We looked at what was getting attention around us, and we found a most unexpected ally: Florida Man.

Florida is famous for unusual headlines, often beginning with "Florida Man..." These headlines have become so famous, that Americans have created memes, Twitter handles, and subreddits dedicated to shaking their heads at these outrageous stories.

In the year before our campaign, there were more than 1.3 billion mentions of Florida Man, and these mentions made him famous enough to debut in his own Jeopardy category.

So instead of using non-profit stereotypes to tug on heartstrings, we leveraged the immense momentum of this pop-culture trope for our cause: We used Florida Man’s irresistible stupidity to recruit Florida men.

Sources: Sun Sentinel, Netbase Social Listening

We developed our own outrageous "Florida Man" headlines that led to stories of inspiring mentorship, repositioning the Florida Man as someone you want to be, not someone you laugh at.

For example, the headline “Florida man and enormous cobra! Epic video!!!” actually showed a Big and Little riding Busch Gardens’ Cobra’s Curse roller coaster.

Our videos showcased how fun volunteering could be with iPhone-style footage that played up the personal relationships and real moments between Bigs and Littles, distinguishing us from other staged, sappy nonprofit communications.

Next, we partnered with native media experts to target men in the area who were on sites with Florida- or Florida Man-related content.

Once completed, each YouTube video drove directly to a sign-up page on http://www.bbbstampabay.org.

Objective: Increase engagement with BBBSTB

Result: Native partners experienced video click-through rates 48% and 173% above average, and the YouTube videos’ completion rates (91%) exceeded average inventory engagement by 27%.

Objective: 5% increase in site visits and unique visitors

Result: Increased site visits by 46% and unique visitors by 53%, exceeding 2015 records.

Objective: Grow monthly Big Brother recruits by 24%

Result: Male sign ups increased by an average of 55% each month, and August 2017 was their best month on record!

While we're proud of the campaign, we're most proud of its impact: Big Brothers have been shown to improve school performance and increase drug avoidance for Littles. And now Florida Men everywhere can be known for more than run-ins with alligators.

Sources: Sharethrough, TripleLift, YouTube, Google Analytics, BBBST, Public Private Ventures research