Symphonic Digital

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the SVP of Business and Marketing of Wrench Inc

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide mobile vehicle service, maintenance, and used car inspections. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Symphonic Digital to accomplish?

• To improve the ROAS of our digital advertising efforts
• To improve our SEO program performance

SOLUTION

How did you find Symphonic Digital?

Referral

Why did you select Symphonic Digital over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Symphonic Digital were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The Symphonic team ran our SEO and digital advertising programs for our Wrench and Lemon Squad brands. They provided strategic guidance to help revise programs that, after years of consistent changes in leadership, had become disjointed and overly complex. 

They then ran the PPC programs on Google, Bing, and Facebook to optimize to a set ROAS in order for us to get the best return on our marketing dollars. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Symphonics major achievements for us are as follows:

• Organized and structured the PPC campaigns and SEO programs for future success
• Stopped the decline we were seeing from our SEO programs and started growth in that area
• Improved our total marketing spend to revenue return by over 20%
• Removed the daily stress we used to have about the program, as we were confident in who was handling it and the returns we were seeing. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Symphonic is one of few agencies that still understands the importance of good account management. They were a true partner and felt like part of our team and focused on our needs. They came forward with new ideas and pushed us to try new things. 

They led us to where we needed to go instead of us leading them, which, unfortunately, today, is hard to find from an outside agency. 

What was your primary form of communication with Symphonic Digital?

Virtual Meeting

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

The strategic leadership and ability to execute on what they presented. 

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

As always, it would be great if the price was a little less, but they are competitive in the space. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Product and Technology of World Pulse

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

World Pulse is an independent, women-led social network for social change.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Symphonic Digital to accomplish?

• Paid Search Campaign Management
• Paid Social Campaigns Management
• SEO Management

SOLUTION

How did you find Symphonic Digital?

Referral

Why did you select Symphonic Digital over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from Symphonic Digital were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

I have had the pleasure of working with Symphonic Digital for our paid media advertising needs, and I can confidently say they have exceeded our expectations in every way. From the initial audit of our current campaigns to planning new strategies, executing our budget, and optimizing performance, they have been an invaluable asset to our organization. 

One of the key strengths of Symphonic Digital is their thoroughness in auditing our existing campaigns. They left no stone unturned and provided us with a comprehensive analysis, identifying areas for improvement and presenting actionable recommendations that helped us achieve better results. Their expertise in dissecting data and understanding campaign dynamics is truly commendable. 

When it comes to planning new campaigns, Symphonic Digital demonstrated their market research prowess and deep understanding of our target audience. They took the time to understand our objectives and designed tailored advertising plans that aligned perfectly with our goals. Their strategic approach, coupled with their creativity, resulted in campaigns that not only generated impressive leads but also drove conversions. 

Throughout our partnership, Symphonic Digital has been an excellent steward of our advertising budget. They managed our resources efficiently, carefully monitoring spending and ensuring optimal ROI. Their data-driven decision-making process and ability to adapt to changing market dynamics have been instrumental in maximizing our returns. What truly sets Symphonic Digital apart is their commitment to performance optimization. 

They continuously monitored our campaigns, refining targeting, messaging, and creative elements to improve key metrics. Their proactive approach, fueled by A/B testing and industry best practices, led to significant improvements in our click-through rates, conversions, and overall campaign effectiveness. 

Beyond their technical expertise, Symphonic Digital proved to be a true partner, offering timely support and maintaining open lines of communication. Regular one-on-one meetings allowed us to address any concerns, receive updates, and align our strategies with our organizational goals. Their proactive approach and ability to provide timely assistance made us feel like we had a dedicated team working tirelessly on our behalf. 

In moments of conflict resolution and tough choices, Symphonic Digital demonstrated professionalism and a commitment to putting our organization's best interests first. They approached challenges with a diplomatic mindset, leveraging their technical eye and data-backed decision-making to navigate complex situations. Their ability to make tough choices, even in challenging circumstances, was truly remarkable. 

