Bringing forth the second-hand revolution

Used & Loved. A start-up with a vision to bring all the UK's smallest and largest second-hand sites into one place. A revolutionary idea, if we do say so ourselves.

This brand already had an identity, and Co-Founders Jess & Davey had worked extremely hard to get to the place they were at.

But, as is the case for most start-ups, there comes a time when a little realignment is needed. Enter the positive-impact experts in sustainable growth, fundraising, strategy and digital marketing: KIND. 

In the mid-term Jess & Davey wanted to raise funds for their business. The route they wanted to take? Crowdfunding. Before this could happen though, there were a few things to consolidate…

 

Getting to it...

After some candid conversations, Used & Loved picked out our internal messaging and welcome flow package. This allowed them to clarify how they would speak about their brand internally, and provide a solid basis from which external messaging could be formed.

Despite the success they were having so far—likely down to their superb idea and in-house tech development—they hadn't set up an official mailing list, which meant when it came to promoting their crowdfund efforts to what would be a loyal audience, their effectiveness was pre-limited.

Without strong copy, a mapped-out visitor/customer journey and distinct channels or segmentations through which to market and retarget to, a crowdfund effort is made harder than it needs to be. 

So first up, we developed their internal voice.

This required our resident Copywriter to jump on a call with Jess and get to know Used & Loved, without the fluff. It was important to understand the current brand voice and identify areas where it was perhaps weak or could be simply adjusted for great effect—all without losing what made them, them.

KIND Tip: Sometimes the smallest changes in messaging and positioning (with some solid thinking and execution) can go further than entire brand workshops, especially when the starting point isn't bad to begin with. If you've got a brand that's bigger than just an idea, but needs a bit of work to hone and improve, *this* package could prove useful for you too.

Developing the internal messaging guide was a smooth process: write, submit, feedback and amend. It even included some external messaging concepts, alternative taglines and early digital ad ideas. This really helps put creativity into context.

Once in a good place, the document was formalised and set.

This was now the springboard from which the welcome email series could be built (and later a dedicated flow for their crowdfund investors).

Upon design and completion of the welcome series, our attention turned to building out their crowdfund campaign. Used & Loved went with Seedrs for their platform of choice, meaning investors could become shareholders should the campaign meet its minimum target.

During the lead-up to the campaign going live, the team at KIND supported creation of the crowdfunding video with scriptwriting and pre-production, wrote and designed emails for investors, and produced copy for Used & Loved's own site and their Seedrs page.

Our growth experts also provided guidance on investor outreach for those looking to make larger-scale contributions.

Our communications lead developed a social media strategy for their PR team to employ, complete with creative templates and supporting copy. 

And down the line, we created digital ads to promote investment for and drive traffic to Used & Loved.