Indiegogo Crowdfunding

Indiegogo offers more flexibility and control for those projects that don't easily fit into the Kickstarter model.

The choice of platform for clients is usually driven by the alignment between their target audience and the crowdfunding platform that audience are typically associated with. The platform choice is also heavily dependent on the product category (i.e. Healthcare, Music, Art) as to which platform may perform better for that particular campaign.

Over the years, Indiegogo has continued to innovate on the services it provides to allow greater flexibility to campaign creators. For example, Creators can choose to set up a flexible funding campaign that allows them to keep any money they raise even if the campaign doesn’t reach it’s target –  a good option for those looking to test the market without needing the ‘all or nothing’ Kickstarter approach.

It may also be more suitable for those that do not live in the US, UK, or Canada – or do not have a demonstrable prototype readily available. 

BrandRefinery have planned, launched and managed numerous campaigns as a Indiegogo marketing agency on behalf of our clients. If you are considering a Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, we provide a range of specific crowdfunding services designed to support businesses to assess, plan, prepare and execute a pre-launch campaign.

Are you asking any of these questions?

Our services

Feasibility Research

Crowdfunding is a significant investment. For those that are just ‘not sure’ we can provide the insight into comparable campaigns to give a clearer view – positive or negative – on the campaigns chances.

Campaign Strategy

We provide our clients with bespoke strategies vof the road ahead and provide  them with the corresponding ‘success metrics’ to help keep them focused on the key indicators of their pre-launch readiness. 

Campaign Asset Creation

Campaign landing pages, pitch design, video story boards and advertising creative. We can design any campaign content that might be needed throughout the course of the pre-launch and crowdfunding launch. 

Test Advertising

At an early stage of the campaign, we strongly recommend running test advertising to ensure the right advertising ratios are in place to drive audience engagement throughout the life of the campaign. 

Social Advertising

Targeting a crowdfunding-aware audience within your digital marketing is critical to ensuring a viable level of conversion when the campaign is launched. We can help to target people that love both your product and crowdfunding. 

Influencer Targeting

Finding influencers is easy, getting them on board for both a price and level of commitment that makes a difference to your campaign, is not. We can help to find and engage with the right balance of influencers that will drive awareness. 

Reviews

From start to finish the BrandRefinery team were a pleasure to work with. Their specialist knowledge, can-do approach and on-going commitment made for really positive and productive partnership. Crucially their fees and payment terms were also very competitive. If you're a start-up looking for support with crowdfunding, I strongly suggest getting in touch with them to discuss your plans.
Dominic Cotton
Founder & CEO,
CYCLO TECHNOLOGY
BrandRefinery were our crowdfunding and marketing advisors for our successful crowdfunding campaign. They brought a huge amount of clarity and direction to us. There were lots of 'crowdfunding advisors' that had approached us and wanted to support us, but none of them came anywhere near to Richard and BrandRefinery in terms of being able to distill a complex project about a sensitive subject and generate a tailored strategy for the campaign, as opposed to falling into a more formulaic approach that others were offering. Their knowledge of both crowdfunding and marketing in general is first class. I feel totally confident in recommending them to you.
Louis Weinstock
Founder,
BounceWorks

Crowdfunding FAQ

We are paid per stage by the client. In certain circumstances we will agree a commission fee as part of a digital campaign, but we do not offer commission only crowdfunding agreements.

Crowdfunding is a quickly evolving industry with new crowdfunding platforms being launched all the time. The most popular types of crowdfunding are; Equity, Reward, Debt-based and Charitable Donor.

Potentially, any product or service could be suitable for crowdfunding but in our view, it is essential that it is genuinely innovative and therefore is capable of generating engagement from supporters. The most successful campaigns tend to be B2C products and services rather than B2B, and can evidence that the company or team behind it have a proven track record.

The cost of a crowdfunding campaign is bespoke to each client and what support is required. Advertising costs can range from £5k, Agency Costs are typically paid monthly and from £1k to £5k per month for between 1-3 months subject to what needs to be done. 

We would recommend that to have a successful campaign it is important to have at least 12 weeks of preparation time before launch.

Unfortunately we cannot offer success-based only agreements. 

Equity:

This is a type of crowdfunding where investors put money into the organisation in exchange they receive ownership of a small amount of the business. As the business succeeds the share value is likely to increase and when they sell their share get a greater amount of money than they invested.

Reward:

Investors receive a ‘reward’ for investing money in the organisation. This can be in the form of a free gift such as a t-shirt or e-book, a discounted price on a product yet to be launched or

Debt-based:

Investors buy long-term bonds in an organisation in exchange for favourable interest rates on repayments. These are often 3 to 5 year agreements

Charitable Donor:

A donation to a community project, charity or not-for profit organisation.

We are not trained accountants or tax professionals so it is always worth seeking professional advice before undertaking any significant crowdfunding campaigns but below is our understanding of the tax implications.

Equity:

Equity investors usually hold some sort of shares in a company. These shares will often qualify for tax relief under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) (link this to: https://gov.uk/government/publications/the-enterprise-investment-scheme-introduction), or the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) linked this to: https://gov.uk/guidance/seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-background).

Reward:

Reward crowdfunding is considered as a sales transaction between two parties and therefore both parties are subject to income tax or corporation tax if they exceed taxable thresholds.

Debt-based crowdfunding:

The tax implications of this sort of crowdfunding follow that of any other form of debt. The lender is taxed on the receipt of interest and the borrower, assuming it is a business, normally receives a tax deduction for the interest payable.

Charitable Donor:

Donations are made by people who invest because they believe in the cause. In return, rewards may be offered, such as acknowledgement in a rock band’s album cover, tickets to an event, regular news updates, free gifts and so on. A donation will generally not be tax deductible for the donor.

No. There are platform fees, processing fees, and VAT to consider so earmark around 10% of your total towards campaign costs. 

There are a number of reasons why a crowdfunding campaign might not be successful:

  • The campaign is launched before it is ready: there is a lot of work and time required in managing a fundraising campaign and without this work you are unlikely to get the traction required to get the funds you require.
  • Costs are not carefully considered enough: It is important that you are offering the reward at the right price. If this is incorrect you are unlikely to get the optimum number of backers.
  • Underestimating the cost of fulfilment: Backers on a crowdfunding website might be located all around the world. It is important that you take this into consideration when agreeing to dispatch the product.
  • Choosing the wrong platform: The audience of each crowdfunding platform is different and there are platforms that specialise in certain aspects of crowdfunding, you should fully research each one and ensure that the audience is appropriate for your product or service.