Cal AI · B2C · photo calorie tracking app
Befriend creators' managers, then ask to add the creator to the group chat
Landed deals with a TV star; guest calls relationships the key
What they did
What happened
In their words
Alfie Dickens - Meet The Marketing Genius Behind Cal AI
JosephWhat about Jessi then? How the heck did you guys get Cuz this is a pretty big show.
Alfie DickensHonestly, so one of my assistants at the time, or one of the workers at Cal AI, Jackson, he was I think he got looped in with with a an influencer manager for the Mormon wives, um, and he, again, made a really good relationship with her, um, which helped us land a couple of brand deals with Jessi. So creating that relationship again with the agent or manager or influencer manager is the main reason that we were able to sign these. And then we usually actually try and get the influencer added to the group chats that we that we have.
Alfie DickensA lot of the time, agents are like, "No, we don't add the influencer. It's just we manage everything as the middleman." But a lot of the times, we try and get the influencer added so that we can create that um relationship with the influencer rather than just with the manager, cuz I think that really, really helps.
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More from this episode
- Agree with a creator's view boast, then guarantee 700-800K views when they claim 1MGuaranteed a profitable CPM on every deal; creators couldn't back down
- Have 25 hired assistants each email 100 creators a day~220K creators contacted, 2-3K signed; roughly 1 signed per 1,000 emailed
- Let AI answer creators' email replies and hand warm ones to a managerAssistants' job ends at the first email; no results reported
- Pitch 'keep making your normal videos, just sneak us in', then ask for a callCalls ~10x the chance of signing; the pitch often lowered creators' prices
- Have creators show the photo-scan naturally in the first 15 seconds, with no scriptCalled one of the biggest rules; no numbers
- Pay big lifestyle creators to scan their breakfast in day-in-the-life vlogs, 4 times a monthMost profitable content; one video drove hundreds to thousands of promo code uses
- Schedule a reality-TV star's posts just before and after her new season airsVery low CPM for a famous creator; no exact figure
- Buy only very cheap views at first, then pay more per deal once people know youDeals got more profitable over time, not less
- Test creators beyond fitness: moms, comedy, and fitness sub-nichesMixed: some moms profitable at $10 CPM; comedy got views but low intent
- Pay recipe, cooking and mukbang creators to promote a calorie trackerDidn't convert; cut early. Healthy-meal videos only okay
- Pay a Love Island contestant for day-in-the-life videosStarted well but underperformed; viewers mostly came for his partner
- Pay creators $100-200 when a friend they refer signs a dealReally helped; got direct numbers and deals around talent agents
- Give outreach assistants monthly prizes for most creators contacted or signedKept assistants motivated; no numbers
- Sign a second creator in the same niche as your best oneDidn't work at all; the first creator made $100K profit in a month
- Have a UGC creator post on the brand's own page, and restart as influencers get pricierPaused while influencer CPMs were cheap; now restarting for cheaper views
Tags: talent-managers, relationships