).

We wanted to streamline the way we use Facebook ads in order to increase engagement and get more bang for our buck, and also take some of the pressure off our in-house team to come up with an overarching strategy. In the process of overhauling our social presence, we wanted to clarify our digital brand voice and identify some ways we can better connect with readers and potential clients online.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I saw a video that Sculpt had produced for one of our clients and wanted to see if they could work the same magic for us. Turns out: yes, they could.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We had a 2-hour kickoff meeting where we went in-depth about the current brand voice and social presence, envisioning where we wanted to go from here, what our big goals were and what our challenges are.

This was incredibly helpful for my team and me as we had not really had a chance to do this kind of in-depth branding work before Sculpt came on board, and the way they facilitated the discussion was incredibly inspiring and clarifying (again, this was just the kickoff meeting!).

From there, Sculpt did an in-depth audit of our current social media presence and strategy, identifying what was working, what wasn't working, challenges and opportunities. In our next meeting, we reviewed the audit (which was again incredibly helpful).

Next, Sculpt created a new strategy for us based on the audit and our goals. We had a meeting in which they went over not just the "what" but the "why" — pinpointing the reasons and strategy behind each recommendation and helping us understand the strategy holistically.

I also really appreciated that they gave us recommendations at the crawl, walk and run levels, allowing us to choose how to implement the strategy based on our current team and resources, while letting us envision exactly how we can build toward a bigger goal. We implemented the strategies using our in-house team with help from Sculpt to cover the gaps where we either didn't have the time or expertise to do it ourselves.

What was the team composition?

We had two main team members at Sculpt that we worked with, but our conversations included frequent input from the CEO and other specialists that they brought in to help when needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our project is still ongoing, but I will say right off the bat that working with them has saved us a huge amount of time and money.

One example: we had been posting on Facebook 5-7 times a day, believing this was the best strategy to increase traffic and engagement. Based on their audit of our social channels, Sculpt advised posting just once a day, and changing the way we formatted posts to increase engagement and emotional connection.

We saw traffic and engagement increase with fewer postings while our team instantly saved multiple hours a week that we could then dedicate to other tasks.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Sculpt has been very clear and communicative throughout the whole process, and extremely responsive whenever questions arose. The structure of the meetings and check-ins worked great for us, but it was so nice to also have them available to hop on a phone or zoom call when we got stuck or needed clarification on something urgently.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

So many things. I'm going to just list them out:

Very clear communication. From the way they lay out the information in their decks to the way they format solutions in crawl/walk/run stages, everything was communicated clearly.

The way they focus on the task at hand while also thinking and dreaming bigger. We signed up for a social media strategy project with them. What have I gotten out of it? Not just a social media strategy, but some really exciting, big ideas about our brand in general and where we want to be in 6 months, a year, five years, etc. The conversations we had with Sculpt during the course of this project will inform the direction and branding of our company for years to come.

Their genuine curiosity to solve problems and find creative solutions. Yes, we hired Sculpt for a specific project, but I never felt like they were going through the motions of working on a finite project for us; I felt like they truly valued our company and were eager and interested in our unique challenges and goals. Every question we asked was met with genuine curiosity and enthusiasm that was contagious.

Their humble professionalism. Sculpt is really, really good at what they do, but they never treated us like they were on a different level or tried to lord their knowledge/expertise over us. It felt like a collaboration with a brilliant friend who was eager to share and help.

Also, there was a lot of talk in our office after our strategy meeting with Sculpt about how they actually delivered exactly what they said they would, and didn't hide any crucial info or services behind a paywall. Our entire team was extremely impressed by this.

Sculpt made it clear that they could help with certain next steps if we were interested in pursuing them, but they didn't do what so many agencies do, which is giving you 75% of the solution and saying, "you have to pay more to get the last 25%." Sculpt delivered 110%, and then said, "let us know how we can help if you want to do more."

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

ICR IOWA is a regional economic development organization that works on business attraction, talent attraction and development, and regional marketing for our seven-county region in east central Iowa. As the Director of Talent Attraction, my job is to find interested candidates and connect them with growing companies and careers here in the region. We're specifically targeting major metros, mostly in the Midwest, and appealing to people on social media with quality of life imagery and video.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sculpt?

We hired Sculpt to handle our digital marketing strategy. The projects include video (writing, filming, directing, promoting), social media advertising and content, CRM (Hubspot) consultation, and LinkedIn management (strategy, advertising).

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals are, most simply, to promote the region through social media. More specifically, we wanted to drive 500 candidates into our talent funnel and to convert as many as possible into hires for our growing companies. We need people outside of ICR to connect (or re-connect) with what makes this region a special place to live. Sculpt is delivering on every bit of this, and more.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

In late 2018, we sent out an RFP to pre-selected local marketing agencies. We told them our budget and a few ideas that we had in mind. We also told them our very specific goals. We received four responses to our RFP and had follow-up meetings with each of the agencies.

We selected Sculpt because of their creativity, willingness to try new things, track record for success, and deep understanding of our brand and its tone. When we stacked up the four agencies, the answer became very clear that Sculpt was the right choice for this job.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Upon selecting Sculpt as our agency, we had a series of pre-launch meetings to discuss their ideas and ours, make sure they had an intimate understanding of our target markets and prospects, select platforms, and whiteboard our goals.

We launched with a few test ad campaigns on Facebook to gauge the markets that we thought would be best. We learned, in a relatively short time, how to best allocate our budget. Sculpt has been very strategic in this case. We don't have a huge budget, so we need to be sure that we're spending money on the right platforms and in the right markets. Thanks to them, we are.

Then, we shot a video that we have been using on Facebook and LinkedIn. Sculpt wrote, directed, and filmed the video, and it has been a tremendous success.

