After dozens of client engagements and hundreds of meetings with clients and prospects, this easy to navigate Q & A format addresses the most common questions and information requests.

This FAQ has been prepared to answer questions you may have about 919 Marketing. The questions have been grouped to provide you with quick access to the most relevant information.

If this section doesn’t provide the information you are looking for, click here.

General

When and where was 919 Marketing established?
919 Marketing (formerly Renaissance Marketing) was incorporated in 1996. We are located just outside of The Research Triangle Park area in the town of Holly Springs, North Carolina.

Who started the company?
919 Marketing Company was created by David Chapman, a marketing thought leader with over 20 years of senior management experience with entrepreneurial start-ups, emerging growth companies and Fortune 500 corporations.

What are the credentials of your Management team?
We’ve been there. We’ve successfully launched new companies, new products and new services in a variety of market segments. Our management team brings over 60 years of experience to the table — working on the client side, within Ad Agencies and PR Firms, and as independent consultants.

Are you a consulting firm, PR firm or ad agency?
We are hybrid marketing communications company, offering the best attributes of each.

Over the years we've hired and worked for a variety of consulting firms, advertising agencies and public relations companies. And while we have seen each play a valuable role in a company's growth, they didn't get the big picture. While business consultants are expert strategists, they aren't adept at managing marketing campaign rollouts. PR firms are terrific at generating media coverage — once the key messages and strategic marketing plan has been developed. And advertising agencies can create powerful (albeit pricey) ad campaigns, but are rarely called on to provide strategic planning and brand development.

919 Marketing was formed to offer companies the best qualities of each. A proven and proprietary strategic planning methodology we call LINK™. Highly customized, ROI driven marketing and PR programs. Backed by world-class creative resources.

What makes 919 Marketing unique?
We have deep collective experience — we have helped solve complex, demanding marketing challenges for Fortune 500 companies, emerging growth companies and start-up ventures.

We have proven processes and methodologies — we can kickstart innovation by providing a mechanism to mobilize the wisdom and marketing intelligence of our senior level strategists with the passion, knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit of our clients.

We are responsive, extraordinarily disciplined and highly creative — quick with the big idea, bright, progressive and deeply experienced teams ready to take on the most demanding marketing challenges.

We provide highly differentiated services — we feel that the way we deliver our services — bright, entrepreneurial senior level talent working directly on your business using our highly evolved methodologies — is a powerful recipe for success.

We have proven, documented success — we work shoulder to shoulder with our clients toward the single goal of growing their business. And we have the success stories to back it up.

Who are some of your clients?
Past and current clients include Castle Worldwide, Caterpillar, Digital ESP, Duke University Medical Center, Lowe's Home Improvement, Nabisco, RJR, Sara Lee, Springboard Hosting, Tech Resource Group and TrialCard. Click here to view our complete client list.

How do you typically charge for your services?
We typically charge a monthly retainer for our marketing and public relations services. Our strategic LINK ™ Planning process typically takes 6 weeks or so, and is billed at a flat rate unless rolled into a service agreement. Our brand development initiatives also take 4-6 weeks and are billed at a flat rate. Development Center projects are estimated and approved before work begins.

Do you specialize in one certain industry or segment?
No we don’t — and that’s by design. While certain “experts” tout the merits of specializing in one segment (e.g. “high-tech”), we’ve found that we can cross pollinate ideas from diverse industries and inject fresh, out of the box solutions versus the myopia of keeping to one industry or segment. We have deep experience in seven market segments — click here for our client list by segment

Can you work with companies in different states and countries?
Yes. We’ve had documented success working with clients in Australia, Canada, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New York and Virginia. Technology (teleconferencing, high speed internet access, overnight deliveries) and low airfares can render distance irrelevant. We’ve found we can offer special category insight and services that the client can’t access locally.

What size clients do you typically work with?
Size is irrelevant. We’ve worked with companies of all sizes, from all around the world.

