We’ve worked with clients in just about every industry — from dancing horses to private equity, higher education, manufacturing, consumer goods, professional services, arts and culture, travel and hospitality, associations, and real estate. Our specialty is small and medium-sized companies in any stage of operation, from start-ups to 150+ years old companies (that’s right, 150)!
Our sweet spot? Whatever needs to be done. Regardless of the client or industry, our successful process remains the same.
Research
Target
Create content
Implement
Engage and build relationships
Analyze, measure, assess and adjust
Case Studies
TIG Brush™ by Ensitech
Project: Trade show marketing and media relations
Sydney, Australia-based TIG Brush is the award-winning, stainless steel weld cleaning system powered by Ensitech.
Challenges:
TIG Brush’s headquarters is in Australia. The company’s North American facility is located in Illinois. While the company has had a presence at many trade shows worldwide, there wasn’t any marketing strategy other than a booth manned by sales team members.
A decision was made to participate in the 2021 FABTECH Expo in Chicago, Sep. 13 – 16, 2021. However, due to COVID, no one from the Sydney HQ was able to attend.
Additionally, in-person trade shows were just starting to take place again and the unpredictability of COVID meant the number of attendees was in question. (The final attendee count was approximately 30% lower compared to previous years).
Media-wise, the company had had no significant coverage since 2014. A decision was made to hire Flanigan Communications, Inc. (FCI) in early August – a short six weeks ahead of the show.
Given these challenges, how could the team maximize its presence to drive leads and sales?
Strategy:
TIG Brush executives knew it needed strong leadership at its North American office and had hired a new general manager with a strong international background and marketing expertise.
The GM knew the company needed an aggressive, integrated marketing strategy using every tool in the box, including media relations to bring attendees to the booth and meet its goals.
Prior to bringing on FCI, the GM led efforts to fabricate an innovative, interactive hybrid booth with livestreamed demonstrations broadcast direct from its headquarters in Sydney, and its North American office, onto three large screens as well as on-site demos.
Attendees could interact with TIG team members via the video or with the members on-site. For those unable to attend, a QR code was provided to enable them to schedule live demos at their convenience.
To obtain media coverage, FCI sent out an announcement press release to media registrants. The messaging contained three key points: 1) the value of the product; 2) the innovativeness of the hybrid booth and 3) the ease of hosting a live demonstration from anywhere in the world.
Additionally, we reached out to editors and reporters individually, encouraging them to stop by the booth to participate in a product demo and interview either the GM who was on-site, or the company co-founder, who was livestreaming from Sydney.
A post-show release with photos of the booth – which one attendee from a marketing agency called “the most innovative use of a booth at a trade show” – was sent to the full media list.
Other marketing tools with which FCI helped were emails to customers and distributors, LinkedIn postings and sponsored content, and QR codes for product discounts.
On-site, those who stopped by were asked to scan a QR code to receive a free Starbucks coffee; Team TIG also scanned badges to capture leads.
Techgen Media: The editor conducted an interview with the company co-founder who was livestreaming from Sydney. The article appeared in the December issue of Welding Productivity Magazine.
The Fabricator Magazine: The editor visited the booth for a demo and posted a press release for the news section.
Manufacturing Executive Podcast: At the show, the founder of Gorilla 76, stopped by the booth to compliment the team and later wrote on LinkedIn that this was “the best use of innovation” at FABTECH. The GM was then a featured guest on the company’s podcast.
The International Trade Association held a webinar, “The Future of Trade Shows” with the GM as guest panelist.
ROI
Results from the trade show far exceeded goals for leads and sales – literally, the team could barely keep up with demand from both new and existing customers.
Sydney-based Zip Water was introducing a new product to the U.S. market. The company, while well known in the UK and Australia, was unknown in the U.S. and was launching in a limited number of markets.
HydroTap was, and is, the only water system offering boiling, chilled and sparkling water from one faucet. Its sleek design makes it ideal for high end kitchens.
In response to COVID-19, the company launched the touch-free HydroTap Wave overseas in fall of 2020 and the U.S. in spring of 2021.
Strategy:
The company conducted a soft launch at the GreenBuild show in Chicago of October, 2018. The Flanigan Communications team pitched targeted media to garner immediate interest and coverage to spark interest for the KBIS show held in February, 2019.
Results:
GreenBuild: Several media outlets interviewed and provided coverage about the product. These were published in January of 2019, which we believe helped create excitement and drive traffic at KBIS.
The client said they were “swarmed” by media! They interviewed the designated executive onsite and scheduled follow up calls. HydroTap also won KBIS Best of Show and was included in a post-show article.
