Client #1 · Northumbria Marketing Society Partnership
Awesome Franks: from zero to 48 sign-ups in one Freshers Week
A small independent café, a Freshers Week deadline, and no existing digital infrastructure. Here’s the QR-to-redemption system I built, what broke along the way, and what it actually delivered.
The challenge
No website. No email list. No way to track anything.
Awesome Franks is an independent café near West Jesmond Metro Station, run by owner Alex with no in-house marketing or technical support. Ahead of Freshers Week, the business needed a way to turn one-time student foot traffic into a real, owned audience — and to run a joint promotion with Northumbria’s Marketing Society without anyone having to track redemptions by hand at the till. There was no existing website, no email system, and no way to issue or verify a discount code.
The solution
A complete QR-to-redemption system, built from scratch
- Core System
QR Signup System
One scan takes students straight to a mobile-first signup form — no app download, code delivered instantly on-screen and by email.
- Email Automation
Automated Email Collection
Every signup is captured into a domain-authenticated email list, with a full welcome → reminder → review lifecycle running unattended.
- Campaign Strategy
Freshers Week Campaign
A time-boxed free coffee-or-slushie offer, extended live mid-campaign once real data showed redemptions needed more runway.
- Partnership
Society Partnership
Co-branded with Northumbria’s Marketing Society — shared content, a joint stall presence, and cross-promotion driving both audiences at once.
Execution
What actually happened
- Presentations
Committee Pitch
Presented the campaign concept and demoed the live QR flow to the Marketing Society committee before launch.
- Freshers Stall
Live Activation
Staffed the Freshers Fair stall in person with the QR code live, converting foot traffic into sign-ups in real time.
- Social Media
Instagram Content
Produced and posted a series of branded graphics and reminders across both Awesome Franks’ and the Society’s Instagram accounts.
- Promo Shoot
Video + Interview
Produced a promotional video and ran a full sit-down interview with the café owner — watch it on the testimonials page →
Results
The numbers
- 48Sign-ups, 22 from verified Northumbria student emails
- +150Instagram followers gained (Society account, Freshers Week)
- +50New WhatsApp group members
- 9.2/10Independently-scored email deliverability
182 emails delivered, 72 unique opens (~40% open rate), 25 unique clicks (~14% click rate) — both above typical promotional-email benchmarks. Zero spam reports.
“Maruf has been working with our cafe, Awesome Frank’s to promote a partnership between ourselves & the marketing society. From start to finish, the line of communication has been clear and campaigns have been executed efficiently and on time. Maruf goes above and beyond to find resourceful ways to promote our business and find incentives for potential new customers to visit. He even helped to me (a very untechy 47 year old) get onboard with new ways of communication via social media, ai & qr code creation, which previously I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do. I would highly recommend working with Maruf and hope to work with him again in the future.”
Hear from Alex: watch her interview
Want results like this for your business?
I’m currently taking on a limited number of North East founding clients each month: £75 set-up, then £49 a month if you continue.