Agency comparison
Ground Standard vs Pack the Mats for martial arts schools
A side-by-side of Ground Standard and Pack the Mats for martial arts school owners: who each is for, what each does, and when each is the right call. What this page says about Pack the Mats comes from their own public site and can change; their site has the current terms.
Who they are01
About Pack the Mats
A neutral description based on their own public site.
Pack the Mats is a full-service martial arts marketing agency in McHenry, Illinois, led by Dave Mulcahy.
Side by side02
How the two compare
Details about other companies come from their public sites and can change; their site has the current terms.
| Row | Ground Standard | Pack the Mats |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Martial arts schools that want growth run for them by one team, on one standard. | Family martial arts academies: karate, taekwondo, BJJ and similar; their site says they take a maximum of 50 schools. |
| Services | Meta and Google ads, websites and SEO, lead follow-up and live concierge, operations (fractional integrator), retention systems and automation. | SEO, website design, Google and YouTube ads, Facebook and Instagram ads, lead generation and KPI tracking. |
| Done-for-you vs coaching | Done-for-you, with weekly strategy calls. | Done-for-you ads, website and SEO, with a dedicated account manager. |
| Software included | Runs with the school's existing membership software. Keppan and a Try A Martial Art listing are available from the same group. | None described on their site. |
| Lead follow-up | AI follow-up by text and email starts the moment a lead comes in. From Starter up, live concierge: real people on calls and messages 8am to 10pm ET on weekdays, by message on weekends. | Follow-up systems book intros automatically, and a dedicated account manager can be called, texted or emailed. Human callers on leads and hours are not described. |
| Reporting | Ad performance snapshots to Slack or email (spend, leads, cost per lead, what changes next), results reviewed on strategy calls, and an automatic monthly recap report. | KPI and metric tracking reviewed month over month; no dashboard described. |
| Term | Six-month terms for Starter and the content tiers, twelve months for Standard. | No term stated; their site offers a 90-day results guarantee. |
| Pricing model | Tiered, priced on a call: Starter (managed lead system, Meta ads, live concierge), Standard (adds website and SEO, Google Ads, Slack, strategy calls, gear discount, storefront, Keppan plan) and the content tiers Signature, Studio and Spotlight. Clients fund their own ad accounts; the management fee is set in the agreement. | No prices listed; starts with an availability check. |
Choose Pack the Mats if
- You want a smaller agency with a 90-day results guarantee
- You want ads, SEO and a website from one team and will handle enrollment yourself
- You want a dedicated account manager you can text
Choose Ground Standard if
- You want the whole system run for you, not a course to follow
- You want AI follow-up the moment a lead comes in and real people on your leads on weekdays
- You want ads, website, follow-up and operations from one team
- You want membership software and a directory listing from the same group
- You run a martial arts school, not a general fitness business
FAQ03
Questions, answered
What is the difference between Ground Standard and Pack the Mats?
Ground Standard runs the whole growth system for martial arts schools as a done-for-you service with a human follow-up team. Pack the Mats: Pack the Mats is a full-service martial arts marketing agency in McHenry, Illinois, led by Dave Mulcahy.
Is Pack the Mats a good fit for martial arts schools?
Family martial arts academies: karate, taekwondo, BJJ and similar; their site says they take a maximum of 50 schools. Their own site has their current client stories and case studies.
Can a school use both Ground Standard and Pack the Mats?
Sometimes, when they cover different pieces. In most cases a school picks one team to run growth so that ads, follow-up and reporting are not split across vendors.
How should a school compare agencies?
Ask who answers the lead and how fast, what the reporting shows, what the term is, and whether the agency works with your membership software. Then ask for two current client references in your discipline.
More comparisons: All compare pages
One team. One standard. The whole system.
Marketing, operations, retention and automation for martial arts schools, run by one team on one standard.