When we heard that Google was going to be taking over a food truck in Austin, Texas to promote their new photo app, we thought it sounded like a pretty lame event. They called it #PayWithAPhoto and the deal was: anyone who downloaded their app would receive a free cupcake. We wanted to upstage their event and deliver a whole lot more happiness. So, we flew to Texas, put a #PayWithACupcake box right next to their truck, and in exchange for those Google cupcakes, we gave people exciting items from Zappos.com like headphones, watches, sunglasses, and backpacks.

If we did the stunt right, we knew we could not only steal the attention of Google’s local audience, but also attract worldwide media attention and stir a bigger social conversation.

Total budget = less than $20,000 U.S.

In the summer of 2015, we saw Google tweet about taking over a food truck in Austin, Texas, so we packed our bags and caught the next flight out. Unfortunately, Google didn’t divulge where exactly in Austin they’d be serving their cupcakes until 12 hours before the event. So, we had to be nimble and assemble our mystery box in a van. As soon as we heard where their truck was going to be we unveiled our box and filmed the stunt. The video was initially shared through Zappos’ social channels, but news of the #PayWithACupcake stunt spread around the world almost immediately.

For a total budget of less than $20,000 U.S. we were able to travel to Austin, Texas, conduct this stunt, film it, edit it, and share it across Zappos’ social channels. Without paying for any additional media or PR support, news of the stunt spread around the world through organic coverage in publications like Forbes, CampaignUK, AdWeek, AdAge, and Creativity, and from there spread to mainstream media sources. We got over 29,000,000+ impressions, and on top of it all, a bunch of tasty cupcakes. Everyone involved was happier, even Google tweeted a friendly “you got us” message to Zappos.

#PayWithACupcake is one of the truest examples of one-to-one direct marketing. Our mystery box caught passersby completely off guard, made them want to go out of their way to interact with the Zappos brand, and then share the experience with others around the world.

The Zappos brand rarely runs traditional ads. Instead, they attempt to stay top of mind with a variety of social media activations throughout the year. And while other brands with similar strategies focus on the biggest cultural or calendar year events, we like to push off of more unique opportunities. This was one of those timely, low-budget one-offs.

The goal of this stunt was to heap as much attention as possible onto the Zappos.com brand by bringing to life their commitment to always delivering happiness. And we had to do it all on a very small budget.