Hulu Sellouts leveraged the social following of NBA All-Stars to create an influencer campaign you can’t call bullshit on.

By creating custom social posts, branded stunts, and TV for Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, we were able to engage with their millions of fans in a truly authentic way. Their influence amplified our key message (Hulu has live sports), and the campaign’s transparency made the athletes even more likeable.

Because we tailored how each athlete sold out to their unique personality, engagement shot through the roof as fans pushed the conversation forward with every like, comment and share.

Hulu Sellouts is an influencer campaign you can’t call bullshit on. Long story short, we had six NBA All-Stars tell the world that Hulu paid them a lot of money to say “Hulu has live sports.”

Here’s the thing about influencer marketing: it’s just a bunch of people trying to hide the fact they’re getting paid to sell stuff. It’s faker than fake, and while every influencer does it, every follower sees right through it, and no brand had yet to figure out a solution.

So we thought: why not just be honest? Why not just have our influencers own the fact they’re getting paid a lot of money to say “Hulu has live sports”?

Hulu Sellouts lived first and foremost on social. We created unique stories for each athlete that messed with culture by hijacking their existing narrative. They followed this general cadence: a culturally-disruptive teaser post, the Hulu Sellout reveal, a big moment broadcast launch, and then more content for the athletes to continue the conversation.

For example, leading up to NBA All-Star Weekend, Damian Lillard shared a selfie video where he teased a new, sponsored tattoo. After the internet ran wild with theories, he Instagrammed his Hulu contract the day of the All-Star Game, which coincided with the debut of his TV commercial. Many posts later, Damian wore Hulu Has Live Sports shoes during a high-profile playoff game.

Joel Embiid’s rollout followed the same structure, launching in early February and running until April. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s campaign debuted in late March and ran through the NBA playoffs.

Hulu Sellouts had a huge impact on reach and engagement, earning almost 2.4 million organic social engagements. The campaign delivered 59 million earned media impressions in its first six weeks alone. On YouTube, “Damian Lillard’s ‘Hulu Has Live Sports’ Tattoo” has been viewed over 19 million times (and counting). Hulu Sellouts’ celebrity engagements were highlighted by TheFatJewish and NBA TNT Studio Host Ernie Johnson, as well as the dozens of fans who changed their profile names to include “Hulu has live sports.”

The campaign resulted in double year over year growth in subscribers who enrolled to watch the NBA. Furthermore, 30% of all Live TV subscribers during the time frame enrolled for the NBA. For comparison, that was a 15% year over year lift.