I cannot recommend Symphonic Digital highly enough. Their technical expertise, proactive approach, and dedication to our organization's success have made them an indispensable partner. If you're seeking a paid media advertising agency that delivers consistent growth, provides timely support, and acts as a true partner, look no further than Symphonic Digital. They have proven time and again that they are the gold standard in their field.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Increased Conversion Rates: The agency's optimization efforts resulted in a measurable increase in conversion rates for the organization's paid media advertising campaigns. 
• Improved Click-through Rates: Through their strategic approach and refining of targeting and messaging, the agency achieved higher click-through rates for the organization's campaigns. 
• Enhanced ROI: The agency's diligent budget management and data-driven decision-making led to improved return on investment (ROI) for the organization's advertising efforts. 
• Higher Lead Generation: The tailored advertising plans and market research conducted by the agency resulted in a measurable increase in lead generation for the organization. 
• Stronger Campaign Performance: The agency's proactive approach, A/B testing, and adherence to industry best practices led to improved overall campaign performance for the organization. Timely Support and Communication: The agency's commitment to providing timely support and maintaining open lines of communication resulted in measurable improvements in responsiveness and collaboration with the organization. 
• Successful Conflict Resolution: The agency's ability to navigate conflicts and make tough choices, while prioritizing the organization's best interests, led to measurable resolutions of all challenges the organization phased during the campaign.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Symphonic Digital excels in delivering projects on time with their exceptional project management skills. They consistently demonstrate a high level of organization and efficiency, ensuring that all milestones and deadlines are met promptly. Their dedication to timely project management played a significant role in our overall success and reinforced our trust in their ability to deliver on time-sensitive initiatives.

What was your primary form of communication with Symphonic Digital?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What truly impressed us about Symphonic Digital was their remarkable ability to grasp our language, purpose, and value proposition right from the start. Their onboarding process was incredibly fast, and they swiftly immersed themselves in our project with a deep understanding of our objectives. 

What set them apart was their autonomy in executing tasks while consistently checking in with us to ensure alignment. Their ability to capture our essence and deliver results autonomously showcased their expertise and their commitment to truly understanding their clients. With Symphonic Digital, we feel confident that our vision was being translated effectively into our paid media advertising campaigns, making them an invaluable partner in our success.

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

We are fully happy with their performance and continue in partnership with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP of Media at a full service marketing agency specializing in working with non-profit clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Symphonic Digital?

We initially partnered with Symphonic to help improve performance on an existing client's SEM campaign. Symphonic quickly over-delivered in this channel, and we moved the rest of our active digital media channels to Symphonic to execute (programmatic, social, etc.).

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I believe there was an existing relationship with a member of our agency and a senior member at Symphonic from some previous work at a past agency. Due to a tight timeline, we met with and decided to move forward with Symphonic to help with SEM.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

A large national client's SEM campaign was under-performing. We partnered with Symphonic to audit the existing campaign set up and provide recommendations to improve return on ad spend. This included a review of the tracking/tagging implementation, keyword strategy, bid levels and conversion funnel, among others. Upon quickly turning the performance into a net positive channel, we began shifting additional media channels and tactics to Symphonic to execute the buying for. This included programmatic, social, connected TV and others.

What was the team composition?

We've worked directly with the executive team as well as senior day-to-day managers throughout the process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within a very short time period (1-2 months), Symphonic was able to show improvements in ROAS of 30%+ month over month within SEM. Successfully transitioned all digital media buying execution for all channels to Symphonic shortly thereafter. This move enabled us to surpass the clients aggressive FY22 year end digital fundraising goals.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Primary communication takes place via email and Symphonic is very responsive. We have ad-hoc calls to discuss more detailed topics, results, optimizations, etc.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their approach to Search utilizing technology and algorithm based solutions was a major upgrade from our more analog approach internally. They are clearly experts in the space and have helped implement best practices quickly and with the proper handholding for our clients.

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

Perhaps re-establishing a regular (weekly or bi-weekly) status call could be beneficial with key stakeholders on each side. Especially as things pick up for our current active clients.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of platforms and partnerships for Media Matters Worldwide. We’re a women-owned and women-led marketing and advertising agency that provides media planning, media buying, and analytics services. I’m responsible for programmatic, social, search, and mobile advertising. We do all things digital.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Symphonic Digital?

When I joined the agency, we didn’t have a search arm, so we brought in Symphonic Digital to help our agency get to the next level.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we first engaged with Symphonic Digital, we talked through what the short-term and long-term structure of our partnership would look like. We looked to them as leaders to help guide us and figure out strategically how they would fit into our agency. They’ve acted as an extension of our team, with their own company email addresses and access to our Slack.

We serve both B2C and B2B end clients, and we initially engaged in a trial together with a B2C end client. Symphonic Digital helped us build a roadmap, determining what was best for both the client and the agency.

They’re search experts, but they can do many other things, too. During our engagement, they’ve done everything from planning to media buying and reporting. They’ve also helped with pitches and brought in new business. They’ve often provided us with expert strategic guidance in other disciplines beyond search, including social platforms and programmatic advertising. They’ve helped us set up campaigns, strategize, and optimize.

As part of the reporting process, they’ve worked closely with our teams to make sure that data and analytics are correct. They’ve helped us optimize campaigns across different disciplines. They’ve even worked hand-in-hand with us to help onboard teammates as our agency grows its in-house team.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with 10–12 people from Symphonic Digital, including Dave (Partner & Chief Client Officer), Steffen (CEO & Co-Founder), and their most senior leads.

