A Subculture Brand Hiring Out Of Its Own Subculture
Hard Jewelry sells solid steel and sterling rings, chains and body jewelry to an alternative and streetwear audience that recognises its own on sight. Generic lifestyle creators do not read as part of that world. The roster had to come from inside it, and it did.
Barriers
- Physical product, real margin, so the cost of a view has to hold up against a real order.
- An audience that spots a placement it does not believe immediately.
- Briefing and shipping product to 150 creators one at a time is a full time job on its own.
Approach
- Recruit from alt fashion, cosplay and makeup rather than general lifestyle.
- Grow the budget on results: it rose every month from February through June.
- Let the creators who perform keep going instead of rotating for the sake of it.
Results
- 58.8M views
- 5,920 videos
- 153 creators hired
- $3.55 CPM
- Six month campaign, still running
Conclusion
This is what the number looks like when a physical product sits on the other end of it. A jewelry brand pays more per thousand views than an app does, and it should, because the person watching has to want the ring. The budget went up every month for five months, which is the only endorsement that counts.
