Client acquisition 101: A creative approach to gaining attention
Surreal Cereal are fast becoming start-up legends on social media. Founded less than a year ago, their posts are already garnering hundreds, if not thousands of likes. How do you get the attention of the most popular kid in school when traditional outreach fails? Our creative client acquisition strategy took an unexpected turn — with mock blackmail notes... Duh.
Developing Our Creative Client Acquisition Strategy
An idea hatched after an in-depth stalk from our Founder, I set myself the challenge of scoring him a meeting with them, even at the risk of a minor criminal record. After design, copy and a Joe Goldberg level of research into their company, we were ready to implement our creative client acquisition strategy in earnest.
The resulting images ranged from the classic 'tied to a train track' scenario to the Batman inspired 'vat of acid' (that was actually just a can of Campbell's soup). Discussions of waterboarding cereal hoops with milk were had, but quickly shot down… I guess the line has to be drawn somewhere, even in the most creative client acquisition strategy.
Executing the Unconventional Outreach Plan
After several hours cutting and pritt-sticking blackmail letters together, we moved on to Phase Two of our creative client acquisition strategy: Contact. An anonymous Instagram account under the handle @cereal_killer_123_ was created, framed with a menacing edit to their normally happy looking logo.
Before the first note was even sent, this account was blocked (insert Law and Order intro noise here). This led us to a multi-channel approach, locating their office and messaging through a second account to ensure we got noticed. Hand-delivering ransom notes is a key transferable skill in creative client acquisition, right?
Results of Our Creative Client Acquisition Strategy
After finally managing to send our first and second menacing notes to Surreal, we got an immediate response, which then turned into a back and forth dialogue over the coming few days (a big win for the Cereal Killers). The final note was a time and link to a Google Meet call, in which drumroll please… they joined!
Our creative client acquisition strategy had worked — transforming a cold outreach into a warm connection through humour and persistence.
Lessons From Our Unconventional Approach
So, what did we learn from this creative client acquisition strategy?
- Unconventional methods of outreach can be an effective business tool when done with the right tone and audience in mind.
- Standing out from the crowd requires genuine creativity and commitment to the concept.
- Understanding your target’s brand personality is crucial to crafting an approach that resonates rather than repels.
While we wouldn’t recommend actual blackmail as a standard creative client acquisition strategy, the principles of being memorable, humorous, and persistent can apply to more conventional outreach methods too.
The takeaway? Sometimes the most effective way to start a business relationship is to break away from templates and formulaic approaches. Our creative client acquisition strategy worked because it was genuine, unexpected, and perfectly aligned with both our personality and that of Surreal Cereal.
Watch your back for more unconventional marketing insights from our team.