An established generalist independent agency located on the West Coast, U.S. was seeking growth and expansion via new CPG categories. They had recently gone through a name change/rebranding and were looking to break into new categories under this newly formed positioning.

Identify relevant categories where they have permission to win based on past experience in those categories. They had very specific criteria when identifying viable prospects:

We recommended an aggressive awareness approach to get the new agency name and positioning in front of the right contacts inside these focused categories among viable brands. We identified key trade events where ideal brands would be. We settled on eight events where our target brands would be speaking, attending, and showcasing products and services. With this calendar of events in mind, we fine-tuned our prospect list and created an awareness campaign and execution calendar. We leveraged our relevant positioning and unique selling proposition to inform our outbound campaign and trade show strategy. For each event, we identified, connected with and met in person, the individuals with whom we needed to make introductions. As a result, our post event follow-ups were more specific and personalized which helped us get to the next step, capabilities discussions.

Although it may seem old-school; eyeballs and handshakes matter when attempting to generate awareness where there was none before. A finely tuned prospect criteria and target list is necessary and impactful when executed well.

This effort resulted in four key capabilities presentations; converting to two paid projects. In addition, our number one target, an aggressive and growing category leader with a sustainable business practice invited us to participate in an RFP. This is what we set out to accomplish.