HOW GENERATIVE TURNED 50 AI LEADERS INTO LEADS
Generative is a fast-growing recruitment company specialising in AI and engineering talent. Backed by private equity and focused on rapid growth, they needed a way to break into PE-backed AI companies and build trust with senior decision-makers, quickly.
THE CHALLENGE
To win new business with high-growth AI companies across the UK, Generative needed to connect with the people who matter most, the technical founders.But there were barriers:
- The AI market is crowded, competitive, and skeptical of recruiters.
- Traditional BD efforts weren’t landing with technical leaders.
- They needed to earn attention and stand out, without resorting to direct sales tactics.
THE STRATEGY
Build a campaign they’d actually want to be part of.Instead of telling people why Generative was different, we decided to show it by spotlighting their target audience in a campaign they would want to engage with.
Thus, the Top 50 Faces of AI 2025 campaign was born: an Account-Based Marketing initiative designed to showcase the technical founders behind the firms.
THE EXECUTION
STEP 1
BUILD THE RIGHT LIST
Using Clay (an automation tool for building enriched prospect lists) we built a dataset of 200+ companies in the AI space, including:
- Role titles
- Open source contributions
- LinkedIn activity
- Technical credibility
From this, we curated a Top 50 based on influence and relevance.
STEP 2
LAUNCH THE CAMPAIGN
Each leader was featured in a custom-designed digital spotlight, shared via LinkedIn and email.
The content was editorial in tone, celebrating their innovation and contributions to the AI field, making them feel recognised, not sold to. Every profile linked to a tailored campaign page, offering high-value content they were likely to engage with.
STEP 3
DEEPEN THE CONNECTION
As engagement began, we took the next step:
- Interview requests to dive deeper into each leader’s AI and startup journey
- Extended features and social content based on these interviews.
- On-site photography at selected companies to build further rapport.
This wasn’t just outreach, it was a conversation starter. And it worked.
THE RESULTS
ENGAGEMENT
- 46% of spotlighted founders engaged with the campaign on LinkedIn.
- LinkedIn engagement rate increased 197% in the four weeks following launch.
- Campaign email open rate: 80.8%
- Downloads from AWS & McKinsey employees.
COMMERCIAL IMPACT
- 3 new clients signed off the back of the campaign
- A repeatable ABM playbook for future campaigns
- Strong brand awareness and goodwill among Tier 1 AI accounts
- Several more in advanced conversations
THE TAKEAWAY
You don’t win the attention of CTOs by selling to them.
You win it by seeing them, celebrating them, and creating content that cuts through. This campaign showed how recruitment firms can behave more like media brands, generating leads by focusing on relevance and authenticity, not volume.