Brand Leadership
Marketing Strategy
Digital Execution
Creative & Content
Performance Managment
Accelerating Toward $1B with Marketing Ops, Strategic PR & Lead Gen
Client: Commercial Capital Company of Kansas City
Sector: Equipment Lease Financing
Services: Fractional CMO, PR, Website Development, Digital Advertising
The Challenge
When Commercial Capital set a goal to reach $1 billion in annual financing, a 6x increase from their 2023 performance, they realized their marketing infrastructure wasn’t built for that scale of ambition.
After more than tripling its business since 2020, Commercial Capital closed out 2023 with a record-breaking $165 million in equipment lease financing, outpacing the industry’s 6-8% annual growth with its own 40% year-over-year expansion. But with a bold new goal of reaching $1 billion annually within 8 years, leadership knew it was time to level up.
Commercial Capital recognized that reaching $1 billion would require a direct market presence and brand authority. The internal infrastructure was lacking, needing automation, an expanded staff, and refined operations, and the company’s external messaging, digital presence, and visibility weren’t telling the whole story.
The need was clear: strategic marketing leadership that could align communications with Commercial Capital’s aggressive growth trajectory and differentiate them in an increasingly competitive market.
The Solution: Strategic Road Mapping
A 9-month engagement, leading a phased strategy focused on building brand authority, clarifying positioning, generating measurable business outcomes and creating infrastructure for ongoing success.
Phase 1: Foundation & Strategy
- Conducted comprehensive marketing and messaging audit
- Refined positioning and messaging across brand, product, and thought leadership
- Developed multi-channel content strategy aligned to buyer needs
- Built vendor team, including digital and paid media expert Sarah Humphrey
Phase 2: Execution & Launch
- Launched an SEO-optimized website with conversion-focused landing pages
- Initiated multicultural outreach, including Spanish-language paid ad campaigns targeting underserved markets
- Executed strategic PR campaign across financial and business media
- Implemented marketing automation and lead nurturing sequences
Phase 3: Scale & Transition
- Hired and onboarded internal marketing manager
- Optimized campaigns based on performance data
- Established sustainable content calendar and vendor relationships
- Delivered a marketing plan and editorial calendar
Strategic PR that Delivered Market Credibility
Executed a targeted media relations campaign to position Commercial Capital as a national leader, not just a regional player. Coverage positioned the company as a nationally relevant, tech-forward leader in equipment financing, while the Kansas City Business Journal feature specifically highlighted its ambitious growth trajectory, generating direct inquiries from potential clients and referral partners.
Earned Media Results:
- 10 strategic placements across top-tier outlets:
- AP News (national financial coverage)
- Yahoo Finance (investor audience)
- Kansas City Star (local market leadership)
- Kansas City Business Journal (B2B decision makers)
- FOX4 Kansas City (consumer awareness)
- Markets Insider (industry analysis)
Measurable Media Impact:
- 105 million combined audience reach
- 358,000+ estimated article views
- High-authority domain backlinks (DA 85–94) boosting SEO
- $47,000 in equivalent ad spend value (based on audience reach and placement premium)
Highlights
Beyond visibility and brand credibility, each top-tier media placement also provided high-authority backlinks to Commercial Capital’s website links from domains like AP News, Yahoo Finance, and Kansas City Business Journal (with Domain Authority scores between 85–94).
These links signal trust to search engines, helping boost the company’s organic rankings for competitive keywords over time. In short, the value of this PR campaign compounds over time, driving ongoing traffic, enhancing SEO performance, and reducing reliance on paid search spend.
Competitive differentiation through authority building
Market expansion into underserved segments (Spanish-speaking business owners)
Scalable systems that support long-term growth beyond the engagement
Internal capability building for sustainable marketing operations
Why It Worked
Sorted partners addressed Commercial Capital’s core challenge: transitioning from a successful family-owned business to a national market contender. The integrated approach, which included messaging, a credible media presence, and performance-driven digital assets, created a compound effect where each element amplified the others.
Marketing isn’t about being loud, it’s about being strategic. Every touchpoint reinforced trust, expertise, and momentum in service of measurable business growth.