WokenUp
Four weeks to fund a social network that did not exist yet. £140,000 raised, Beta live by November, and a £1.35m pre-money valuation on the other side.
Objective
WokenUp set out to connect users with companies, non-profits and governments to do social and environmental good. In 2019 it went to Crowdcube to raise the money to build and launch it.
Crowdfunding a platform is harder than crowdfunding a product, because there is nothing to show. The round is won or lost inside a fixed window, and the audience is two audiences at once: investors who want a return and early adopters who want the thing to exist.
Creative response
A four-week PR and social campaign to raise the company's profile and drive traffic to the funding page. Paid social and creative production sat inside the digital and creative function.
- Four weeks, compressed. An intensive PR and social programme run to the length of the funding round, not to a marketing calendar
- Investor trade platforms, targeted. Placement aimed at the channels investors already read
- Two audiences, two treatments. Social advertising built separately for influencers and early adopters in the investment community
- LinkedIn and Twitter. The paid campaign ran across both, with editorial pickup alongside
- Four weeks, compressed. An intensive PR and social programme run to the length of the funding round, not to a marketing calendar
- Investor trade platforms, targeted. Placement aimed at the channels investors already read
- Two audiences, two treatments. Social advertising built separately for influencers and early adopters in the investment community
- LinkedIn and Twitter. The paid campaign ran across both, with editorial pickup alongside
Results
£140K, raised via Crowdcube
NOV 2019, Beta launch
£1.35M, pre-money valuation post-launch
The round closed at £140,000. The money funded the build, and WokenUp launched in Beta in November 2019. a £1.35m pre-money valuation after launch.
The work
