Spark No. 9 develops and field tests product concepts, launch strategies, and customer acquisition strategies through a process that integrates design & data science.
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We work with companies at key stages of development to spur growth.
Case Studies:
How can a successful book publisher increase revenue from mystery and thriller fans when all sales happen via intermediaries?
Develop a direct relationship with fans. We created three mystery brand concepts and tested them via online ads that isolated variables like concept, creative, and target market.
In six weeks: a winning brand. In six months: 40K subscribers. In 16 months: a community of two million—large enough to support a range of monetization approaches.
Can a new entertainment product turn the heads of millennials in a crowded market?
Keep an open mind. We analyzed the product’s core attributes and developed four distinct brand positions. We then field-tested across broad demographic targets—including older customers.
The winning position resonated most with an older target audience. Our client adjusted launch plans, finding a niche in the crowd.
How does a company decide whether to keep investing in a product with too-high acquisition costs or to pivot to a potentially more scalable direction?
Engage the people who matter most—your best customers. We developed multiple brand positions for the product, honing in via rounds of testing, and comparing everything against the company’s current campaigns.
We identified a brand position that generated a customer acquisition cost that was less than half the company’s average. We mapped the new position closely to the company’s current work plan, making a transition less costly than feared.
How can an educational non-profit with an effective (but complex) approach to literacy learning best communicate its offering to efficiently acquire new customers?
Show, don’t tell. We developed and tested a visual approach for introducing and onboarding new customers across various acquisition channels.
After four months of testing, we delivered a coherent content strategy (replete with a library of reusable assets), a detailed marketing plan, and a field-tested customer acquisition plan.
How can a media company meet ambitious growth goals following Series A funding when the core publishing business won’t deliver quickly enough?
Broaden your scope. We analyzed the company’s assets and capabilities, identified five adjacent businesses and developed a “mini business plan” for each. Over nine months, we winnowed further, developing two into working concepts and field-testing them to assess market viability.
The final winning concept was developed into a successful new avenue for growth that markedly changed the overall focus of the company’s business.
The Scientific Method. Strategic Design. Speed.
