MARYSSA ANNE TATTOO
advertisting case study.
Executing a marketing strategy that remains as permanent as a tattoo
Quick links to view my design solutions in action:
The global tattoo market was valued at $2.03 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $4.83 billion by 2032.
The UK tattoo industry was valued at £622.3 million in 2023, and the market size increased by 16.5% that year.
Question is, how does one tattoo artist fit into all of this?
With 85% of individuals finding tattoo art inspiration through Instagram, it was clear that this should be the priority marketing channel.
I filmed, produced and managed the delivery of over 30 pieces of valuable and engaging content, growing their Instagram page to an audience of over 7,000 followers.
Initial growth
To maximise the reach and engagement from the get go, I set out an organic posting schedule including daily posts and engagement. To implement the schedule, I directed, filmed and edited video content for reels along with pixel-perfect portfolio images of Maryssa’s tattoo art. I also used Asana as a CMS for team collaboration, in order to store and create a flow system of content ideas, see reviewed content and carry out performance analysis of posts.
A collaboration campaign was introduced with an established tattoo artist from Massachusetts, in order to increase exposure and endorsement. To maximise reach for this collaboration, I set up a paid advertisting campaign using Meta and set a micro location of 50 miles in order to concentrate and target the surrounding area of the tattoo studio.
I also set up further paid advertisting campaigns to reach new clientle for upcoming tattoo conventions, such as one in Miami. Again, I created a targeted micro location so that the video ads were focused on the surrounding area of the tattoo convention venue. The following video ads ran side by side under the same campaign and ad set in Meta, to test optimal visuals – the first including Maryssa with a subtle hint as to ‘why to get a tattoo’ and the second featuring a hook and displaying more infomation.
Through mixing the video adverts with images and client reviews, the above paid social ads had a reach of over 20,000 accounts for less then $50. Using a 50 mile surrounding radius of the Miami Tattoo Convention, this campaign created 23 enquiries for bookings and resulted in Maryssa being fully booked for all three days at this convention.
Furthermore, all leads through these paid ads were also converted into email subscribers.
THINK BEFORE GETTING INKED
There are not many other long-lasting decisions like getting inked!
This meant it was essential that all visuals, design content and messaging helped build both client confidence and trust to book with Maryssa. Therefore, I introduced client interviews to not only break-up the portfolio style posts but also create a more authentic insight into the tattooing process and the client’s experience. Below are two examples of interviews which I conducted and produced within the tattoo studio.
Coupled with the relevent media content, I provided strategic content pillars to introduce captions with more personality and story telling, in order to not only be engaging but to also build confidence and trust.
Example content pillars:
Tattoo Process: Share the journey from design concept to the final tattoo
Inspiration and Artistic Process: Post about what inspires the artist—dreams, abstract concepts, or art history—and how those inspirations influence their work.
Client Stories: Feature client testimonials and their personal connection to the surrealist tattoo they chose.
Building authenticity
& A seamless booking
As soon as the top-level marketing channels were in effect, I designed and developed Maryssa’s website which included a detailed booking form to provide an efficient booking process and capture essential information for the artist.
With Maryssa attending international conventions and guest spots around the world, I embedded this interactive map within the website to display where and when Maryssa will travelling to.
NUTURING EXISTING CLIENTS
A threat to any tattoo artist is a late cancellation.
However, I saw this as an opportunity to create a exclusive list of existing clients and make them feel like a VIP. I set up a sign-up form using a ‘waitlist’ tag on the email CRM for clients to receive an email notification for when a last minute tattoo appointment opens up.
I set up an email template which can be easily edited and sent to the segmented audience, to provide an exclusive awareness of appointments with Maryssa.
