Are you ready for an audio adventure?

Adding delight to a free trial process

now>press>play’s unique combination of hardware and audio experiences had a high sales conversion rate once in the hands of teachers and pupils.

But getting schools to trial an entire class set of 30 x headsets in the first place – with all the associated time and product education costs – posed a high barrier to entry.

now>press>play supports primary schools to live their learning by providing immersive audio adventures and follow-on oracy and literacy resources, covering EYFS to KS2.

The Challenge

now>press>play asked us to refresh their existing evaluation experience to increase perceived value, present the “Wow” moments they were famous for, & reduce friction.

Following customer interviews and in-house research we identified that demonstrating value during that free trial period was a significant challenge.

The product had no obvious competition, so it was hard for a school to compare it to something else to know if it was good value for money
Teachers can still deliver lessons effectively without now>press>play, so it had to impress to shift behaviour
Might be considered as an extra expense that’s beneficial but not essential

The free trial process had to deliver value AND delight quickly, and make moving on to a full trial an easy decision.

The Strategy

To address this challenge, we proposed a national lead-building strategy aimed at teachers and senior leaders with a free headset gift pack/lead magnet campaign.

Instead of asking schools to trial a full class set, we lowered the barrier to entry by offering a single free headset to the first 250 schools who reached out.

Imagine the excitement when a branded pack from now>press>play lands at a school’s reception desk, sparking curiosity before it’s even opened.

Inside, teachers discover a single headset that delivers a WOW moment – offering a quick and simple way to experience the magic of immersive learning firsthand.

The ‘law of reciprocity’ – the headset was 100% free and theirs to keep, which means they are more likely to either go onto the next stage of the free trial process (a complete class kit) or direct to purchase
FOMO – there was only 250 free headsets
A richer data “ask” – we could reasonably ask for more data to qualify for the free headset
The portability of the headset trial makes it an instant hit, enabling teachers to share the experience with colleagues, senior leaders, and pupils.

With a QR code leading to a dedicated landing page and a detailed yet user-friendly brochure, educators could immediately grasp the ease of setup and use.

This self-service approach eliminates barriers to entry, letting teachers explore the product independently, with minimal support required for this first step.

It’s a unique gift – far beyond the usual freebie packs – bringing joy to classrooms and capturing attention across the staffroom.

By making it easy for educators to quickly envision the headset’s potential, the campaign accelerated decision-making and created a memorable moment that built trust and curiosity.

The outcome

We created:

Mini-site: A compelling funnel page mini-site including a ‘How to set up’ page, data capture, and embedded audio media
Social media amplification: Schools were encouraged to share their excitement on social platforms once they received their headsets.
The gift box design; accompanying literature e.g. Postcard, QR code, brochure
Meta ads sets
Email nurture series

All 250 headset gift packs were snapped up by UK schools within 4 weeks of launch, well beyond the target timeline of a whole school term.

Many schools shared photos and posts on social media, sparking further conversation and virality around the product.

This campaign built a pipeline of highly qualified leads that now>press>play’s sales team can leverage to full set trials.