a single source, nothing corroborates it

Send creators a gift built for one person

Watch a great deal of the format first to learn what actually earns a reaction, then find a ritual creators already perform on a schedule and make something that slots into it. The item has to reference that one recipient's own history and the people they admire so it cannot read as a mailing, arrive handmade rather than polished, and be designed for the still image that will sell the video. Send to a batch and treat it as a hit rate.

The method

1. 01

   Make the gift specific to that one recipient by referencing their own history and the people they admire, so it cannot read as a mass mailing.

2. 02

   Present yourself as an individual fan rather than a business: handwritten notes and scrappy, personal wrapping beat formal letters and slick packaging.

3. 03

   Send to a batch of creators rather than betting on one, and treat it as a hit-rate exercise.

4. 04

   Watch a lot of the format before you spend anything, so you learn what actually earns a reaction on camera.

5. 05

   Design the item for the still image the creator will use to sell the video, since that is the currency of the platform - the equivalent of writing for the headline in print.

What it returned

• 20%

  Ten creators were picked, ten custom canvases printed and posted to PO boxes worldwide; two were opened on camera, a 20% strike rate.

• The canvas prepared for Casey Neistat carried a tweet from Spike Jonze, his hero, praising his vlog, and the accompanying letter named the specific videos that had influenced the sender.

• While other companies sent polished parcels with formal letters, they used glitter, cards, bubblewrap, Christmas paper and letters written by hand.

• The pair binge-watched parcel-opening videos in preparation and concluded that real fan post drew a far warmer response than anything sent by a company.

Sources

• Reaching 3.7 million people posting canvases to YouTubersHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Why it worked · undated