Marketing and comms pros often struggle with a similar issue: not being able to fit in everything they need to accomplish within a 24-hour day. That’s why the slogan for 25th Hour Communications – “we’re the extra hour you need in your day” – resonates with its customers.
25th Hour Communications is a marketing company that serves a large of roster of junior, technical, and community colleges with a wide range of marketing capabilities and needs.
The agency, which helps clients expand their brands, provides an array of services, such as creating press releases, fliers, and promotional material, as well as content for Instagram, Facebook, and other social channels.
“Our day is never the same,” noted Crystal Balfany, 25th Hours’ digital media and marketing coordinator. “It can range from reference design to videography, event planning, and crisis communications. It’s not just general marketing.”
The agency also needs to deliver insights and advice to its clients on how to build a robust marketing strategy – which includes earned media.
“In some cases, clients were forgetting about the awareness and PR aspects,” explained Nicki Bickford, project manager. “I had no way of showing them why it’s so important.”
The firm then employed Cision Comms Cloud, which has been helpful for 25th Hour Communications’ clients during peak periods, such as during enrollment for the fall semester, when community colleges are actively trying to raise awareness about the breadth of their courses, their culture, and more. The new platform has contributed in the following areas:
Direct ROI attribution
“What we decided would work best was to put together a monthly analytics report showing how our services in marketing and PR are bringing value,” said Bickford.
Of particular interest to Bickford is showing the dollar value of the PR results that a client receives. “If an article got reposted many times or a release got picked up, for instance, that’s a great way for us to show our clients a monetary value of what we’re doing for them.” he added.
Empowering clients
The agency also used the reporting and analytics structure to help client stakeholders. One client used a report generated through Cision Comms Cloud to show the president of the institution how it generated more than $166,000 worth of paid media through earned media efforts.
Business development
The team was pitching a client that had gone through some negative media coverage and was trying to reposition itself. Using Cision Comms Cloud, 25th Hour was able to provide a report demonstrating what kind of coverage had been generated during the previous month. The action helped turn the prospect into a client.
“Sometimes, clients get so buy they don’t have time to see what’s bubbling to the top in media,” noted Balfany. “Having the reports is a nice reminder for clients that we have their backs and are supporting them.”
