Helping a new culture and recognition platform cut through HR inertia with an offer too good to ignore

Qolabi is a UK based culture and recognition platform built for the way modern teams actually work. Unlike traditional HR systems where recognition features get buried underneath payroll, leave and admin, Qolabi puts peer-to-peer recognition, milestone celebrations and AI-powered pulse surveys front and centre, giving HR leaders and business owners real time visibility into how their people are really feeling.

The product was strong, but the problem was the ask. Approaching HR leaders cold and asking them to consider a new platform was difficult because nobody wants to be the person who switched to a new system. With no case studies, no established client base, and a platform that had only launched weeks before the campaign began, getting traction meant finding a smarter way in.

Harper identified that the standard demo request CTA wasn’t going to cut through with a brand new platform in a crowded space. The campaign needed a lower friction entry point, something easy for a prospect to say yes to, and a genuine incentive to try something unfamiliar:

• Reframing the ask: Rather than asking HR leaders to evaluate a new platform, messaging invited them to trial it instead, completely free, no commitment, no card details required, removing the perceived risk of engaging with an unknown brand.
• Adding a tangible incentive: A £100 gift voucher offer for HR leaders who tested the platform and shared feedback gave prospects a concrete, immediate reason to say yes, turning a cold outreach into something that felt like a fair exchange.
• Targeting the right people: Outreach focused on Heads of People, HR Managers, People Ops leads and Founders at UK businesses with 20-100 employees, agencies, tech companies and people-led service businesses most likely to feel the pain of unrecognised, disengaged teams.
• Leading with the human cost: Messaging anchored around the real business impact of poor recognition (staff quietly disengaging, culture decline, and replacement costs averaging £29,400 per employee), making the problem feel urgent before introducing the solution.

Harper designed two parallel outreach routes, one targeting HR and People leads, one targeting business owners, each with messaging tailored to their specific concerns. For HR leaders, the focus was on making recognition visible and measurable. For founders and MDs, it was about retention, culture and the cost of losing good people.

The free trial and £100 voucher offer did the heavy lifting as a lead magnet, replacing the usual cold pitch with something prospects could immediately see the value in. Harper handled prospecting, list building and outreach execution across both email and LinkedIn, freeing the Qolabi team to focus on onboarding trialists and converting them into paying customers.

The pivot to a trial-led offer with an incentive unlocked a consistent flow of engaged responses from exactly the right decision-makers. The campaign generated 50+ interested responses, 4 demos booked, and a growing pipeline of HR leaders and business owners actively exploring the platform. Qolabi’s standout opportunities came from businesses such as Citizens Advice, Esco and Bodyswaps.

By rethinking the entry point and building an offer that removed the risk of trying something new, Harper gave Qolabi the pipeline its product deserved.