On today’s episode, Kunle is joined by Michael Raven, Founder of Blazon Agency, a future-oriented brand launch agency specialising in crowdfunding campaigns in the UK and Europe.

On this show, we often highlight the massive growth in eCommerce over the last year or so. We are all indoors, so we all shop online. But this hasn’t just increased the number of shoppers online. This has also had another effect that could easily go unnoticed.

Not only are there more online shoppers, there are also many more shoppers willing to buy unique and never-seen-before products. Yes, this means the crowdfunding market is booming. This is no longer a niche where far-sighted shoppers come to find innovative products. This is now a thriving market full of people looking for something “different”. Crowdfunding is now a lucrative avenue for both new and established brands.

In this episode, Kunle and Michael talk about what it takes to plan and launch a successful crowdfunding campaign. You will get to hear about which products are best suited to crowdfunding, how established brands can use it and the mechanics of pre-launch and post-launch marketing . This is a great episode for anyone wanting to know more about crowdfunding!

Here is a summary of some of the most important points made,

• • Unique “World’s-first” type products are best suited to crowdfunding
  • Sustainable consumer products are the trending segment
  • Established brands can use crowdfunding for R&D and expanding to new markets
  • Marketing Agencies typically get involved 8 weeks before launch
  • Pre-launch marketing should focus on Founders instead of the Brand
  • Modern day PR has evolved into a pay-and-play model
  • Crowdfunding platforms have their own preferences on type of products they want to push
  • Old-fashioned landing pages convert better than autofill pop-ups

Covered Topics:

On today’s interview Kunle and Michael discuss,

• Best-suited Products
• Use cases for established brands
• Campaign Prep
• Post-Launch Marketing
• Landing Page & Email Best Practices
• PR landscape
• Nuances of different platforms

Timestamp:

• 09:36 – Meet Michael:
  • Focus on consumer products and consumer tech
  • End-to-end crowdfunding campaign consulting
  • Registered agency with all major platforms
• 10:15 – What products are right for crowdfunding?
  • Early stage World-first products, must be something unique
  • White-label stuff doesn’t work on crowdfunding platforms
  • Consumer electronics are highly suited
• 14:10 – How are established businesses using crowdfunding?
  • Companies wanting to scale beyond their founding region try the crowdfunding route
  • DTC brands are experimenting with Equity crowdfunding
  • Bigger brands are running their R&D through crowdfunding
  • “Launching on crowdfunding validates your product”
• 12:00 – Strategies used by corporations for crowdfunding campaigns
• 14:40 – Preparing for a crowdfunding campaign with an agency:
  • Companies come upto 1 year before intended launch date
  • Typically get involved 8 weeks before launch
  • Start with building landing pages, content and messaging
  • A/B test pages and audiences
  • Collecting leads building upto launch
• 25:30 – Post launch strategies:
  • Leverage email and retargeting
  • Engage on the platform
  • Put out new content
• 32:30 – Pre-launch Landing Pages:
  • Conversion rates depend on targeting
  • Facebook algorithm is better than any human targeting
  • Successful campaigns convert at upto 50%
  • Simple pages perform best
• 35:35 – Pre-launch email strategy:
  • Start with 1 email/week leading up to the launch
  • 3 emails on launch week and multiple emails on launch day
  • Create a sense of urgency in the emails around launch
  • Emails could come from the Founders instead of the brand
  • “People like to invest in people rather than the brand”
• 39:10 – How important are PR campaigns:
  • Publications are wary of covering campaigns due to some old scams
  • Many publications offer coverage for payment
  • Reddit is also a potential avenue
• 44:10 – Making no-advertising campaigns
  • Driven by having a percentage share in sales
• 49:00 – Mechanics of a launch:
  • Kickstarter has its own algorithm
  • Hitting “projects we love” will get you featured
  • Platforms have their own preferences regarding pushing products
• 53:50 – Transitioning community off platform
• 56:30 – Marketing budgets:
  • Depends on the goals of the campaign
  • Target 5x ROI

Takeaways:

• Crowdfunding platforms have their own preferences on type of products they want to push
• Old-fashioned landing pages convert better than auto-fill pop-ups on social media
• More and more DTC brands are experimenting with Equity Crowdfunding
• Indiegogo pushes products that are more profitable
• Getting the “projects we love” on Kickstarter gets you featured on the homepage and newsletter

Links & Resources

• Seedrs, crowdcube
• Blazon Agency on Twitter

Tweetable Quotes:

“People like to invest in people rather than the brand.”

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