Because of FCI’s success, we were hired to handle media for the 2020 show and to help launch the HydroTap Wave in spring of 2021 to commercial markets, specifically, office buildings where in employees were starting to return. To date, upcoming media coverage includes Buildings Magazine and Facilities Executive.
World’s largest international ground transportation company
Challenge:
FCI has been working with GOWithUs.com (formerly GO Airport Shuttle) since its launch in 2007. Since then, the company had been seeing steady and consistent growth, adding new operators, airports and services around the world. Then came Uber.
By 2015, GO saw its customer base, website hits and revenues drop significantly due to the popularity of the new ride share companies which are not required to comply with the same rules and regulations as GO members.
Because GO is comprised of individual, local operators, many of whom offer services beyond airport shuttles, e.g. sight-seeing tours, there are technology issues which make booking more difficult than competitors. Most employees are union, insured by their operators, professionally trained, vetted and certified by the Department of Transportation. All of this means higher overhead than companies which only hire freelance drivers.
These factors, coupled with the fact that laws vary by city in terms of what, if any, discounts can be offered, make it impossible for the company to compete on price alone.
To compete and thrive, the GO marketing team, which includes FCI, had to develop and implement creative digital and content marketing programs.
Strategy:
Drive traffic to the website by engaging with influencers, improving SEO, improving visual and messaging consistency and adding travel content
Seek content from external sources such as travel experts, hospitality industry, etc.
Focus messaging on safety, reliability and flat-rate pricing (everything people don’t like about ride-sharing companies)
Find ways to generate revenue outside the transportation services
Better promote new operator affiliates
Reach newer, younger audiences
Specifically target groups that cater to older users
Tools:
Redesign the website
Blog, using external content and accepting guest posts
Monetize 550,000+ email list through third-party rental
Launch App marketing program
Amp up social media posts
Increase budget and launch a more aggressive pay-per-click and affiliate marketing campaign
Add website overlay offering additional discount if the site visitor booked online
Shorten and jazz up email copy messaging
Results:
Six months after launch, the number of reservations started stabilizing and trending upward
Increased e-commerce conversation rate by 6%
Increased email open rate by 62%
Increased email-generated revenue by 20% compared with previous year
Increased revenue from PPC program by 75% compared with previous year
Nearing goal of 30% of revenue being generated from affiliate marketing program
Increased blog readership by 47% in six months
Significantly increased engagement on press releases and social platforms due to sharing by content providers, improved content and more frequent posting
Generated new revenue through email ad campaign (numbers to come)
Strong search visibility for website, ranking number one on key words such as “airport shuttle” and others
Increased website visits, length of time spent, number of pages visited and lowered bounce rates
More balanced ages of riders. On average, 90% of riders were aged 40+; latest survey results show this number has dropped to 72% with the biggest increase in the 20 – 39 age group.
Chicago International Map Fair
2015 and 2016
The second largest map fair in the country. Held at the Loyola University Museum of Art in 2015 with 24 vendors and in 2016 at the Chicago Cultural Center with almost 40 vendors.
Challenge:
Promoting a non-tech “nerdy,” small-niche event during the fall when numerous other cultural events are taking place and when all media was focused on the Cubs, and, in 2016, the election.
Strategy:
Promote it as an “anti-tech” event where people can view and touch history
Create stories around individual collections
2016 – collection of political maps
2015 – newly discovered Ogden Collection, pre-dating the Chicago Fire and believed to have been drawn by William Ogden himself
In 2016, announce and promote the event sponsor, the newly formed nonprofit History in Your Hands Foundation
Note that the Map Fair founder, Sammy Berk, is part of 50+ year-old family-owned business, Harlan J. Berk. Ltd
Tools:
Media outreach and press releases
Social media including Facebook boosts
Results:
Facebook grew from 40 “likes” to more than 450 as of August 2017
Event attendance grew from 400 in 2014 to about 800 in 2015 to more than 1,000 in 2016
Event was moved in 2016 in part to accommodate larger number of vendors and attendees
Tribune article directly resulted in website hits, phone calls, in-store visits and map sales
The Distance, podcast, Ancient History, Modern Family
Plus….Discover America, Make it Better, Time Out, Choose Chicago
IT Management Services Company
April 1 – Sept. 1, 2016 Client prefers to remain anonymous
Challenge:
Differentiate the company from the multitude of companies offering similar services.
Strategy:
Create a “personality” for the company
In addition to pitching as IT and cybersecurity experts, pitch general business-related topics such as leadership, creating company culture, marketing, employee onboarding, etc.
Encourage team members to provide content
Tools:
Direct emails to existing and purchased lists
Weekly blog on business, IT, cybersecurity, marketing, company culture, training, etc.
