I’ve been trying to figure out how to talk about our capabilities to potential clients, and I keep running into the same wall.
We have decent track record—Russian campaigns with solid metrics, some influencer work, a couple of smaller international projects. But when I’m pitching to a new US client, I feel like our case studies don’t quite prove what they need to see.
Like, showing a Russian DTC campaign doesn’t immediately convince a US brand that we understand their market dynamics. Different audience, different creator landscape, different buying behavior. But flipping it—if I show them a campaign we did for a US-rooted brand in Russia, at least that proves we can think cross-culturally?
Here’s where I’m really stuck: we don’t have a ton of US-based client work yet. So do I use case studies from partially comparable situations? Do I build one smaller case study specifically to have something ‘more US-relevant’? Do I focus on showing our process and methodology more than specific results?
I’m also wondering how to talk about the campaigns we did do in a way that highlights what actually matters to a new client—not just the metrics, but the reasoning behind our approach.
How are other people actually using case studies to bridge the ‘you don’t know our market’ skepticism? Is there a framework that works?
This is such a good question because case studies are how people build confidence in an unfamiliar partner.
Honestly? The strongest case studies aren’t just about metrics—they’re about insight. Like, ‘Here’s what we learned about this market that surprised us, and here’s how we used it.’
US brands don’t necessarily need you to have run 10 US campaigns. They need to see that you think about their market, that you understand cultural nuances, that you’ve overcome the specific challenges they face.
So I’d reframe your case studies this way:
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Pick a case study where you actually solved a cross-market problem. Real example: ‘We worked with a Russian brand entering EU markets. Here’s how we identified local influencers, navigated audience differences, and adjusted messaging.’
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Tell the story from the buyer’s perspective. Not ‘we did X.’ Like, ‘The client wanted authentic reach in a market they didn’t know. Here’s how we approached unknown territory.’
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Highlight your thinking, not just results. ‘We realized that direct translation wouldn’t work, so we…’ That’s where the insight lives.
When a US client reads that, they’re not thinking, ‘Do they know my market?’ They’re thinking, ‘Do they think the way I need them to think?’
Does that shift make sense?
Also—testimonials help. Real actual words from past clients about how you work, not just results. That builds credibility faster than case study metrics alone.
Let me give you the data angle here. I analyzed which case studies actually move prospects to close, and there’s a pattern.
Case studies that convert (70%+ conversion):
- Include specific market challenges and how you addressed them
- Show ROI relative to industry benchmark, not just absolute numbers
- Explain what you’d do differently if you ran it again
- Have a clear before/after on the client’s specific KPI
Case studies that don’t (20-30% conversion):
- Focus on vanity metrics (‘we reached 500K people’)
- Don’t explain reasoning
- Are generic enough to apply to any market
- Just show pretty campaign numbers
So here’s my recommendation: create hybrid case studies. Use a Russian campaign, but reframe it as ‘international market strategy’ case study. Show the analysis that went into it, the cultural considerations, the testing you did.
Then explicitly call out: ‘Here’s why this thinking transfers to a US market: [reason].’
That bridges the gap without requiring US client work.
What’s a Russian campaign where you actually learned something about how markets differ? That’s your case study fodder.
I went through this exact thing. We had solid case studies from our Russian market work, but when we pitched to Western investors and clients, I could see them mentally discount it because ‘Russia is different.’
Here’s what actually worked: I stopped leading with ‘here’s what we did for Russian clients’ and started leading with ‘here’s how we think about market expansion using [case study].’
Instead of: ‘We grew this Russian brand’s TikTok to 100K followers.’
I said: ‘Here’s a brand that entered an unfamiliar market. We identified the creator ecosystem, tested messaging with micro-influencers, then scaled. Here’s the framework we’d use for your market.’
Suddenly it wasn’t ‘irrelevant Russian case study.’ It was ‘proven process that applies here.’
Also—totally worth doing one smaller project specifically to get a ‘cross-market’ case study under your belt. Like, find a Russian brand wanting to test US TikTok, run it at a lower margin, document it obsessively, turn it into your proof point.
You don’t need 10 US clients. You need 1 good case study that shows you can think cross-market.
From a creator perspective, I love when an agency actually shows the creator relationships in their case studies. Like, not just ‘we worked with influencers,’ but ‘we have recurring relationships with creators in [niche], and here’s what we’ve built together.’
That matters to US brands because they want to know you actually know the creator space, not just that you can buy placements.
So maybe your cross-market case study emphasizes: ‘We identified emerging creators in Category X and built collaborative relationships that drove authentic results.’ That proves understanding of the creator ecosystem, which transfers across markets.
The frame is: ‘We don’t just run campaigns. We build sustainable creator relationships that produce consistent results.’ That works in any market.
Strategy question: what’s the actual sales cycle you’re seeing with US prospects?
Because that changes how you use case studies. If it’s a long sales cycle (3-4 month consideration), you can afford to go deeper into case studies and educate. If it’s fast (2-3 weeks), you need immediately credible case studies.
Also, here’s an overlooked approach: don’t just give them case studies. Give them a small audit or proposal based on their specific situation, citing your case study work as proof of capability.
Like: ‘Based on your goal to reach authentic US audiences, here’s how we’d approach this. We’ve done similar category work for [case study]. Here’s the framework we’d use for you specifically.’
That’s actually more compelling than ‘read our case study and trust us.’
What’s your typical sales process look like? Maybe that shapes which case study strategy actually fits.