Introducing a new platform for strategic growth
CASE STUDY
In the second half of 2023, Stavvy made two acquisitions. Both deals closed fast, and there wasn’t a lot of time to prepare to get the word out. So the FinTech startup leaned on its longtime marketing communications partner, York IE.
“It was a little bit of an adrenaline rush, and York IE was a really instrumental player in our ability to pull it off,” said Kara Banosian, Stavvy’s chief revenue officer.
Together, the two companies not only created press releases and pitched the media, but they developed entire communications strategies for everything from social media to internal FAQs. For Stavvy, it was just another example of the benefits of working with a strategic growth firm over a siloed marketing or public relations agency.
“When we bring a problem to York IE, they have the resources and the willingness to help us figure it out — no matter what it is,” Banosian said. “And that goes way beyond MarCom. No matter what we throw at them, they come back with really great advice, and it’s always something actionable.”
When I came in, we had a different PR agency that didn’t focus on tech and was a bit more traditional. We weren’t working on getting ahead of the story by pre-pitching news or submitting bylined articles to the media.
Now we have this great partnership with York IE where we are owning the narrative, which is very different. There’s also a lot more post-announcement work to keep the momentum going: How does social get incorporated? What are we doing for a blog? Are we pulling in any guest speakers?
It used to be that you had to say something seven times for people to hear it. It’s more like 14 now with all of the distractions we face. Building out that drumbeat marketing with York IE really helps reinforce the messages that we’ve agreed upon.
Startups don’t have unlimited resources. Having somebody that can do the work, but also partner with you from a business standpoint, it’s hard to measure the value and the impact of that. We would not be able to build out the number of campaigns that we have without the support that we get from York IE.
And it goes above and beyond marketing communications. When we have questions around pricing or sales structure, we tap into the team. It’s not necessarily for these long engagements, but it’s just enough to say, “Am I going in the right direction?” And that is an invaluable resource.
I’ve worked in all different size organizations, with all different size vendors. One of the things that I used to get so frustrated with was when you have a robust conversation and everything sounds amazing, but it’s not tangible or actionable. It’s like this Nirvana state that you’re never going to get to.
With York IE it’s a series of small wins, as opposed to going out and trying to build this euphoric marketing team or communications plan. It’s really achievable.