Gymshark's brief for a campaign production partner circulated to eight agencies in March 2025. Signal Studio (a 12-person creative agency based in Manchester) was already in conversation with the team four weeks before the RFP went out.
This is how they did it.
Note: Signal Studio is used here as an illustrative example of real signal-led prospecting patterns. The methodology and outcomes reflect genuine agency practice.
What they spotted
In early February, Signal Studio's prospecting system flagged a hiring cluster at Gymshark: three consecutive creative team postings in 10 days, a Senior Creative Strategist, a Campaign Production Manager, and a Partnerships Creative lead.
Each role in isolation could mean routine replacement hiring. Together, they painted a different picture. Gymshark was building infrastructure for a major campaign cycle, not backfilling attrition.
The full signal stack
The hiring cluster was one signal. Two others reinforced it:
- Meta ad spend data showed a plateau in active creative variations after a busy November–December period, typical post-Christmas slowdown, but the scale of their peak spend suggested they'd be building toward a significant spring campaign.
- A LinkedIn company page update changed Gymshark's banner imagery from product-led lifestyle shots to a more editorial, campaign-style visual. Small change. Significant signal, someone internally was testing a new visual direction before it went public.
Individually, none of these signals would be enough to act on. Together, they built a clear picture: a major campaign was in preparation, and the external creative brief was 4–6 weeks away.
The move they made
Signal Studio didn't send a pitch deck. They sent a three-slide PDF: one slide contextualising the hiring activity and what it typically signals, one slide with three pieces of their work in the activewear and performance sector, and one slide with a single question: "What does your spring campaign look like?"
That PDF went to the CMO's EA, not the procurement team. It arrived on 14th February. The subject line: "Campaign production, a few thoughts."
What happened next
The team replied in 48 hours. Not to commission, to talk. Two calls later, Signal Studio was included in the brief process that was formally circulated on 6th March.
They had four weeks of context that the other seven agencies didn't have. They already knew the internal priorities, had built rapport with the decision-making team, and had positioned their specific capabilities around the campaign infrastructure Gymshark was building, not a generic capabilities deck.
They won the brief.
The lesson
The best new business development isn't better outreach, it's better intelligence. When you know what a brand is doing before they know they need you, the pitch isn't a pitch anymore. It's a continuation of an existing conversation.
Signal Studio didn't get lucky. They built a system that monitors for clusters of signals across a curated watchlist of brands, with a defined process for what to do when a cluster fires. The Gymshark win was the output of that system working exactly as intended.