119 qualified leads and 17+ new clients for a US branding & motion studio

Overview

A US branding and motion design studio came to Celestic wanting to stop depending on referrals for new business. Since launching in July 2025, we’ve delivered 119 qualified leads — marketing and communications leaders at US companies asking for examples, pricing and calls — and the studio has closed at least 17 new clients from them.

The first 22 leads arrived within 8 weeks of launch, and the program has kept growing: over the last six months it has averaged 10+ qualified leads per month, peaking at 19 in September 2026.

The result: a predictable pipeline of new-business conversations, 17+ new clients and 15 months and counting — paid per qualified lead.

About the client

A creative studio specializing in explainer videos, 2D/3D animation, motion graphics, branding and packaging design. They help B2B and consumer brands simplify complex products and connect with their audiences.

Challenges the Client Faced

• Growth depended on referrals, so new business was unpredictable month to month.

• A saturated market: a strong portfolio alone wasn’t enough to stand out.

• Paid ads and inbound weren’t reaching the marketing leaders they wanted to work with.

• Previous lead-generation vendors had burned budget without delivering real conversations.

Without a reliable source of new conversations, it was hard to plan hiring, capacity and growth.

Why they chose Celestic

1. Pay per qualified lead: no retainer for activity — they only pay for real, interested replies from their target market.

2. Agency expertise: marketing and creative agencies are our core clients, so we know how studios sell.

3. Rapid activation: dedicated domains, inboxes and warm-up stood up in about 14 days.

4. AI personalization built on each prospect’s website and LinkedIn — their products, industry and role.

5. Deep ICP targeting instead of generic lists.

Solution Implemented

• Target market: US companies with products that are hard to explain — healthcare and health tech, SaaS and AI, industrial manufacturing, energy, consumer brands and financial services.

• Decision makers: CMOs, VPs and Directors of Marketing, and communications leaders.

• Messaging: each email pointed to something specific in the prospect’s product that a short explainer or animation could make easier to understand.

• Infrastructure: dedicated sending domains in the studio’s brand name (never its main domain), SPF/DKIM/DMARC and continuous warm-up and monitoring.

• Lead handling: every positive reply was routed to the studio in real time, ready for their team to take the conversation from there.

• Ongoing optimization: new angles, segments and follow-up steps over time — including a dedicated packaging-design campaign launched in October 2026.

One of the emails behind those conversations (names changed):

Results

• 119 qualified leads delivered from July 2025 to October 2026.

• At least 17 new clients closed from those conversations.

• 22 leads in the first 8 weeks after launch.

• 10+ qualified leads per month on average over the last six months, with a peak of 19 in September 2026.

• Leads from healthcare, SaaS and AI, manufacturing, energy, consumer brands, financial services and nonprofits.

• Transparent billing: 4 replies that didn’t meet the agreed criteria were flagged as not qualified and never charged.

What the replies looked like

If you run a creative or marketing agency and want a pipeline that doesn’t depend on referrals, let’s map your plan.