Services

What services does 919 Marketing provide?
919 provides five distinct services that add up to a complete strategic marketing arsenal: strategic planning, brand development, marketing services, public relations, and a creative development center.

Are your services available a la carte or do I have to use them all?
Our services are integrated, yet each service can be delivered as a stand-alone offering.

How do you operate as a strategic consulting firm? Differences?
The cornerstone of our strategic planning success is LINK™, a proprietary strategic planning system we use to help our clients identify, prioritize and leverage core competencies, access market intelligence and unmask purchasing triggers to create a clear sense of direction and purpose. LINK combines the goals and dreams of the senior management team and key employees with market realities to build a collaborative, disciplined and devastatingly effective business plan.

While traditional business consultants are linear, analytical, great at reading the numbers and identifying market opportunities — they aren’t adept at providing the brand positioning, market awareness and business development services required to make the business plan a reality.

How do you operate as a PR firm? Differences?
We aren’t a PR factory juggling dozen’s of accounts. We manage highly customized, high touch programs that accelerate market awareness in your most important sales channels — with an ROI model clearly established before we begin work.

Our collaborative process determines key communication messages, identifies coverage opportunities and guides the development and implementation of a highly detailed PR plan with clear objectives, clearly defined priorities and measurable ROI goals.

At 919, the senior level person who manages your account also works the media on your behalf. We quickly translate a deep understanding of your business and the news patterns of your segment into sustainable media coverage.

It all starts with the creation of a comprehensive media list using the latest syndicated media services, followed by regular interaction with key employees to fully leverage “hidden” story angles, weekly work plans and persistent, hands-on execution.

How do you operate as an internal Marketing Department?
We have operated as the internal marketing department for several technology companies — working in tandem with the CEO and VP Sales, we can play an active role in product development, brand development strategies, pricing strategies, creating and managing a business development department, media and investor relations, strategic partnerships and more.

For example, during a 2-year stint with the global leader in workforce automation training, working directly out of offices in their corporate headquarters, we generated over 1500 qualified sales leads through an internal telemarketing team, trade shows, direct marketing and PR activities. The company effectively doubled their contracted revenue during the engagement period.

Do you compete with internal Marketing Departments?
No. With an established marketing department, our role is to augment and reinforce existing sales and marketing programs. For example, we handle public relations activities and provide creative horsepower for several companies with an existing marketing staff.

How do you operate as an ad agency? Differences?
We can provide full service ad agency services — creative services, production capabilities, ad development and placement, etc. The difference is that by using our Development Center, you can custom select the best team around versus the best in-house team, realize quicker speed to market, and reap a significant cost savings of 30% - 50%. The ability to put an additional 50% directly into marketing campaigns to impact the consumer almost assures you of better results.

How do you select the writers, designers and technical experts available through the 919 Development Center?
We have worked in the largest ad agencies in the world — working directly with dozens of high powered writers and designers that are currently working within large ad agencies, running their own design companies or freelancing.

We custom build creative teams based on your budget, industry and brand personality at a fraction of the cost you would pay through an advertising agency.

We then deploy a proven and highly evolved project management system to guide the on-going implementation of all marketing and PR programs, complete with quality control, timeline, budget and program tracking mechanisms.

What kind of Internet related services do you provide?
We provide website navigational strategy, content development and project management using our in-house strategists. We have established relationships to provide design, HTML programming, web hosting, sophisticated databases and secure client areas for websites, extranets and intranets.

Do you compete against design firms?
Rarely. We usually work in tandem with design firms on client engagements, with 919 handling strategic planning, creative strategy and workflow, and the design firm creating and producing materials. We can work seamlessly with client selected design firms, or we can provide access to our approved creative partners network through our Development Center.

I still have questions!
If you want to find out more about us, ask other questions or schedule a more in–depth consultation, please contact our CEO David Chapman at dchapman@919marketing.com.