A comprehensive analysis of the 12-month ORM and personal brand strategy for Joe Johnson — Founder, Life Surge & SurgeU.
Big Leap employs a two-pronged approach to address the current negative ORM landscape while simultaneously building a dominant positive brand presence.
Systematically reduce the visibility of negative search results and unfavorable narratives through structured ORM and strategic SEO.
Build a dominant volume of high-authority thought leadership, media placements, podcasts, and owned content that define Joe's story.
Big Leap's approach unfolds across four sequential phases, beginning with a foundational workshop and expanding into full-scale reputation management and thought leadership.
A one-time foundational investment that establishes the core ideology, narrative, and positioning for all subsequent efforts.
Push negative content down and build authoritative digital assets.
Position Joe as a recognized voice in faith-driven entrepreneurship.
Expand public presence through consistent media coverage.
Before any public-facing work begins, Big Leap conducts a structured 2-day in-person workshop to define the authentic core narrative that will drive every piece of content, media placement, and brand asset.
The workshop will explore and define the following areas to create a comprehensive and authentic brand foundation:
The $45,000 Phase 1 investment produces the following 10 tangible deliverables:
Without a clearly defined ideology, all subsequent PR, media, and content efforts risk being generic and disconnected. The ideology phase ensures that every piece of content — from a podcast interview to a bylined article — reinforces the same authentic narrative: Joe Johnson as a Biblical Kingdom Minded Entrepreneur with 30+ years of proven success. This foundation is what makes the difference between "reputation repair" and genuine "brand transformation."
Select a tier to explore its detailed deliverables. Each tier increases the intensity and volume of Digital PR and SEO ORM activities.
| Deliverable | Balanced $15,000/mo | Accelerated $18,500/mo | Maximum Impact $25,000/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Investment | $15,000 | $18,500 | $25,000 |
| Digital PR Budget | $9,000 | $12,000 | $15,000 |
| SEO ORM Budget | $6,000 | $6,500 | $10,000 |
| SEO ORM Hours / Month | 40 | 44 | 66 |
| Pitches Written / Month | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Byline Articles Pitched | 20 | 50 | 75 |
| Digital PR Pitches Sent | 200 | 500 | 700 |
| Custom Media Lists | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Media Opportunities | 4-5 | 8-10 | 12-18 |
| Podcast Pitches Sent | 200 | 500 | 700 |
| Podcast Opportunities | 3-5 | 8-10 | 12-15 |
| Reputation Health Audit | |||
| Branded Search PPC | |||
| Community Management | |||
| Video Creation | |||
| New Owned Domains | |||
| Communication Playbook |
These optional programs can be added to any tier to further enhance the ORM and brand-building efforts. Toggle them on to see the impact on total investment.
Use the controls below to toggle between tiers, include or exclude the Phase 1 Ideology Workshop, and see the total investment update in real time.
One-time foundational investment (30-45 days)
Monthly retainer (Digital PR: $12,000 + SEO ORM: $6,500) x 11 months
($45,000 one-time + $18,500/mo x 11)
The following outcomes are the strategic objectives that Big Leap's 12-month engagement is designed to achieve for Joe Johnson's personal brand and the SurgeU ecosystem.
Foundation set, initial content published, search landscape begins to shift. Negative results start losing ground.
Positive content gains traction. Thought leadership placements and podcast appearances establish authority.
Joe's brand dominates search results. Safe to launch public social media content and stage appearances.
A side-by-side comparison of the two agencies under consideration for Joe Johnson's ORM and personal brand initiative. Data sourced from the comprehensive agency comparison report.
Given the goal of building Joe Johnson's personal brand to drive conversions for SurgeU's high-ticket entrepreneur products, the chosen agency must not only suppress negative results but actively build a credible, authoritative business persona. The target audience — Christian entrepreneurs — values authenticity, transparency, and proven business acumen above all else.
Recommendation: Big Leap is the stronger candidate for this specific initiative. While Status Labs specializes in severe crisis management, their historical use of controversial tactics (fake news sites, Wikipedia manipulation) poses a massive secondary risk. Big Leap's methodology — focusing on legitimate content creation, SEO, and building a sustainable brand narrative around Joe's 30+ years of experience and $160M+ revenue success — aligns far better with the long-term goals of SurgeU and the values of the target audience.
Dan Posner's team is better suited to act as a collaborative partner in building this new ecosystem, rather than just a "fixer" for past issues. Their approach will help establish the authentic authority required to sell $40K+ mastermind memberships and future B2B products.
Ideology & Narrative Workshop — $45,000
Tier 2: Accelerated — $18,500/mo
Given the severity of the current negative ORM landscape and the strategic importance of Joe's personal brand to the SurgeU ecosystem's growth, the recommendation is to move forward with Big Leap and select Tier 2: Accelerated ($18,500/mo) as the optimal balance of intensity and investment. Tier 2 provides 2.5x the PR volume of Tier 1, includes the critical Reputation Health Audit and Branded Search PPC, and positions the brand for measurable improvement within the first 6 months.
Additionally, the Reddit Program ($7,000/mo) is strongly recommended as an add-on given that negative Reddit threads currently influence both Google search results and AI-generated summaries (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews).
Note: This recommendation is based on the analysis of the current ORM landscape and the strategic goals outlined. The final decision rests with Joe based on his assessment of the investment relative to the expected business impact.
Confidential — Prepared for Joe Johnson
Data sourced from Big Leap 12-Month Strategy Proposal