Scottish startup beat crowdfund targets by 60%, as digital PR campaign delivered exceptional cut through to reach investors

HOW WOULD you feel about taking part in a solo digital pr beauty parade where you asked strangers to judge you on your perceived merits – and to cough up cash if they liked what they saw?

That’s the nail-biting equivalent of what businesses are lining up to participate in, thanks to the digital fundraising process better known as crowdfunding.

A recent crowdfunding success story was our client Grafterr*, whose founders understandably wrestled with questions like: “Will people like us? Can we be successful? How can we ensure we reach our targets? How do we spread the word?”

They needn’t have worried, with the help of our digital PR experts, the firm’s digital fundraiser was a runaway success with results which included:

• Raising £400,000 – 60% over the £250,000 target
• Not least because we delivered 51 significant items of media coverage
• Articles– including multiple digital items – put the crowdfunding story in front of 880,000 people
• Powerful digital amplification via a flurry of social mentions on popular feeds run by Scottish Financial News, Invest Edinburgh, and Digit
• Extensive tech coverage online on Digit, Daily Business, and Scottish Business News
• National media hits in The Scotsman, National and Herald
• Valuable mentions in multiple email newsletters delivered directly to the inboxes of investors, business influencers and financial decision makers
• A podcast feature on Startups Magazine, right in the ears of tech investors and other startups and entrepreneurs

Inviting such public scrutiny and judgement might once have seemed alien. Now it is a routine part of the digital business landscape – another change to be chalked up to the internet. Hundreds of thousands of firms – whether well-established or start-ups – have got new products and services off the ground thanks to crowdfunding.

Such digital opportunities may still seem shiny and new. The reality is that while the tools have changed, making it easier for anyone to seek investment, there are some fundamental truths that still apply.

Such as: Before people can invest in you, they still have to know your opportunity even exists. There’s nothing like successful PR for putting a product or service in front of an audience who never previously realised they needed or wanted it.

Our combination of highly influential digital, online, and traditional PR was the best way to spread news of the crowdfunding campaign – while also directing potential investors and supporters straight to the campaign webpage.

*ePOS Hybrid rebranded to Grafterr in early 2023

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