#Tweetadder serial serial
#Tweetadder serial update

Given the circumstances of the resurfacing Serial, there was certainly a pause on whether people would be open to our brand participating in this moment. We delighted people and brought them back in time. We ran within pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll from 9/20-9/30.

#Tweetadder serial serial

The final media plan included 100% SOV on the new episode of Serial and the backlog of Season 1. In the afternoon, we were able to successfully swap out for the new spot.

While not ideal, we decided to temporarily launch our original spot with the 5MM customer number in the morning while we awaited the updated version. This meant missing some of the earlier listeners of the new episode. The New York Times was able to re-record a portion of the original ad with the updated customer number, but it would have to wait until the team was back in the office the following day.

This was one issue though - the spot mentions our 2014 customer number of +5MM instead of the growth we've had to +12MM. Fortunately, The New York Times was able to get a copy of the spot for our review and approval. We considered running our current audio spot for Guesswork, but we also knew that it would be a less impactful moment given the nostalgia of the 'Mailkimp' spot that so many still recognize our brand from to this day. Deadlines were tight since the new episode was dropping at midnight, and there was immediate concern since Mailchimp and New York Times were uncertain where to find the original audio file since it was produced by Serial years ago. The evening of Sept 19, we rushed to kick off conversations with the New York Times on the feasibility of airing a spot within the new episode. Within less than 24 hours, we identified, negotiated, reshot and aired our new ad read. Once we had the greenlight, our brand and media teams leapt into action to get this off the ground. How do we logistically and operationally make this happen?

#Tweetadder serial update

Our ad was 8 years old, can we update it quickly enough to reflect who we are today? Given the sensitivities of this case, is this an appropriate time to reinsert our brand? While exciting, there were a few hurdles and considerations. Would Mailchimp and its “Mailkimp” ad make its triumphant return? With the historical significance of our brand being associated with Serial, a real “real-time” marketing opportunity became available. One in particular rose up amongst the chatter. Our team continued to analyze conversation during the day. News articles were written, remixes were created, celebrities tweeted about it, and even an SNL skit was made.Ī real-time opportunity to rekindle a relationship with listeners.īy 7pm on September 19th, “Adnan Syed” and “Serial” were the #2 & #3 trending Twitter topics in the United States. Our “Mailkimp” ad took the internet by storm. Serial's team asked Mailchimp to sign on as the podcast's advertiser. Not only about the episode, but if Mailchimp would be in it.įor those unfamiliar, Serial was released in 2014.

A new episode was scheduled for release the next day and anticipation began to bubble. It had been over 8 years since an episode about this story had been released. That same day, news broke that Sarah Koenig, who led the original “Serial” podcast investigation, was at the courthouse. By September 19th, Adnan Syed was freed from prison after 23 years, his conviction vacated. On September 17th, 2022 news broke that a court hearing for Adnan Syed’s case was scheduled. Given the sensitive nature of the news driving the opportunity, could we bring a bit of nostalgia to listeners in an unexpected way? Over 8 years ago, one young girl's mispronunciation of 'chimp' as 'kimp' spawned the now famous phrase “Mailkimp.” It was during this ad recording as a result of our partnership with the podcast Serial, that a strong bond was built with listeners who came to adore our uniquely addictive opening to the show.įast forward 8 years later, an opportunity to rekindle that relationship with listeners arose.