The IncrediBulb Campaign [A Multimedia Marketing Success Story]

What does your average lead generation campaign look like? Are you ready to go above and beyond the norm? To think outside the box? 

Maybe you lean heavily on Facebook ads, or are an email-marketing expert. Maybe you’re big on discounts, or pump out weekly, high-value content to attract prospects. While all these are valuable lead generation strategies, they’re also exactly what everyone else is doing. 

To capture someone’s attention, you need to stand out from the crowd, not blend into it. Multimedia lead generation campaigns are highly versatile, offering a huge opportunity for creativity. 

Today, we’re sharing with you a behind-the-scenes look at our own recent multimedia campaign. Not only did it bring value and joy to our prospects, but it also got serious results. We’re talking $36,000 in revenue, and an ROI of 30.76%. 

Intrigued? Read on to see how we did it.

The Inspiration

We can’t share our marketing strategy without first giving props to the guy who inspired us, Mike Michalowicz. Founder of four multi-million dollar companies and author of five best selling books, Michalowicz is one of the world’s most popular speakers on small business topics.

We at Wild Fig strive to stay abreast of the ever-changing marketing landscape. We consume a lot of books on the subject. In fact, it was one of Michalowicz’s best-sellers that helped us rev up our creative engines and lay out a game plan for a new campaign. 

Michalowicz’s latest book, “Get Different” is all about standing out with your marketing strategy. Offer your prospects something unexpected, and watch your conversion rates soar. (Go buy it, it’s a game changer!) 

Michalowicz's “DAD Framework” aims to help small businesses market their services creatively. The strategy includes engaging the prospect and directing them to the appropriate action. (More on how we did that later).

The Strategy

Our plan was simple–wow our prospects with an incredible idea, promote our services, and direct them to our VP of Opportunities for a complimentary consultation. 

During this call, our lead would then discover all the ways in which we could help them "wow" their own prospects using that same outside-of-the-box thinking. 

But first, we needed a list. 

We had to identify a group of potential customers to whom we wanted to market. To create this list, we needed to figure out the size and type of company we knew we wanted to work with by taking stock of our best clients. What did they look like? What size were their companies? What industry were they in?

With this information, our superstar VP of Opportunities Jen Hiltunen sourced a list of potential prospects from LinkedIn who matched our exemplary-customer profile. 

Easy, peasy. (Hah!)

Once we had our list, it was time to send out the package.

The Package 

We know–adorable, right? We sent out 78 of these babies to potential clients from our curated list. And so began the IncrediBulb Campaign. 

Within the box, we included: 

• One appropriate hook (a super inventive light bulb, both functioning and symbolic).
• A bid for engagement (a list of what relevant services we could provide the prospect).
• And, a Call To Action (a QR code and a link to schedule a call with our VP of Sales). 

A package like this accomplishes several things–here’s our top four:

First, it’s surprising. How many companies are expecting to receive a shatterproof lightbulb with rainbow confetti in their mail boxes? Did you guess zero? That is correct. 

Second, it provides value to the prospect. For free. Even if the prospect doesn’t schedule a call, they still get to keep the silicone light bulb. 

Third, it creates a positive brand association because our company gave them something valuable without demanding anything in return. Sure, we direct our prospects toward scheduling a call with us–but we don’t pressure them to do so. 

Fourth, it’s relevant. It makes sense with the service. There’s a symbolic connection between a lightbulb and the creative lead-gen ideas we're advertising.

So, when we say “think outside of the box,” it doesn’t necessarily mean pushing your accounting services by sending out a lollipop. BUT, if you can connect a lollipop to filing tax returns in some super-creative way, then by all means, ship those lollipops!

Check out some of the feedback we received from our prospects after they received their IncrediBulb boxes: 

“Super fun concept. Definitely stirred up a frenzy in the office.”

“OK, you caught my eye. I did receive your package and thought to myself, Okay these guys are different in a world of the same ol’ same ol’....”

“Nice touch! What a creative way to connect with prospective clients.”

“Hi Jen–That. Was. AWESOME!!!”

“Thinking outside of the box” means grabbing the attention of potential customers with something awesome. And that awesomeness should always lead directly back to the services you offer.