Now, as we look into what's ahead, we're able to capitalize on the success of the video and put more together. The way the contracts are structured with Sculpt (based on a detailed points system), we have the ability to shift our strategy based on success we're seeing. They haven't locked us into anything but rather helped us build on current and past efforts that have been working well. I've never worked with an agency that structures their contracts this way.

What was the team composition?

We work closely with many people on Sculpt's team, including their CEO, designers, creative team, writers, and video producers, but our main point of contact is our project manager, Arlene. Arlene is keeping everyone on the same page as we move and make decisions quickly. She deeply understands our needs, goals, and work styles, and has become an invaluable member of our team. The response time from Sculpt has been shockingly fast. They're able to meet when we need them. They answer emails promptly. They keep us aware of success and let us know when something needs to be tweaked. The process has been flawless.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results of our campaigns have been very impressive. Since we launched our first video, we've seen an over 200% increase in lead capture. We've passed our six-month goal in three months and show no signs of slowing down. Additionally, the leads that we're getting are more qualified than ever before.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Arlene, our project manager, is amazingly reachable. She's able to answer, or find an answer, to our questions really quickly. She manages workflows in our CRM (HubSpot) and communicates clearly, which is important since we're not professional marketers. We chose to communicate through email, which is easiest for us, but on the backend of the program, the team at Sculpt uses Slack to keep everything in line.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Results aside, Sculpt really, really understands our brand. It's extremely important that we have an agency that knows how to talk to our targets and prospects because we have a very specific tone in how we communicate. They've been able to capture our humor and laid-back approach to communication, and they're really funny.

The humor is super important to us and the way we communicate. Also, people are shocked at the quality of the video production and have a hard time believing that a local company had that type of writing and producing talent and equipment.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are always ways to improve, of course, but I can't think of anything that I would change or do differently. Sculpt has been out in front of every question or issue that we thought may arise. In fact, the structure of our organization causes more issues than anything, and Sculpt has found a way to work with it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO and visionary of Matrix 4, or M4. We design, engineer, and manufacture plastic products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sculpt?

Sculpt provides ongoing marketing support. They assist in strategy, messaging, branding, public relations, account management, and digital marketing.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to strengthen the brand messaging and drive our reach further through new marketing strategies.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I have a strong background in marketing and have worked with large marketing vendors in the past. When I joined M4, a startup, I knew we would need a perfect combination of talent and value. Sculpt is exactly that. They operate like a large agency and I knew they could help us make an impact.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Our statement of work (SOW) outlines ongoing marketing support. This includes defining strategy, setting tone for initiatives and priorities, monthly account management, digital strategy and execution, content development, and more.

What was the team composition?

The Sculpt team is lean but strong. The founder is engaged when needed but effectively delegates to the team for execution. They're a strong team of creatives for every possible marketing need.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Sculpt has made it possible for us to start collecting data and measuring our brand awareness. They help us set key performance indicators (KPI) and have strengthened our brand and messaging.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We meet quarterly, have biweekly progress calls, and share a Slack channel and Google Drive for more informal communication. Sculpt is truly an extension of our own team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

For a smaller sized agency, their level of talent is outstanding. They're eager and able to learn quickly. They absorb every piece of information to form a clear and executable strategy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we're excited to see Sculpt continue to grow!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the media and events manager for a workplace furniture manufacturer and retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sculpt?

We needed help in developing a social media strategy. We wanted them to manage our metrics, creatives, and campaigns.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted our brand presence to increase on social media channels. Ultimately, our goal was for our community to grow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter to connect with industry influencers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We wanted a local, young and engaged firm. With this criteria, Sculpt was our first choice.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Sculpt created campaigns for product launches, developed, managed, and executed all writing and creative materials. They handled all metrics, followers, advertising, and calendars.

What was the team composition?

We had a dedicated account manager and between two-four other team members from the Sculpt team. The team they assigned us had a high turnover rate, and we had to re-introduce our company and project multiple times throughout our three-year relationship.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our follower count and overall online engagement increased, which was critical to our success in the social media realm. We were able to form a better online community.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We worked together well; they provided a bright, solid team of writers. They produced a great creative with analytics to match.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their team was very knowledgeable about the social media realm; they knew exactly what our company needed for growth. Additionally, they were very responsive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Having a better understanding of our industry would have benefitted our project. Also, better communication during transitional periods would have been helpful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a product manager in the new product development sector of our company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sculpt?

We hired Sculpt to rapidly design and implement a social media marketing campaign that would help us test our ability to promote a new product in a new market.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals were to determine the cost per conversion and observe any trends over a six-week period as we tested new content and platforms.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Of the three vendors we spoke with, Sculpt seemed best able to quickly implement a high quality solution. They were also reasonably priced.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Sculpt developed and deployed a detailed social media marketing plan. Exceptionally collaborative and communicative, they held three or four in-depth conversations with the entire team and myself to develop the plan and ensure the goals were on target. They then provided weekly updates. Sculpt worked closely with several internal teams and another vendor to troubleshoot and resolve an issue regarding the site design and its impact on analytics.

What was the team composition?

The Sculpt team included the team leads, a content developer, and an individual responsible for executing the plan.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In addition to obtaining reliable data, their efforts significantly reduced costs per click and per conversion. Sculpt was open and articulate about what had worked and, most importantly, frank about what hadn’t worked. They also helped us determine how we could interpret the data going forward.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was extremely effective. Sculpt was thoughtful in their communication with us and the team was always incredibly well prepared.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They offered deep knowledge, thoughtful strategy development, and impeccable execution.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We experienced no areas needing improvement.