/ Case Study

Mutual connection.
£45k won.

How a dormant relationship was reactivated through persistent, human-led outreach — and turned into closed business for the agency.

Brand Yoto
Agency Stripe Communications
Contract value ~£45k
First email to win ~3 months

How it unfolded

A mutual connection opened the door. Persistence and patience kept it open.

  1. 01
    12 February 2025

    The cold email

    Lauren had a pre-existing connection to the agency through her time at a former employer. That relationship had gone dormant — nobody had acted on it. The email referenced her career history, acknowledged a mutual contact, and made a specific case for why the timing was right.

    Email
    From: Kyri Vasou → Lauren Mitcham, UK & IE PR Manager, Yoto
    Subject: Lauren, great to meet you | Yoto x Stripe
    "Granted, it's a tad early, but a huge congrats on the imminent 1 year anniversary at Yoto... [our MD] actually mentioned you in passing and spoke very highly of you re: you being a delight to work with. Just wanted to reach out to express we would love to similarly work with Yoto."

    Worth noting: this same approach — mutual connection, researched hook — was used with several other contacts at similar brands. Not all replied. A warm connection is an opener, not a guarantee. What made the difference here was persistence.

  2. 02
    18 February 2025

    Follow-up — no response yet

    No reply after six days. Rather than moving on, a professional follow-up was sent — brief, warm, no pressure. This step is where most BD efforts stop. It shouldn't.

    Follow-up
    From: Kyri Vasou → Lauren Mitcham
    "Know how busy and flooded email inboxes can get. So, in the instance my email from last week was lost in all the noise, I just wanted to give this a quick follow up."
  3. 03
    6 March 2025

    Reply — warm but not yet ready

    Three weeks after the first email, Lauren replied. She'd been ill and was deep in a product launch. Not a no — a not yet. She asked for credentials and flagged she'd be back once she'd aligned internally on scope and budget.

    Reply
    From: Lauren Mitcham → Kyri Vasou
    "Apologies for the delay, flu knocked me out and we're prepping for a big launch event happening next weekend. I'm catching up internally about agency support in the next couple of weeks so will be in touch after I've got more of an idea on scope/budgets — can I get some creds in the meantime?"
  4. 04
    27 March 2025

    Check-in — keeping the relationship warm

    Three weeks of silence. A gentle check-in was sent — referencing her upcoming launch, keeping the tone human rather than transactional. No pitch, no pressure. Just staying present.

    Email
    From: Kyri Vasou → Lauren Mitcham
    "You mentioned when we last spoke you had an imminent launch — hope that went down well! I'm conscious we touched base 3 weeks ago, so it was on my to-do list to check in... More than happy to learn more about what you might need re: agency support over coffee, lunch or even Teams."
  5. 05
    15 April 2025

    RFP received — NDA signed

    Lauren came back with a formal brief. An NDA was signed the same day it was requested. The brief was for a UK Summer Campaign — a live pitch opportunity with a decision timeline of mid-May.

    Reply
    From: Lauren Mitcham → Kyri Vasou
    "We are looking to brief an agency for a UK Summer campaign and I would love to send an RFP over to you at Stripe. I've attached an NDA which we'll need signed first, so if you can return this to me I'll then send over the full brief."
  6. 06
    9 May 2025

    Pitch presented

    Full pitch presented to Lauren and four senior members of the Yoto team. The pitch covered the Summer Campaign brief in full — strategy, creative direction, execution and budget.

    5
    Senior Yoto stakeholders in the pitch meeting including the PR Manager, Marketing leads and senior brand team
  7. 07
    May 2025

    Business won — ~£45k

    The pitch was successful. Yoto appointed the agency for the Summer Campaign. A dormant connection, reactivated through persistent and human outreach, converted into closed business.

    From a mutual contact nobody had acted on, to a won brief worth ~£45k. The difference wasn't the connection — it was the consistent, patient follow-through that turned a warm name into a live opportunity.

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