{"id":990,"date":"2017-07-05T18:25:45","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T22:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog2wrkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/mailchimp-created-weirdest-ad-campaign\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T06:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T10:36:25","slug":"mailchimp-created-weirdest-ad-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/mailchimp-created-weirdest-ad-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"How MailChimp And Droga5 Created The Year\u2019s Weirdest Ad Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"\nIn the past 8 years, MailChimp<\/a>, an email automation platform, has gone from SMB darling to mainstream royalty. How? By creating the year\u2019s weirdest campaign: \u201cDid You Mean MailChimp?\u201d MailChimp\u2019s first major marketing campaign blended the brand\u2019s quirky identity with a series of cultural activations spanning film, music, and fashion. At Northside Festival 2017, Mark DiCristina (MailChimp\u2018s Senior Brand Marketing Director) and Julian Cheever, (Droga5\u2019s Executive Group Director) discuss the conceptualization and execution of this unconventional campaign and how they allow entrepreneurs to \u201cgrow without compromise.\u201d\n

Breaking the rules of storytelling<\/h3>\nTo get noticed, sometimes you have to break some rules; MailChimp did just that with their campaign narrative. But before they could break rules, the company had to understand its brand identity and the channels that best capture its vision. Eight years of rapid growth (and sponsorship of popular podcasts like NPR\u2019s Seria<\/i>l) had already resulted in a cult following, so MailChimp understood its existing customer base, but they wanted to push further, reaching a wider audience. \u201cWe wanted to make it feel like MailChimp, but also go into uncharted territory,\u201d says DiCristina.\n\nThe result ended up being very unique and very<\/i> MailChimp. MailChimp launched a series of new \u201cproducts:\u201d FailChips<\/i><\/a>, a line of potato chips made of chip crumbs; MaleCrimp<\/a>, <\/i>an outrageous fashion trend which made its way to New York Fashion Week; VeilHymn<\/a>, <\/i>a musical collaboration between Dev Hynes and Bryndon Cook; three artistic short films (JailBlimp<\/i><\/a>, KaleLimp<\/a>, <\/i>and MailShrimp<\/em><\/a>); and a few web experiences like NailChamp <\/i><\/a>and WhaleSynth<\/a><\/i>. Straddling a fine line between artsy and downright absurd, these ads served as tools to articulate definitive qualities of the MailChimp brand and voice. Despite spanning a wide range of visuals, the \u201cproducts\u201d all bore one thing in common: their names all sounded like \u201cMailChimp.\u201d Keener observers might even spot Freddie, MailChimp\u2019s logo and mascot, lurking in an inconspicuous corner.\n\n\n\nRecounting the projects, DiCristina explains that the campaign was innovative from an internal perspective, as well. \u201c[With FailChips], I never expected to work at a software company that made a tangible product.\u201d The campaign made clear that MailChimp thrives on experimentation and doesn\u2019t take itself too seriously. \u201c[With MaleCrimp], we wanted to see what would happen if we not only started a product, but a trend, and see how people would react,\u201d DiCristina says. \u201cThere was a nice serendipity when we spotted French Vogue models crimping their hair during men\u2019s fashion week.\u201d By targeting specific subcultures, MailChimp encouraged its audience to connect the dots and have fun\u2014even if that meant overlooking their brand presence at first glance. \u201cBeing okay with who you won\u2019t connect with is a real catalyst to great work,\u201d says DiCristina.\n

From Brand Awareness to Product Features<\/h3>\nFollowing its brand awareness campaign, MailChimp reached out to SMB owners with ads featuring a black hole. \u201cIt was inspired by the anxiety small business owners have about how to spend a small budget. MailChimp is the anti-hero who saves the day,\u201d says DiCristina. These ad spots followed a more traditional online ad campaign strategy. Though their purpose is to cater to a smaller audience and show specific capabilities of MailChimp\u2019s platform, the whimsy remains intact.\n\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/iVz3VOYCCDI<\/a>\n

Earning One Billion Impressions<\/h3>\nTo quantify their success, MailChimp measured the number of people talking about their campaign. The results were astounding: they had paid for 500 million impressions. They earned one billion\u2014twice what they\u2019d paid for. The VeilHymn single alone was streamed 1.5 million times<\/span><\/a>, while the three short films played before features in almost 300 theaters across the country.\n\nThe secret to MailChimp\u2019s success lies in its sensitivity to the needs of its customers. The brand understood that SMBs, for example, are more often strapped for time and resources, and they\u2019re generally not marketing experts. “We knew we were starting with this big message,” says DiCristina, “but we knew we were going to follow it with how the product can actually help you grow your business.” To further add value to their campaign message, MailChimp wanted to lay out how its powerful set of tools can break down complexities to make marketing feel simple and accessible. \u201cWe want to lead by example and show them that it can be done.\u201d\n\nWant more? Subscribe to our newsletter for more great content or see how you can <\/i>increase your email marketing impact\u00a0<\/i><\/a>today.<\/i>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the past 8 years, MailChimp, an email automation platform, has gone from SMB darling to mainstream royalty. How? By creating the year\u2019s weirdest campaign: \u201cDid You Mean MailChimp?\u201d MailChimp\u2019s first major marketing campaign blended the brand\u2019s quirky identity with a series of cultural activations spanning film, music, and fashion. At Northside Festival 2017, Mark […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow MailChimp And Droga5 Created The Year\u2019s Weirdest Ad Campaign - Workato<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MailChimp, an email automation platform, has gone from SMB darling to mainstream royalty. How? 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