How did you come to work with Symphonic Digital?

I’ve known Dave and Steffen for many years, and we’ve worked together at holding companies.

How much have you invested with them?

Out of $200 million in total billing last year, $50 million–$60 million of that was for search-focused services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020, and we’re still working together in some capacity. Our organization has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic, and while Symphonic Digital has been an incredible partner, we’re building an internal search team. That has nothing to do with Symphonic Digital — it’s just a business decision that our organization has made.

They’re still experts on some of our client accounts, and we’re keeping them on for as long as we can. We want to do the right thing for those clients and for the partnership that we’ve built with Symphonic Digital.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve helped shape the direction of our agency. As painful as it has been to "break up", they’ve helped our organization get to where we are with their search engine marketing capabilities. They’ve done a phenomenal job — we’ve never doubted that we chose the right partner.

They’ve made major impacts on the household name brands of our end clients. They helped us win two new B2C accounts, participating from start to finish, which was amazing.

They’ve built a phenomenal agency with both B2B and B2C capabilities, which is a rare combination in the search marketing field. They’ve always had a senior lead on our account, which has been amazing. They’ve given us their best employees and heavy hitters throughout our engagement.

How did Symphonic Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been one of their strengths — they’ve had it all together, and we’ve never missed a deadline or launch. They’ve been transparent, open, and collaborative in working through any issues that arose. We’ve always been able to build a roadmap together, determine our status, and find the best solution for our respective agencies and for the client. There’s never been a disconnect. They’re true team players, and we’ve always been on the same path.

They’ve been great about providing whatever we need and sharing their insight. We’ve included them in our team’s daily huddles and weekly meetings, and we’ve even included them in meetings with clients and leadership to give them a say in our agency’s direction. They’ve always been willing to come in and help us with pitches — their communications with clients have been amazing. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hands down, they’re best of class. They know the business inside and out. They understand the marketplace and how to navigate it, and they know what’s up and coming. They’ve done a phenomenal job of navigating changes along the way.

We previously worked with another agency that didn’t have the industry knowledge and deep relationships that Symphonic Digital has. Dave and Steffen have been doing this for over 25 years, and they’ve really done a great job of hiring high-caliber talent.

Symphonic Digital has been an amazing partner, and their team is full of great people — they’re very professional. We’re winding down our engagement on great terms. We still have a great relationship and hope to work together again. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We knew all along that we wanted to grow an in-house search team. Maybe they could’ve been a little more aggressive to fight for the business, but ultimately there’s nothing they could do — it was really just a business decision from the co-founders and our executive team. There’s nothing they could do about it, and I have the utmost respect for their agency.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be fully transparent about what you need. Make sure your managers are comfortable sorting through any issues or conflicts as opposed to always having to bubble it up to the top — that was an area we had to work on as two independent agencies working closely together.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am EVP at a media planning + buying agency called Mediasmith. Our main office is in Oakland, CA. We plan and buy across all forms of paid media for our clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

There was a time in 2017 through late 2019 when the Agency had few clients that retained us to manage paid search (SEM) investments as part of the media portfolio. During this period, we struck a partnership with Symphonic to essentially be our SEM team and all of this work was outsourced to them. We acted as one team for our clients so the connection to Symphonic was seamless.

SOLUTION

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

I had the pleasure of working with both Steffen Horst and Dave Antil in a prior role, so I knew them personally and knew that they were sharp, hardworking and acted with integrity and the client's best interest at the forefront of everything.

So, when they formed Symphonic Digital, I was very confident in presenting them to my business partners as a potential solution to our SEM needs. My other partners evaluated Symphonic's resources and prior case study results and we quickly decided to start an engagement with Symphonic on the strength of their work

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

From the outset, Symphonic was brought in to handle SEM activations 1 or 2 clients under the direction of our SVP of Technology and Insights.

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

Over the course of the partnership, we must have worked with perhaps 6-8 different members of the Symphonic team, from more senior strategic roles to entry level staff within the SEM team. We also had regular interactions with the Finance team regarding invoices for staff and such. Everyone was professional, friendly, and committed and delivered superior work for the clients.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While I cannot share specific client business results, I can say that our biggest shared client relationship scaled up the role of SEM within the media mix multiple times within a 2 year period based on the strength of the business results.