The Follow-Up 

Of course, the strategy doesn’t just stop at sending your prospects something unique. Following up plays a huge role. 

After our curated list of folks received their boxes, we followed up with a targeted LinkedIn campaign. This campaign included a custom connection request (the more personal you can make the communication, the better) and two follow-up messages. 

Our follow-up messages included: 

1. Educational resources 
2. An opportunity to schedule a complimentary marketing strategy call with our VP of Opportunities

It’s important to note that both of these offers provided value. As we said earlier, this builds positive associations with our brand, which in turn, encourages trust.

Key takeaway: You can't just mail a package and hope that that alone will do the trick. For maximum effectiveness, you also need to plan out your follow-up strategy and points of contact.

The Results 

Here are the results of the first IncrediBulb Campaign, in numbers.  

• 78 boxes sent
• 38 new LinkedIn connections
• 20 exchanged messages
• 2 scheduled meetings
• $15 per box
• $36,000 in revenue
• 30.76% ROI

The $36,000 in revenue is definitely enough to make anybody do a double take. But check out the ROI on this campaign. When a “good” ROI is defined as being at least 7%, I guess you could say our ROI was… “IncrediBulb.” 

But the other numbers are significant, too. Let’s break down why they’re important. 

The LinkedIn connections: While not all of our 38 connections had need of our services at that time, our connection means that now they’ll consistently see our content on LinkedIn. So, when the day comes that they do need creative marketing services, our company will be top of mind. 

The scheduled meetings: Two might not seem like a big deal at first glance. But in context of the revenue gained, it's a big deal. If $36,000 is the kind of number that two clients can bring in, imagine four, six, eight, or 10 clients? (Remember those LinkedIn connections? Not all businesses are ready to commit right away. Many will need time to marinate.)

The messages: Speaking of needing time to marinate. With our two-message follow up plan, we exchanged messages with 10 businesses on LinkedIn, resulting in a total of 20 messages. That means we’ve got eight potential clients out there who are still considering the offer, or who are stalling for another reason. Sure, some of them might have dropped out of the running entirely. But some of them might still be in the consideration stage of their buyer’s journey. 

Honorable Mentions

We’ve run similar campaigns in the past that paved the way for the IncrediBulb Campaign.

The Brownie Campaign

At the start of the 2022 wedding season, we devised a plan to grab the attention of wedding venues who might need our services. Some venues could benefit from automating their processes during the busy season, while others might need digital marketing services in order to stand out from the fierce competition.

With some delicious brownies as our hook, we used SendOutCards to create a digital marketing “Recipe for Success.” Designed like a real recipe card, it featured all the services we offer as if they were ingredients to a recipe. It also detailed how these “ingredients” could benefit their wedding venue. (As a bonus, the card was also cute.)

With the card and brownies, each box cost us just $12. With the wedding season still in full swing, this campaign is ongoing. 

Time & Money Wedding Campaign

Can you tell that one of our specialties is creative content? In a campaign meant to attract wedding venues, we created a “wedding invitation” that advertises the marriage of "Time & Money.” This advertised how our services could both save time and increase profits.

Like the Brownie Campaign, the goal was to offer our services to venues during peak wedding season. But this time, the cost was just $4 per card! 

Consider This:

Results of all three campaigns took (and are taking) time. If you’re thinking about investing in a multimedia campaign, try not to go into it expecting to see results in a certain number of weeks or months. Additionally, when conducting a multimedia campaign, don’t just wait for the phone to ring. Each campaign should have multiple touchpoints.

It’s also important to note that multimedia marketing should be just one part of the whole lead generation strategy. Other strategies like paid ads, email marketing, discounts, and optimized content are all necessary and effective pieces of your business’s marketing puzzle. See multimedia marketing not as a replacement, but as a chance to shake things up.

Lead generation is a delicate process. Balance and patience are the keys to success!

Let Wild Fig Be Your Lead Generation Inspiration 

Struggling to develop a creative, yet effective lead generation strategy? Outsource your marketing and call on your friends at Wild Fig! 

Schedule an exploratory call with Jen, our VP of Opportunities today to discuss how we can help you with your lead generation. We look forward to discussing how we can help you go above and beyond what’s considered “normal” marketing, and into what’s incredible.