Public Relations
Other PR
$10,000 to $49,999
Mar. - July 2022

2.0

Quality: 1.0

Schedule: 2.0

Cost: 0.5

Willing to Refer: 0.5

“They promised me they could do it, but they never delivered.”

Nov 22, 2022

Founder, AI Advisory & Consulting Company

Anonymous

Other industries
Salt Lake City, Utah
1-10 Employees
Phone Interview
Verified

An AI advisory and consulting company wanted to market the founder’s AI book. Smith Publicity, Inc. was hired to arrange appearances on national TV, podcasts, and big outlets to increase sales.

Smith Publicity, Inc. failed to deliver what they promised. The team didn’t listen to the client’s feedback, and they measured the success of the engagement by their own metrics, not the client’s goals. Although they were patient, the communication was minimal, and they couldn’t handle the project.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an AI advisory and consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Smith Publicity, Inc.?

I wrote a book on AI and needed help to market it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I hired Smith Publicity, Inc. to market my book. They put together a comprehensive proposal and promised me appearances on national TV, podcasts, and big outlets.

What is the team composition?

They promised me two full-time publicists, but I only worked with one publicist for a few hours a week.

How did you come to work with Smith Publicity, Inc.?

I found them through a Google ad. They had 1,000 positive reviews on their website, so they appeared credible.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $12,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed a three-month contract, so we worked working together from March–July 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

I gave them feedback because I wasn’t seeing any impact on my book sales. Smith Publicity, Inc. said that I needed to do social media marketing based on the hits I got from writing a guest article.

How did Smith Publicity, Inc. address the challenges that arose?

They never took my feedback seriously. They measured their internal metrics, which was getting a certain number of hits per month or week. However, those weren’t the metrics they promised me.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

I wanted to be a contributor on Forbes. They promised me they could do it, but they never delivered. Smith Publicity, Inc. did a few expect commentaries that I could’ve got myself, so I had to take another path. Instead of having my book grow my business, I’m looking for jobs on Upwork to grow.

How was project management handled?

Communication was minimal.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

I got annoyed with them, but they were patient with me.

In what specific areas can they improve?

They need to focus more on the client’s goals and not take on projects they can’t handle.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Speak to people who have hired them and see if they actually helped them improve book sales or their business goals.

RATINGS

2.0

Smith Publicity, Inc.

Powerful Book Marketing. Proven Results.

Pricing Snapshot

Most Common Project Size

Select a service to see pricing information

Highly Rated Similar Providers

Overall Review Rating

Quality

Schedule

Cost

Willing to Refer