Behind the Work

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Program Engagement and Outreach at an educational institution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 120/80, and what were your goals?

We hired 120/80 for support in driving several social and digital marketing outcomes, including increasing brand recognition and driving additional interest in our graduate and executive education programs through advertising, web/content marketing, social, and SEO.

SOLUTION

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

The firm came recommended to us by previous counsel.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

The scope of work has included many pieces, including ongoing digital/social marketing counsel, content development, creative support and development, copy editing, web redesign input, SEO, web and advertising analytics, and more.

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

We worked primarily with the Director of SEM and CEO, as well as a Marketing Manager and Content Specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work and counsel varied widely in terms of the nature of our requests. All deliverables and counsel were of high quality and responsive to our needs/requests while also supporting us in our team's development and goal-setting. We have not only increased and improved our digital and social marketing outcomes across advertising conversion and digital/social engagement, we have built new and improved frameworks for effective decision-making, resource allocation, and overall strategy.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our collaboration has been very effective. We met regularly (approximately semi-monthly) and efficiently to handle items for discussion. We had regular e-mail communication for day-to-day questions, which the team answered quickly and completely.

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

Their team provides terrific counsel and support. This team does a phenomenal job balancing sharing their expertise with partnering to co-create with us.

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

They have been terrific and very responsive to any adjustments we've needed to make in our collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing for a staffing solutions company called We Are Working.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 120/80?

We were looking to generate more sales and new leads, so we hired them for their digital marketing services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

120/80 provides us with various digital marketing services, ranging from email marketing to CRM to social media marketing to SEO to digital ads and content creation. They create and implement proprietary campaigns across Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as for our website. They also help with the setup of our CRM systems.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with five individuals from their side, including Sonny (Founder) and Cailey (Marketing Strategist).

How did you come to work with 120/80?

We worked with them on previous projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them on this project in January 2021, and it’s still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have any results to share at this point, but their team consists of strong marketers and strategic thinkers who are very tactical.

How did 120/80 perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve managed the project flawlessly, and we communicate mainly through email, phone calls, and SMS.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What distinguishes them from other providers is their strong grasp of the business economics on how they can add value.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

I really don’t have anything negative to say — they’ve done a great job so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be absolutely clear about your marketing and profitability goals, so that you can work with them very effectively.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of PinSource; we’re a lapel pin manufacturing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 120/80?

We were trying to optimize our PPC campaign that we currently run with Google. We also wanted to reduce our internal workload in managing those campaigns, so we needed an expert in those fields.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

120/80 has been doing PPC management for us; they’ve created new ads, updated the existing ones, and worked on other digital assets for Google Shopping Ads. We already had some guidelines established for our campaigns, so they were able to start from there. In addition, we had several calls to go over understanding our brand, objectives, goals, and things of that nature.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working primarily with an account manager, but two others are also involved in the process.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around $2,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve already noticed a 10% decrease in our cost-per-click and cost-per-acquisition. These campaigns typically take about three months for the ads to be optimized, so we expect to see bigger results soon — everything is trending in a good direction.

How did 120/80 perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management has been excellent! They have an organized, helpful, and knowledgeable team — the people in our group are Google Ads experts, which is exactly what we’re looking for. Also, if they can’t find an answer to our questions, they go and figure it out. In terms of communication, we use emails and biweekly video conferences to go over results, review questions that arise, and discuss our strategy as we advance.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness and knowledge are outstanding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — it’s been a good relationship so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask many questions about your specific industry, especially for PPC; knowing who you’re targeting is essential. Also, make sure that they understand your needs to ensure that everyone is on the same page to set expectations appropriately.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Digital Marketing Manager of one of the top-three largest electrical component distributors in the United States.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 120/80, and what were your goals?

When I joined the team, due to turnover and lack of focus within our marketing department, our company was lacking the infrastructure to efficiently market our products. We hired 120/80 to help manage our PPC activity, and implement our fresh HubSpot Account.

SOLUTION

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

While I was not directly involved with the original vendor selector process, I know that the reason that we have decided to stick with 120/80 is their flexibility and agility to tackle projects on short notice.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

While the original scope of our work with 120/80 continues to evolve, the original process began with discovery meetings to find out what our goals were. We then moved forward with HubSpot implementation (contact uploads, sending domain setup, And some simple sales automation) the HubSpot side of our work with 120/80 continues to evolve, and we enlist their help whenever we are discussing new features within HubSpot, etc.

The PPC side of things is a little more complicated - They have completely transformed our Google Ads and Paid Social strategies to be effective, nimble, and cost-effective. A large part of this process consisted of optimizing and maintaining over 300,000 products via Google Shopping. 120/80 were able to reel in the products & effectively monitor disapprovals and make recommendations on how to improve our ROAS.

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

Our team works regularly with three / four team members from the 120/80 team: 1) Director of Digital Digital Marketing 2) Director of SEM 3) Chief Digital Marketer 4) Marketing Strategist

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We went from having no effective email automation platform to having one. Our PPC went from being a jungle to being a freshly-moved lawn. We consistently are seeing improvements in our ROAS, and have the flexibility to market around current supply-chain issues in 2022.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication is very effective - We have weekly meetings with the 120/80 team to discuss current results, good and bad, and then develop a plan to improve as time goes by.

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

120/80 understands what we are trying to do — they have a clear understanding of how their work impacts our team, and it always feels like we are their only client. They are a team of experts, and more importantly, a team of humans. They are the first to admit when they don't think that an idea will work, and learn to nuances of our business to develop a strategy that will. They are flexible and able to pivot quickly to avoid problems down the line.

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

As 120/80 continues to grow, it is important for them to keep that "small-agency" feel. Too much time is wasted with the bureaucracies of larger agencies, and that is the most important value-proposition that 120/80 currently has.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Digital Marketing Manager for a healthcare company that has multiple clinics across the country

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 120/80, and what were your goals?

As we continue to grow in saturated markets, we needed the ability to target viable customers while maintaining PPC strategy

SOLUTION

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

120/80’s work spoke for itself, their dedication, knowledge and Ada plots surpassed any agency I’ve ever dealt with throughout the course of my career. They are truly an extension of our internal team and work with us to ensure success at every touch point.

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

They audited current strategies and came back with a plan of attack that aligned with our KPIs for every service line. They developed campaigns from concept to completion and continue to monitor all performance and work with our team to get the most from every paid effort they manage. The results are above goals and we are only getting better with their help and guidance.

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

We’ve worked with Sonny, the CEO. Laura - their SEM Director and Komal - their PPC strategist

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Deliverables are met above and beyond with over 30% growth across all campaigns YoY

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

Communication is beyond timely. They are responsive to all questions, and updates. They keep accurate records of tracking and we work them twice a week on scheduled calls as well as emails throughout the work week on any changes.

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

I am impressed with their passion. They love what they do and they genuinely want us to grow.

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

This is out of the norm for me to say, but no. They have a pulse on our industry and are always striving to meet what we throw at them.