Growing Authority & Educating: Consumer Insights Industry

EXTERNAL MARKETING PLAN CASE STUDY

How a strategic blend of education, automation, and marketing leadership helps a leading insights firm expand its reach and impact.

Sage Outcomes is a boutique consumer insights and market research firm led by the brilliant Hailey Mortimore. They work with everyone from startups to global corporations, delivering sharp, actionable data that informs business strategy, product development, customer experience, and beyond.

Their work spans industries from food and beverage to mental health —and their mission is clear: empower organizations to truly understand their customers.

In the below case study, we share a taste of what it’s like to work with the Aligned team as part of an external marketing direction plan — and the impact we make an extension of the Sage Outcomes team.

Case study graphics with Sage Outcomes branding

The Challenge

Sage Outcomes had data and the creativity – they just needed a marketing partner to help bring it to life.

Sage Outcomes had a stellar reputation and a strong client roster. Their insights were already trusted by agencies, nonprofits, and household names. But their digital presence wasn’t reflecting the depth, credibility, or clarity of the work they were doing behind the scenes.

They were sitting on a goldmine of value with their expert team—but their brand, social media, and marketing materials weren’t doing the heavy lifting consistently.
They needed support to:

Build thought leadership across social platforms
Translate technical research into accessible, engaging content
Create automated systems to nurture and educate potential clients
Maintain brand consistency

Why Sage Outcomes Chose Aligned

Marketing infrastructure, strategy, and content to reflect their authority, build a public-facing brand, and drive new connections organically.

Sage Outcomes needed more than just a content creator—they were seeking a marketing partner who could operate with the same level of integrity, analytical thinking, and creative experimentation that their insights work required.

They were drawn to Aligned’s holistic approach: equal parts strategic advisor, collaborative partner, and hands-on marketer.

With an emphasis on transparency, thought leadership, and process optimization, Aligned was the ideal extension of the Sage Outcomes team.

The Process

We joined forces in 2024 through one of our bundled support packages and hit the ground running. Our focus was building a trustworthy and authoritative online presence that mirrored the integrity of Sage’s work.

Part One: Launching from Scratch on Social

We started fresh on Instagram and reignited their LinkedIn. Every post was designed to educate, build credibility, and make the world of consumer insights more human.

While we didn’t chase vanity metrics (followers), we saw consistent growth in engagement, reach, and visibility—especially on LinkedIn, where we’ve focused most of our energy.

Part Two: Designing a Smart, Educational Newsletter

We created a monthly newsletter that’s actually worth reading. It blends original insights, timely topics, and clear CTAs—supporting both existing clients and prospective ones.

The goal? Stay top-of-mind, spark interest, and offer real value every time it hits inboxes.

Part Three: Creating a Lead Magnet + Nurture Sequence

To capture new interest, we developed a robust set of resources and an automated nurture sequence.

Subscribers now receive a well-paced introduction to consumer insights, access to lead magnets like “DIY Consumer Research,” and an understanding of how Sage can support their business—without a single hard sell.

Part Four: On-Call Design + Strategic Support

From one-pagers to marketing brainstorms, we’ve been a steady partner through big initiatives and quick-turn asks.

We collaborate regularly in strategy sessions to explore new ways to educate the public, amplify Sage’s voice, and bridge the gap between data and decision-making.

Working with Sage Outcomes has been a masterclass in smart, purpose-driven business.

Hailey and her team are not only experts in research—they’re passionate about making data useful. Their mix of precision and curiosity has been the perfect match for our creative, collaborative style.

Also? They’re just really great humans. And that combo is unstoppable!

With our work together, they’ve accomplished:

Greater clarity and confidence in their marketing strategy
A trusted marketing partner who gets them (that’s us!)
More time for their team to focus on what they do best—delivering incredible insights
A growing audience that actually understands and values consumer insights

The Results

A full-fledged, engaging monthly newsletter (which you can sign up for here, by the way!)

A strategic and growing presence on LinkedIn

Sage outcomes nurture sequence snapshots

An evergreen nurture sequence to support lead generation

Consistent, branded design across all marketing touchpoints

Streamlined lead capture and onboarding for future events and outreach

An Instagram presence that reflects their values and educational expertise as a brand

Hailey Mortimore, Lead Research Consultant, Owner

“As a research and insights firm, we understand better than most how important combining the technical and creative can be – even in our own marketing. We wanted to have more control on attracting more prospective clients, outside of just word of mouth, while providing really high quality content and educational material at every touch point. As a team that works hard to serve our clients with excellence, we just didn’t have the time, expertise, or know-how to put together the kind of quality marketing materials and strategy we wanted.

Working with Madeline and her team at Aligned Marketing has been such a relief! Over the course of the year we’ve worked together, we’ve seen consistency in our marketing efforts, expert strategy that’s unique to our team’s goals, and collaboration on anything that’s marketing related.. As a business owner, it’s provided me the space to focus on the research and client deliverables while Madeline and her team focus on marketing strategy, brand awareness, and keeping our services and offerings top of mind to past and prospective clients.

I’d recommend Aligned Marketing for any growing and scaling business or consultant who needs an expert to focus on the marketing and strategy, so that you can focus on your expertise, keeping your sanity, and focusing on what drove you to your business in the first place. ”

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