Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose one of the greatest challenges to delivering clean water and protecting the environment. As an innovative environmental engineering firm, CDM Smith is uniquely poised to take on the fight against PFAS. In February 2019, we launched “Breaking Down PFAS @ CDM Smith” to help our clients understand and respond to this threat.

We created a 20-minute documentary, Troubled Waters, and leveraged it to entice clients to subscribe to a monthly newsletter delivering insights and intel on PFAS. Despite its length, the documentary became our most watched marketing video of all time (5,816 views). Produced at a cost of $10,000, it led to more than $300,000 in project opportunities.

Over the duration of the campaign, we grew to the newsletter to 897 opt-in subscribers and created 35 sends with ~1000 word articles and informative graphics. The newsletter averaged a 47% click-to-open ratio, far above industry benchmarks.

In 2020, we launched our PFAS Community App, a Salesforce-based social networking space for clients to pose questions and connect with each other and an array of experts in PFAS treatment, environmental remediation, public communications and R&D. We rapidly signed up 71 users from 53 of our most valued client organizations, representing $15.5 million in future opportunities.

The campaign was a resounding success. In addition to engaging existing clients, we sourced and passed 142 marketing-generated leads to the sales team. Ultimately, CDM Smith nearly tripled sales of PFAS services, totaling $44 million at the close of 2020.