Social Media: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
Posting on external blogs
Media outreach and press releases
Company and leadership award entries
Association outreach
Results:
From April 1 – September 1, Facebook “likes” increased 47%
Group memberships reaches 2,000,000
Website visits, comparing April 1 – August 31, 2015 with 2016: users were up 90% and page views were up 26%
Inbound links to the website grew from 38 to 330
ROI:
Expanded website visibility by almost 100% in 5 mos. including almost 900% increase in inbound links (which Google loves) and which will impact the company’s longterm ROI
Media results:
Epodcast.com radio interview about entrepreneurship
Breaking Down Your Business podcast
Business Insanity radio with Barry Moltz about Cybersecurity
CIO Magazine about making your blog a must-read
Flarrio SMB Manufacturing about Cybersecurity
American Express Open Forum about employee onboarding
Daily Herald, Best and Brightest award coverage
Daily Herald, Channel 360 award coverage
Schaumberg Business Association newsletter award coverage
Technology and Management Association newsletter award coverage
Avenue Inc.
June 2014 – June 2015 Hybrid marketing and strategy agency
Challenge: Differentiate the company from other marketing agencies.
Strategy:
Create new and repurpose existing content
Break down lengthy white papers into manageable columns and articles
Position CEO as an expert in process and strategy and a thought leader
Tools:
Media outreach
Speaking engagements
Results:
From the client:
“I want to say thank you for all the support, ideas and help you provided us. You helped us launch our PR efforts and get traction in an area we hadn’t ventured into before! It helped us go to the next level; we now have full-time content and marketing roles on staff.”
Speaking engagements:
Panel presenter at American Marketing Association BrandSmart
Speaker at Chicago Booth Executive Program “How to Talk Ted”
Media results – bylined articles:
Chief Executive.Net, How Mid-Marketers can Influence Beyond their Size
Branding Magazine, Collaborating for Brand Relevance: Branding Roundtable #11
The Marketing Scope, Fixed or Fluid: Which brand management approach is right for you?
B2B Marketing Magazine, How to: Create a Product Launch Strategy
C-Suite Network, Leading and Communicating Through Big Change, part 2
Branding Magazine, The Challenges of Rebranding, video and published interview
C-Suite Network, Leading and Communicating Through Big Change – part 1
The Marketing Scope, 10 Considerations for Mobile B2B Sales Activation
C-Suite Network: How to get Unstuck: What are You Waiting For?
C-Suite Network 7 Telltale Signs your Company is on the Path to Stagnation
ABF Journal, Leading Organizations Through Big Change
Marketing Profs, Why and When to Re-Evaluate Your B2B Brand Strategy
ROI:
Grew the company’s media visibility exponentially
Facilitated in-house content and marketing staffers for ongoing marketing
Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, Roosevelt University
1999 – Present
Began working with this client with Schindler Communications and helped to establish multiple real estate programs, forum series, association partnerships, the advisory board, sponsorships and the gala. Fast forward to today: The MBIRE is seeking to establish itself as one of the country’s premier real estate schools.
Challenge:
Working with busy students, volunteer advisory board and committee and an in-house marketing department, which provides services for the entire university, as well as the layers and approval process of academia. Our goal is to clearly define and promote the brand and to recruit students, sponsorships and board members.
Strategy:
Tap into the expertise of the advisory board, which is comprised of top industry professionals
Connect and engage with students and their social expertise
Capitalize on Chicago’s strong architectural and real estate development history and opportunities
Connect with industry associations
Tools:
Social Media: LinkedIn and Facebook
Create an official sponsorship program
Create a program to provide more visibility and value for sponsors on the website and other outlets
Create partnerships with industry associations for events, marketing and support
Create content for in-house publications and external digital outlets
Media outreach and press releases
Results: Ongoing
Work on the new branding and marketing campaign began on January 1, 2017. LinkedIn Group and Facebook pages have been created and both are growing. A new executive director was named in June. Working with her, we have achieved a great deal: created a more formal sponsorship program; work with the marketing team to create print and digital marketing materials, a more robust website with a blog for internal and external content, call-to-action, sponsor recognition, links to social platforms, and email sign up.
From Jon DeVries, Founding Director (2002 – 2017):
“Dyana worked directly with me for over 15 years creating and coordinating publicity for the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University. Her professional press network is awesome, her technical assistance superb, and her work with me and our 50 member Advisory Board always achieved direct results. I highly recommend her services to anyone seeking effective and timely marketing, social media and press services assistance.”’
Sample Media Results:
Connect Media: Roosevelt’s Marshall Bennett School Expands Scholarships
Chicago International Map Fair
Chicago International Map Fair
Avenue Inc.
Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, Roosevelt University