Five Trades partner with Bigwave Marketing in 2025
Five Trades is a new local directory designed to help tradespeople stand out without competing on price or paying for leads. Each trade category is limited to just five verified businesses, and the platform combines strong online visibility with a professionally printed booklet delivered to local households.
Launching first in Exeter, the aim was to use paid media to build awareness among local tradespeople and test whether Meta ads could generate early interest in a brand-new platform.
This case study explores what we learned during that initial phase and highlights how paid media for construction and service-based industries works best when supported by trust and social proof.
The challenge
Launching paid media for a brand new construction and service-based platform comes with a clear challenge: trust does not exist yet.
Five Trades had no social following, no reviews, no case studies and no visible community of existing members. While the value proposition was strong, it was unfamiliar. Tradespeople were being asked to back a new model without seeing proof that it worked.
We sought to find out whether paid media alone can generate demand in a sector that relies heavily on reputation and word of mouth.
The Paid Media approach
We launched targeted Meta ads across Facebook and Instagram to build awareness in Exeter and surrounding areas.
The ads focused on men aged 30+ working in construction and trade services. Messaging leaned into the strongest parts of the offer: limited spaces, clear pricing, no bidding, and exposure both online and in print. The goal was to introduce the idea of Five Trades, not to hard sell.
This approach aligns with best practice for paid media in construction and service-based industries, where decision-making is slower and trust plays a bigger role than impulse.
The results
The ads did their job in one key area: they sparked interest. Tradespeople engaged with the messaging, clicked through to learn more, and responded positively to the idea of fewer competitors and transparent pricing.
Where the campaign fell short was conversion;Interest did not consistently turn into sign-ups. This wasn’t a creative or targeting issue. It was a confidence issue. Tradespeople wanted reassurance. They wanted to see who else was involved, whether the platform was active, and whether it had already delivered results for others.
This is a common challenge when running paid media for construction and service-based industries, especially for early-stage platforms. Cold traffic rarely converts without social proof.
The insights
This campaign achieved exactly what an early paid media test should. It uncovered issues, confirmed strong interest in the concept, and clarified what needed to be in place before scaling spend.
The key insight was the need to shift focus from immediate lead generation to credibility-building. This involved growing a small but authentic social presence, manually onboarding early members, and sharing real content from the trades already involved. Behind-the-scenes content, booklet previews, local testimonials, and simple user-generated content all helped to build trust.
With these foundations in place, paid media becomes far more effective. Rather than explaining the platform, ads can reinforce existing beliefs. This phased approach is particularly important in construction and service-based industries: awareness first, trust second, scale third.
For Five Trades, Meta ads will remain a key growth channel. Going forward, paid media will support an established reputation rather than trying to create one from scratch, which is where it performs best.
