Creative & VFX
247% pipeline growth for a top creative studio — without adding headcount
Service
Done-For-You Outbound + Multi-Campaign Engine
Industry
HQ
Team Size
Results First: What We Delivered
Nice Shoes is a premium creative studio known for award-winning VFX and color work. They had decades of relationships, but new work was slipping past them because they weren't visible when brands were making production decisions. Here's what happened over 4 months:
Pipeline Growth: 247% increase in qualified opportunities — without adding any sales headcount.
Open Rate Optimization: Subject line testing lifted open rates from 31% to 43% through weekly iteration.
Past Client Re-engagement: Re-activated 1,200 dormant client relationships with "look what's new" messaging.
Five Campaign Types Deployed: Fresh campaign compliment, industry intel drip, strategic re-engage, competitive intercept, and exec thought leadership.
Hyper-Personalization at Scale: Every email contained 3-7 custom cues (timestamps of their ad launch, award mentions, job moves, mutual contacts).
Hand-Written Perception: One Creative Director forwarded their email to his team as "the gold standard for outreach" — he thought it was personally written.
Performance-Based Pricing: After initial retainer, switched to 5% success fee on closed deals — proving confidence in results.
Full Knowledge Transfer: All playbooks built inside Nice Shoes' Clay account with Loom training videos for internal team.
"One Creative Director forwarded our email to his team as the example of good outreach—he thought it was hand-written."
Mike Palmer, CRO at Nice Shoes
The Context: When Legacy Relationships Meet Modern Pipeline Gaps
Nice Shoes is a premier creative studio specializing in VFX, color grading, and premium video production for top-tier brands. Think Super Bowl commercials, luxury fashion campaigns, and award-winning music videos. Their work has been featured at Cannes Lions, won Emmy awards, and graced the screens of the world's biggest advertising moments.
Mike Palmer, the CRO, describes their strength simply: "We relied on relationships that went back decades." And those relationships were real — longstanding partnerships with agencies, brands, and creative directors who knew Nice Shoes could deliver world-class work.
But here's the problem: relationships alone don't fill a modern pipeline.
Here's why they reached out to Corebits:
Invisible at the wrong time: Brands were launching campaigns, but Nice Shoes wasn't in the conversation because they weren't reaching out at the moment of need.
Manual LinkedIn outreach was exhausting: The sales team was manually messaging prospects on LinkedIn, burning hours for minimal results.
Relationship-dependent pipeline: Most work came from repeat clients and referrals. New brand acquisition was slow and inconsistent.
No visibility into emerging opportunities: By the time they heard about a campaign, the production budget was already allocated to a competitor.
Award-winning work, but passive marketing: Their reel spoke for itself — but only if someone saw it. They needed active outreach that matched the quality of their creative output.
Creative industry dynamics: Ad agencies and brands move fast. A campaign idea can go from pitch to production in weeks. Nice Shoes needed to be in front of decision-makers before budgets were set.
What they asked us for:
A system that made them visible at the moment brands were planning campaigns
Multi-channel outreach that felt personal, not spammy
Messaging that referenced real campaign work, not generic "we're a VFX studio" pitches
Re-engagement of 1,200+ past clients who hadn't worked with them recently
A way to track emerging opportunities before competitors locked in contracts
Full knowledge transfer so the internal team could run and optimize campaigns independently
"We relied on relationships that went back decades—but new work was slipping past because we weren't visible at the right moment."
Mike Palmer, CRO at Nice Shoes
Strategy: Campaign-Triggered Outreach + Multi-Layer Personalization
Our approach was built around one insight: creative studios don't win on rate cards — they win on relevance. We needed to reach prospects at the exact moment they were thinking about production, with messaging that referenced their specific work.
Here's how we engineered it:
1. Discovery Deep-Dive
Before writing a single email, we immersed ourselves in Nice Shoes' world.
Analyzed award-winning campaigns: Watched their Cannes Lions reels, studied their Super Bowl work, understood their color science R&D.
Reviewed their past clients: Pulled lists of brands, agencies, and production companies they'd worked with.
Mapped four awareness levels: From "unaware startups" (don't know they need VFX) to "solution-ready execs" (actively budgeting for post-production).
Crafted persona-specific copy: Different messaging for creative directors (care about craft) vs CMOs (care about brand impact) vs agency producers (care about timelines and budgets).
This wasn't generic outbound — it was creative-industry-fluent messaging written by people who understood the world Nice Shoes operates in.
