Slick City was already a successful brand in the US. Their challenge was to export their concept – amusement parks centred around high-octane slides – to a UK market that had never seen anything quite like it. 

This carried risks alongside it. There was no guarantee that the brand, tone of voice and audience which had experienced growth in the US would resonate with a British audience.  

From a blank slate, we would have to build anticipation and get everyone talking ahead of the launch, giving audiences across the Midlands (and beyond) a reason to book. 

We quickly identified the key audiences whose attention we would need to harness, before a single pound was spent. Through structured demographic analysis and platform data, we identified two high-value segments for paid social: parents aged 32-45 with primary or pre-teen children, and thrill-seekers – teenagers aged 13-19 with an affinity for action sports, alongside their 45–60-year-old parents who often held the purchasing power. 

Each segment would require distinct creative and messaging strategies, ensuring relevance at every touchpoint rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. 

We recognised the opportunity to pair this with influencer identification through Infludata, utilising platform insight to select partners whose audiences mapped directly to these demographics. In other words, we made it a priority to obtain measurable conversions rather than vanity metrics.

In the run-up to launch in Nottingham, we engineered anticipation rather than just building awareness. Countdown stickers, 'guess the name of the slide' prompts and a sustained push on birthday party bookings kept the audience primed to act, turning followers into day-one visitors before the doors even opened. 

Content was platform-native from the start. High-quality videographer footage from existing US venues performed strongly on Instagram, while behind-the-scenes material was shot specifically for TikTok's faster, more instinctive content culture. We also advised Slick City on out-of-home placement, selecting the NET tram line to put the brand in front of the widest concentration of students and families across Nottingham. 

Once the park opened, UGC flooded in from influencers and day-one visitors alike. A dedicated TikTok repost page surfaced the strongest content, and the organic momentum spoke for itself, with several videos surpassing one million views without paid support. 

The numbers reflect a campaign that genuinely excited people: 

• Instagram grew from zero to 22k+followers – more than six times our original target and more than the original and well-established US account
• TikTok crossed the 12k follower mark
• 32.8k likes ok TikTok
• In a single month: 1.2m organic Instagram impressions, 366,000 reach on the pinned pre-launch TikTok post, and individual videos consistently clearing 20k views 

But the real measure of success sits beyond the metrics. Sessions sold out, footfall exceeded expectations and Slick City has firmly established itself as a must-book birthday party destination, in Nottingham and around the country. 

The real measure of success sits beyond social media reach alone. Most crucially, the remarkable reach of the social campaign has achieved tangible and significant business impact. During March alone, Slick City Nottingham received:

For a brand launching cold in a new market, with no existing local audience to start from, our social campaign has done exactly what it was asked to do.

Having a wide reach and building an audience is only a part of the equation – Cartwright's social media team is serious about turning engagement into measurable commercial results. Talk to us today to find out what that looks like for your business.