1st Formations
A street interview campaign that asked people what was stopping them, then made their answer the ad.
Video ads for one of the UK’s company formation agents, filmed on the streets of Shoreditch. The campaign was called What’s Stopping You, and it let the people who might start a business do the selling.
Figures from 1st Formations’ own ad account, first nine days from launch on 7 January 2026 unless stated. We made the films; 1st Formations ran the media.
The brief
Start with the question people already ask themselves.
In late 2025, 1st Formations wanted video ads that would get more people to register a company. Someone thinking about starting a business has a bigger question on their mind than which formation agent to use: can I actually do this? The ads needed to open on that question and close with 1st Formations as the easy first step.
The idea
What’s Stopping You.
In December 2025 a presenter took to the streets of Shoreditch and asked passers-by what starting a business feels like, and whether they knew the first step. Most didn’t. Then she told them a company could do the paperwork for less than a cup of coffee, and we filmed what happened next.
The hero film
One film, built like a sales conversation.
The hero runs 61 seconds and walks the viewer through seven steps, each one earning the next. It opens on their feelings, confirms the doubt, offers the answer, and only then names the brand. Play it with the sound on.
0:00 · Step 1“Starting a business can be…?” The street answers: exciting, difficult, scary.
0:08 · Step 2The presenter sets the scene: out in London, finding out what would help people take the next step.
0:19 · Step 3Asked what the first step is, people admit they have no idea. The viewer sees their own doubt on screen.
0:22 · Step 4“A company that could do the paperwork for you for less than a cup of coffee. How does that sound?”
0:32 · Step 5The brand arrives only once the answer is wanted: it’s called 1st Formations.
0:45 · Step 620,000 five-star reviews, said to camera in the street.
0:53 · Step 7“Focus on your business - we’ll handle the formation.” Register today.
For the feed
Three shorter cuts from the same day.
The same footage, cut to 28, 36 and 41 seconds for placements that favour shorter ads. Every film was delivered in 16:9, 9:16, 4:5 and 1:1, 16 files in all.
Every screen
The same films, made for phones and feeds.
Alongside widescreen, every film was delivered in vertical, portrait and square, so each placement ran a version made for its screen.
The result
The film built like a conversation converted best.
The campaign went live on 7 January 2026. In its first nine days, the hero had the lowest cost per conversion of the 8 video ads running in the account: £49.48, half the £98.96 account average. Among people who had already visited the site it came in at £24. In week two, 1st Formations raised spend by 90% and conversions doubled with it.
What came next
The numbers set the structure for the next films.
Two weeks in, we went through the account data with 1st Formations to see why the hero converted and the shorter cuts lagged. The answer was the sequence: start with the viewer, confirm the problem, then give the answer and the proof. That structure shaped the founder films we shot at LSE in February 2026, and the second programme 1st Formations signed in May: product films, animation and a static ad system.
What it proves
People act on an ad that starts with their doubt and ends with the answer.
Where does your brand sit against the business?
Every engagement starts with the Brand Alignment Diagnostic, a fixed first step that scores your brand against the business and shows what to fix first.