2. Smart Tech Stack
Clay for research, enrichment, and AI-powered personalization
SmartLead for multi-domain email delivery (pristine inbox placement)
HeyReach for LinkedIn orchestration (profile visits, connection requests, DMs)
HubSpot for CRM scoring and pipeline tracking
LBB (Little Black Book) scraper for real-time campaign launch tracking
Make.com for Slack notifications on hot leads
All workflows built inside Nice Shoes' Clay account — full ownership and visibility.
3. Five Campaign Types
We didn't build one generic outbound sequence. We built five distinct campaign types, each triggered by different signals:
Campaign Type | Trigger | Messaging Angle | Example |
Fresh Campaign Compliment | Brand launches campaign < 48 hours ago | "Loved the new Adidas spot — the color grading on the sunset scene was stunning. If you're planning a follow-up campaign..." | Targets brands at peak creative momentum |
Industry Intel Drip | Prospect follows industry trends | "Noticed you're following the shift to LED virtual production. Here's what we're seeing work..." | Positions Nice Shoes as thought leader |
Strategic Re-engage | Past client (no work in 12+ months) | "We've added real-time color grading and expanded our Dolby Vision capability since we last worked together. Would love to show you..." | Re-activates dormant relationships |
Competitive Intercept | Competitor's work has quality issues | "Saw the recent campaign — the VFX seams in the product shot were visible. We've solved that with [technique]..." | Positions Nice Shoes as the fix |
Exec Thought Leadership | C-suite prospect at brand or agency | "We're doing R&D on AI-assisted color grading. Early results are cutting post-production timelines by 40%. Want a sneak peek?" | High-level strategic conversation |
Each campaign type had its own Clay playbook, trigger logic, and messaging framework.
4. Personalization Engine (3-7 Custom Cues Per Email)
Every email was hyper-personalized using multiple signals:
Signal Type | How We Pulled It |
Campaign launch timestamp | LBB scraper → "your campaign dropped 36 hours ago" |
Award mentions | Industry news scrape → "congrats on the Clio nomination" |
Job moves | LinkedIn enrich → "saw you just joined as Creative Director" |
Mutual contacts | LinkedIn network overlap → "we both worked with [name] at [agency]" |
Brand aesthetic | Website/Instagram scrape → "your minimalist aesthetic in the recent campaign" |
Tech stack | LinkedIn job postings → "noticed you're hiring a Unreal Engine artist" |
Conference attendance | Event scraper → "see you're speaking at NAB next month" |
Claude (Anthropic's AI) combined 3-7 of these signals per prospect to write emails that felt individually researched — because they were.
5. Multi-Channel Orchestration
Email: Primary driver with hyper-personalized messaging
LinkedIn: Profile visit → connection request → DM mentioning the email
Re-targeting: If prospect visited Nice Shoes' site, hit their inbox within 24 hours
Slack routing: Every positive reply dropped into #hot-leads for same-day follow-up
6. Continuous Optimization
We didn't "set it and forget it." Every week:
Subject line A/B tests in Slack channel
Open rate tracking: 31% → 43% through iteration
Reply rate analysis by campaign type
Personalization cue testing (which signals drove replies?)
After the initial retainer period, Nice Shoes was so confident in results they switched to a 5% success fee on closed deals.
The Standout Campaign: "Fresh Campaign Compliment" < 48 Hours
This was the campaign that proved the entire approach.
Instead of reaching out cold, we built a trigger system that monitored LBB (Little Black Book) and brand social channels for new campaign launches. Within 48 hours of a campaign dropping, we hit the creative team's inbox with a personalized compliment and a soft pitch.
Why this worked:
Perfect timing: Creative teams are emotionally invested right after a campaign launches. They're checking reactions, monitoring buzz, and feeling proud of their work.
Compliment, not pitch: We led with genuine appreciation of their craft. "The color grading on the sunset scene was stunning" resonates with creative directors who care about craft.
Implied expertise: Noticing specific details (color grading, VFX technique, sound design) proved Nice Shoes understood the work at a technical level.
Natural follow-up: After the compliment, the ask was soft: "If you're planning a follow-up campaign or sequel, we'd love to collaborate."
Campaign Breakdown:
1. Trigger Logic
LBB scraper monitored new campaign launches daily
Filtered for brands/agencies in Nice Shoes' ICP (luxury, automotive, tech, fashion)
Pulled creative team contacts (Creative Director, Agency Producer, Brand Marketing Lead)
Triggered email send within 48 hours of campaign launch
2. Message Crafting
Subject line: "Loved the new [Brand] spot"
Email body (example): "Hi [name],
Just watched the new Porsche campaign that dropped yesterday — the color grading on the sunset canyon scene was stunning. The way you transitioned from cool blue twilight to warm desert tones in 3 seconds is exactly the kind of craft that stands out in automotive work.
