[Video]: Success Through Strategic Partnership

The pandemic wreaked havoc on many industries in 2020. But for GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council), the performance gains created by a new paid media funnel strategy helped offset their market losses. In this episode of Fast-Forward the Conversation, Julie Slovin, GMAC Senior Director of Strategic Marketing joins Fabio Ramos, Mindstream VP of Business Development to discuss our strategic partnership and the success that has driven for their organization.

We believe the daily pressure on CMOs to move their business forward is real, intense and not going away. Join our media practitioners, as we discuss the HOW behind making meaningful progress, on well-defined targets.

Catch the Highlights

• GMAC is the parent brand of the GMAT exam (among other products and companies), the entrance exam that 9 out of 10 people pursuing an MBA or Master’s degree will take. They’re a global organization with testing centers across 6 continents which has created additional challenges for navigating unpredictable market dynamics.
• The global nature of their business has been both a blessing and a curse, allowing them to balance healthy markets with those being impacted as the pandemic spread from country to country and across the U.S.
• Throughout our 4-year relationship, Mindstream has gained a strong understanding of GMAC’s markets. That knowledge, combined with historical and current data allowed us to monitor changes in consumer behavior in real-time, providing reassurance and confidence to guide marketing decisions.
• Julie states, “I think hands down, one of the biggest wins for us this year was this new paid media funnel and the strategy that… your team brought to us for discussion back in 2019 and we were finally able to activate that.” She continues, “The funnel performed so well that the performance gains that we saw this year I think were so significant that they sort of outweighed the market losses that resulted from the pandemic, from an advertising and marketing effectiveness and efficiency standpoint.”
• Julie attributes their success to the strategic partnership that we’ve built together over the last 4 years. “That partnership drives everything. The cadence and the productivity around all of the ongoing communications that I have with your team and the collaboration, the analytical reporting that we get, not only monthly but ad hoc as needed. Your team has pivoted quickly on everything that we’ve needed you to all along the way as our business needs change. The dashboard – two of them – both dashboards but certainly the current one, is even better than the first one.  You’ve customized the dashboards for us and for our business and for our needs specifically. I think everything that defines a good partnership really comes down to trust. And, I think that that’s where both teams benefit. In my opinion you can’t really put a price tag on that.”
• Listening goes a long way. Julie adds, “You guys, you’ve listened to us from day 1. I’ve worked with so many agencies over the years and they don’t all listen, really listen to what you need, what you don’t need. You’ve always listened from the first day and we know we’re being heard by your team all the time.”
• At Mindstream we strive to operate as an extension of our clients’ team. We can only be successful if we make our clients successful. Julie agrees, “We’re part of the same team…the commitment that you guys show our business goals, our outcomes and the expertise that you bring. I think that you’re essentially an extension of our business and it’s just been such a great thing.”