Search went from a minor portion of our spend to nearly 1/3 of the total annual media budget. We also expanded our partnership from the initial 2 clients to more than 5 because we trusted the work and our overall business was growing

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

We had all the tools of a single integrated team:

• regular status calls/meetings with a shared status spreadsheet
• email addresses and aliases on our Agency Exchange account
• slack and other instant message tools
• shared file storage access
• quarterly reviews of the client results and our own business relationship

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

They have always operated with integrity and a commitment to results. We always felt we were an important part of their business and that they were as committed to our client's success as we were

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

There is nothing specific I felt was lacking in our partnership. If, at certain points, we needed to revisit staffing plans or levels of service, we could have an open dialog with the Symphonic leadership and issues would be worked out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in the marketing department of a brewing company and craft beer manufacturer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Symphonic Digital?

We wanted to increase our brand awareness in the digital space through SEO.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked together with Symphonic Digital and built a strategic plan to increase our awareness. Over the next few months, we started to implement the plan that we had come up with and put all the tactics into practice.

Additionally, Symphonic Digital has also helped us write content, optimize our site, and do a lot of other things.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with two people from Symphonic Digital. The account manager is the SEO expert, and she has provided the bulk of all of the feedback, strategies, and tactics. The other person is in a management role, and although he has been in the loop about the project, he hasn’t offered any strategic or technical help.

How did you come to work with Symphonic Digital?

When we were looking for a company to help us with our SEO needs, Symphonic Digital was recommended to us by another partner with whom we were already working.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in late 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We track our rankings on a lot of keywords and the revenue generated from organic search results. Symphonic Digital has helped set what to track and identify the best way to measure results against our goals. Among the keywords that we track are those related to our brand, beer-related keywords, and IPA-specific keywords.

How did Symphonic Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a digital dashboard set up with Symphonic Digital. We also use Google Data Studio to pull data from various sources, mostly from Google Analytics, and synthesize it together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Symphonic Digital’s team has been results-driven since the beginning of our engagement. When they initially interviewed us about our goals, they helped us refine them and create achievable and trackable goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

A little more organization in terms of document management and sharing would be great. It would be helpful if Symphonic Digital had a sharing tool to keep everything organized and on track.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Start the project with your business goals in mind and rely heavily on Symphonic Digital to provide you with strategies and tactics to help you achieve those goals.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Program Manager of Evenbound

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Evenbound helps companies reach their revenue and growth goals through HubSpot CRM optimization, digital marketing, and revenue operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Symphonic Digital to accomplish?

• Write blogs while we were hiring for content strategists

SOLUTION

How did you find Symphonic Digital?

Referral

Why did you select Symphonic Digital over others?

Availability

How many teammates from Symphonic Digital were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Symphonic digital wrote blogs for 6 different clients of ours - ranging in industries from food/bev to pet medication to industrial construction - ensuring these blogs were SEO optimized. They also researched topics for content calendars based on keyword traffic. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The clients approved the blogs and we were able to continue to do the work we were contracted for with our clients by being able to outsource this content while we were down personnel. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They created a detailed tracker that helped everyone stay aligned on status, deliverable timelines, etc.

What was your primary form of communication with Symphonic Digital?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They are very accommodating of requests and sudden changes and are always communicative.

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

NA!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Marketing at Roundhill Investments.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Roundhill Investments is an SEC-registered adviser and ETF issuer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Symphonic Digital to accomplish?

• High conversion rates
• Quality traffic to site
• Awareness

SOLUTION

How did you find Symphonic Digital?

Referral

Why did you select Symphonic Digital over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Symphonic Digital were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• A ground-up digital paid media strategy. 
• Full campaign set-up across multiple channels. 
• Management, tracking & reporting of campaign performance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Key performance metrics were achieved. 
• High-quality lead conversion traffic acquisition. 
• Demonstrating quality audience builds and contextual placement.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They are responsive and highly strategic. They actively manage the project with regular, open communication. Project milestones and last-minute opportunities were all met with a smile.

What was your primary form of communication with Symphonic Digital?

Virtual Meeting

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

Strategically led and technically sound. Client relationship management was outstanding.

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

no

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

As VP/Account Director, I manage several accounts within the agency, overseeing creative and media strategies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Symphonic assisted us with our growing SEM needs for a complex business

SOLUTION

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

This was referral from a colleague who had worked with them in the past

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

Our engagement started with delineating pain points and goals. The Symphonic team familiarized themselves with the campaigns and onboarding was seamless. Very quickly the campaigns ramped up and it was a smooth transition.

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

They assigned 2 key team members, a VP and a Senior Performance Marketing Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

General feedback was positive - the seamless transition and incorporation into our existing team was positive

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

Quick to respond on email/slack - they adapted to our existing communication channels

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

They brought new ideas and strategies as well as knowledge within platform. Their expertise in the field was impressive. They were definitely channel experts.

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

none