We're Nice Shoes, and we've done post-production for [similar brand] and [similar brand]. If you're planning a follow-up campaign or a seasonal variant, we'd love to show you our color grading workflow and discuss how we approach premium automotive work.
Would you be open to a quick call next week?
Best, [Mike's team]"
3. Multi-Channel Sequence
Email #1: Campaign compliment + soft pitch
LinkedIn visit: 24 hours later (profile visit, no message yet)
Email #2 (if no reply): "Following up — would love to hear your thoughts on the campaign launch. How's it performing?"
LinkedIn DM: "Saw you viewed my profile — loved your recent Porsche work. Worth a quick chat about future projects?"
4. Results
Highest reply rate of all five campaign types (creative directors are emotionally invested post-launch)
Quality of replies: "Thank you for noticing the color work — most people miss that detail. Let's talk."
Multiple deals closed from this single campaign type
One Creative Director forwarded the email to his team as "the gold standard for outreach" — he thought it was hand-written.
5. Why It Resonated
Timing + specificity + genuine appreciation = doors open. Creative professionals are used to generic "we're a VFX studio, want to chat?" pitches. When someone notices the specific craft details in their work within 48 hours of launch, it feels like peer recognition — not a sales email.
"One Creative Director forwarded our email to his team as the example of good outreach—he thought it was hand-written."
Mike Palmer, CRO at Nice Shoes
What Slowed Results (And How We Fixed It)
Every campaign hits speed bumps. Here's what we encountered and how we resolved it:
Challenge | Solution |
LBB scraper breaking frequently | Built fallback scrapers (brand Instagram, YouTube channels, LinkedIn company pages). Triple redundancy meant we never missed a launch. |
Too many low-budget campaigns | Added budget filters. Only scraped campaigns from brands with known premium production budgets. |
Generic subject lines getting ignored | Weekly A/B tests in Slack. "Loved the new [Brand] spot" outperformed "Quick question about [Brand]" by 40%. |
Creative directors rarely check email | Layered in LinkedIn DMs. Many creative directors respond faster on LinkedIn than email. |
Past client list was outdated | Enriched 1,200 contacts with current job titles, companies, and LinkedIn profiles before re-engagement campaign. |
Nice Shoes team overwhelmed by setup | Built everything inside Nice Shoes' Clay with Loom walkthroughs. By month 2, they were tweaking subject lines and testing new signals themselves. |
The key learning: creative industry outreach requires cultural fluency. Generic B2B tactics don't work. You have to speak the language, reference the craft, and reach out at emotionally resonant moments.
Why It Worked
Here are the key insights from the Nice Shoes project:
Campaign-triggered outreach > cold outreach. Reaching out within 48 hours of a campaign launch means you catch creative teams when they're emotionally invested and thinking about their next project.
Compliments open doors faster than rate cards. Leading with genuine appreciation of their craft builds rapport. The pitch comes second.
3-7 personalization cues = hand-written perception. One Creative Director thought the email was personally written because it referenced specific details only someone who watched the campaign closely would notice.
Subject line testing matters. Weekly iteration lifted open rates from 31% to 43%. Small changes compound.
Multi-domain sending protects deliverability. As volume scaled, rotating domains kept emails in the inbox, not spam folders.
Past client re-engagement is low-hanging fruit. 1,200 dormant relationships became active conversations with "look what's new" messaging.
Build in the client's Clay, not ours. Nice Shoes owns every workflow. They can edit, optimize, and scale without dependency on us.
What's Next
The next stage for Nice Shoes is all about expansion and deeper personalization.
Expand campaign monitoring: Add more sources (Vimeo, Behance, Shots, Campaign Live) to catch even more launches.
Geographic expansion: Clone the playbook for UK and EU markets (Nice Shoes has a London office).
Vertical-specific campaigns: Build separate playbooks for automotive, luxury fashion, tech, and entertainment (each has unique creative dynamics).
Case study content engine: Turn closed deals into short case study videos showcasing Nice Shoes' work. Use these in follow-up sequences.
Referral playbook: Ask happy clients for warm intros to other creative directors at their agency or brand.
Cold calling layer: Add a dedicated caller to follow up on high-intent signals (email opens, site visits, LinkedIn profile views).
Award season targeting: Build campaigns around Cannes Lions, Clios, and Emmys — creative directors are most receptive to new partnerships during award season.
The foundation is built. Now it's about scaling what works and adding layers of sophistication.
"Corebits studied our world—Cannes Lions, color science, everything—and fit the system to us."
Mike Palmer, CRO at Nice Shoes
