Crowdfunding campaigner Anthea Palmer tells of the on-line Public Relations experience she suffered while working with Pr agency Toplevelpr (also known as Crowd Pr Guru or Turnkey PR) and warns other crowd funders to beware.
Palmer is on a mission to tour and promote International Singer Songwriters in China. Having spent twenty months living and working in China, paying for advice, translators, lawyers, applications and other costs involved in obtaining Chinese Government approval, Palmer’s own budget for the project is dwindling. Unable to access conventional funding from her own country, Palmer embarked on a crowd funding campaign with indiegogo to assist with touring costs.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jimmy-hornet-the-live-music-crusader
Palmer was taken in by the marketing of Top Level PR, an LA based outfit, and paid for their top level PR package which is priced at $1495 USD. The package offered a dedicated PR expert, dedicated social media expert, and guaranteed 100% top placement. Other than the receipt of generic emails from the “PR Team,” Palmer was only contacted by a specific Top Level PR representative (role and title unknown) when she communicated her concerns about the campaign activity. Results from the service were dismal, with only two appearances on irelevant websites. When Palmer complained and requested her money back, Top Level PR responded by saying that she must “take accountability.”
The result of the PR scam is that the campaign has received little to no relevant exposure, and did not receive a single pledge in response to Top Level PR’s service. With just four days remaining, Palmer fears that it is too late for her campaign, but wishes to warn other crowd funders of the potential danger in trusting an on-line PR company with precious fund raising projects.
When doing her research Palmer discovered that toplevelpr is not new in taking money from unexperienced crowdfunders and offer nothing in return. Turnkey Pr was their previous venture, which they decided to end after numerous complaints online. Palmer discovered as well that the claims made on the website are falls, starting with the age of the company (3 months, started in February 2016) until the reviews which are all made up.
Palmer hopes that her story will push authorities to take the necessary measurements to take this scam offline and will avoid that others make the same mistake.
Media Contact
Company Name: Jimmy Hornet
Contact Person: Anthea Palmer
Email: anthea@palmerspaces.com.au
Country: United States
Website: www.toplevelpr.co
