Blackout's Social Proof helps it win new clients
Blackout provide solutions to schools that safeguard students and eliminate digital disruption. Clients include top independent and state schools.
Blackout's Social Proof helps it win new clients
Blackout provide solutions to schools that safeguard students and eliminate digital disruption. Clients include top independent and state schools.
Top Results
Blackout's client video testimonials have helped it:
- Win multiple new clients
- Generate meetings
- Build trust within UK Independent and State schools
The Challenge
More schools using Blackout
Blackout are on a mission to help schools create the best learning environment by minimising phone-based disruption. They know that phones that are not managed effectively can set off a negative spiral in a classroom, which impacts grades, pupil and teacher happiness and ultimately a school's reputation.
Blackout's objective was to have more schools (both independent and state) buy its software, which supports a school in improving focus, reducing distraction, boosting attainment and embedding safeguarding and well-being.
Blackout needed video testimonials — aka trustable social proof — from school leaders to prove their value to prospects.
The clips had to get across the pain of failing to manage mobile phones on learning outcomes and reputation and what differentiates the Blackout solution from alternatives. They’d also handle Blackout's top sales objections, too: “Shouldn't we just ban phones?!” and “What about privacy?”
The Solution
#1 Messaging Foundation
We ran a messaging foundation workshop with Blackout, powered by our tried and tested frameworks, which clarified their target clients (school leaders such as "Headteacher", "Head of Innovation", "Head of Pastoral Care"), the pain their product solves, their edge over competitors, and the sales objections that prevent more schools from signing up.
We also dug into their solution: a mobile app that pupils install, which disables the apps that distract during school hours as well as a management dashboard to monitor pupil usage.
Next we uncovered what stops some prospects buying: privacy concerns and the alternative of simply banning and confiscating phones. In the videos, we’d need to guide their clients to talk about how empowering it was to allow students to keep their phones and that schools shouldn't demonise technology; how there were no privacy concerns given Blackout has been designed to not collect personal data; and that Blackout's solution enables pupils to remain contactable in case of emergency situations.
From there, we knew which questions to ask Blackout's customers in our interviews and which parts to emphasise in the edits.
#2 Recorded 2 Testimonials
We have a white-glove service for scheduling and recording high-definition customer videos remotely. So Blackout's customers just needed their phone and be in a quiet place with a smart background and we handled the rest, minimising time and effort without compromising on quality.
#3 Recorded 2 Thought Leaders
We also recorded Blackout's executives talking about the pain points that their solution solves.
We find that getting our clients communicating their Points-of-View on animated video is an incredibly powerful complement to the customer video testimonials to support business development.
#4 Animated 4 Videos
We turned raw footage into 4 videos (2 x testimonials and 2 x thought leaders), all Blackout-branded and ready to use across its marketing, with animation highlighting key messages for prospects.
Each video showed that Blackout is the solution they need in some of the most important voices in both the UK independent and state school sectors.
#5 Multichannel Marketing
We also advised Blackout on where to distribute their new video assets for maximum impact, including interactive website embeds, powerful LinkedIn posts and ads and sales outreach (how to use in emails and investor updates); as well as using them as sales assets to target those school leaders connected to the testifying clients.
Our process got Blackout's customers to say the most powerful things possible
Customer Pain: mobile phones can impact learning outcomes
Blackout's Edge: unlike bans or pouches, pupils can keep their phones
Handling Objections: Blackout is pro-privacy and does not collect data
The Results
Smart social proof
The 2 client video testimonials helped:
- Closed new clients
- Generated new meetings
- Yielded thousands of impressions on Linkedin
- Improved engagement at EdTech conferences
- Impressed investors
Find out more about our video testimonial process ➔