To delve into the world of 3 Body Problem is to delve into the unknown. It’s a show shrouded in mystery and intrigue, keeping its viewers nail-bitingly on edge. But our issue was that it was based on a book that was a mystery of its own to most of the world, selling roughly 8 million copies—a small fraction of the audience we knew we needed to bring to the show.

We needed to generate the same mystery and intrigue that defines 3 Body Problem to bring in the ambitious audience numbers that a Netflix show can achieve. By embracing those feelings, we knew it would create the buzz needed to get a book with relatively low readership to the massive audience that Netflix has.

A sleek, reflective, almost glowing headset, wrapping around the side and top of one’s head—it’s one of the defining elements of 3 Body Problem.

Our idea was simple: generate interest for 3 Body Problem by bringing this iconic bit of hardware from the show straight to the doorstep of major influencers and the public at large. Working with an industrial designer based in Los Angeles, we developed two separate replicas. One was the simple version, essentially a highly-stylized pair of sunglasses. The other prototype was a “smart” version with built-in video, immersive audio, and the ability to stream in 4K. We also created special packaging that brought an added flare to the unboxing experience. What better way to create a groundswell of content and drive conversation around a show than by seeing people all over the internet wearing the most iconic prop from that show?

We needed to reach a broad audience to promote the release of 3 Body Problem; much broader than the limited audience of the novel from which it’s adapted.

Through our content research, we discovered that the headset was one of the most intriguing elements of the show. We saw an opportunity for it to become the visual calling card of 3 Body Problem, and to recreate some of the same awe that the show’s characters feel by getting it into the hands of real people in the real world.

We decided that the best way to roll out the headsets for maximum reach was to distribute them to key influencers. By doing this, we could flood the internet with a key prop from 3 Body Problem, while maintaining the air of mystery and intrigue that is such a fundamental aspect of the show.

The campaign started with a teaser video released January 8th on the show’s and Netflix Geeked social channels and YouTube. The video sent people on a 40 second sci-fi trip, advertising Netflix’s new, state-of-the-art headsets. With this we were able to shock people and generate the necessary buzz for the next phase of the campaign.

Starting in mid-March, we shipped 1700 headsets. The smart headsets were sent to around 100 of our VIP influencers. Some of these included entertainment influencers like Juju Green, video game developer Hideo Kojima, actors Aaron Paul and Lukas Gage, and TikTok influencer Noah Beck. Each of them posted content with the headsets to their 100M+ combined followers. To further the confusion and interest in this campaign, we put the headsets up for sale on Netflix’s shop. For those who couldn’t get hold of them we created an Instagram filter so they could try them virtually.

Breaking reality made us a breakout. The series’ trailer made it to the top 10% of all Netflix trailer launches in the last two years, with CES attendees the first people in the world to see it via our headsets.

And on top of press coverage of the trailer, the immersive experience based around the headsets also made the news, featuring in articles from Gizmodo, CNET, and more. Our headset was even named the ‘hottest gadget of CES’ by The Verge.

Our headsets became a cultural touchstone, with our iconic design being unboxed and worn by icons such as Hideo Kojima, Noah Beck, Aaron Paul, Lukas Gage, and more.

Since it was so popular, we decided to sell a limited amount of ‘simple’ headsets in the Netflix store. These sold out in a single day, and Netflix still receives emails asking when they’ll be back in stock.