Seeding kits sent
Hand-packed with a one-page brief and a clear disclosure line.
Beauty & wellness · Creator partnership
Forty creators, one barrier cream, zero scripts
A seeding program that asked estheticians and everyday creators to film a single honest week with one product, then put the best clips to work as ads.
-38%cost per purchase vs studio adssample figure
3.1Mcombined creator reachsample figure
$0.19cost per engagementsample figure
67%of creators postedsample figure
The brief
Where it started.
Lumen & Oat makes a small range of barrier-repair skincare and sells direct. Paid social was carrying the business, and ad costs had climbed for three quarters in a row. The studio-shot creative looked beautiful and felt like every other skincare ad.
The team wanted proof from real people, and content they could legally use in paid placements.
The idea
“Seven days, no filter, no script.”
We sent the barrier cream to sixty creators with a one-page brief: use it for a week, film what happens, say what you really think. We paid a flat fee for the content and agreed ad usage up front.
Forty posted. We tagged every clip by hook and skin concern, then tested the strongest openings as ads against the studio creative.
What we made
The work, by the numbers.
Creator videos
Every one contracted with twelve months of paid usage.
Ad cutdowns
Creator clips recut with three hooks each for testing.
Long-term partners
Creators kept on monthly retainers after the pilot.
Results
What changed, in two charts.
Hover or focus a point for exact values, or switch any chart to its table.
$23
down from $41 in week one
- Creator ads
- Studio ads
| Period | Creator ads | Studio ads |
|---|---|---|
| W1 | $41 | $40 |
| W2 | $39 | $41 |
| W3 | $36 | $39 |
| W4 | $33 | $40 |
| W5 | $31 | $38 |
| W6 | $30 | $39 |
| W7 | $27 | $38 |
| W8 | $28 | $37 |
| W9 | $26 | $38 |
| W10 | $25 | $37 |
| W11 | $24 | $38 |
| W12 | $23 | $37 |
1,500
purchases attributed in 12 weeks
| Period | Purchases by hook style |
|---|---|
| Routine | 412 |
| Before/after | 388 |
| Texture | 295 |
| Review | 241 |
| Myth | 164 |
Sample figures for a fictional client. They illustrate how we report, and are not real results or a promise of performance.
Timeline
How 4 months played out.
- Weeks 1 to 2Sourcing, vetting and contracts for sixty creators
- Weeks 3 to 5Kits sent, content filmed, approvals
- Weeks 6 to 9Organic posts live, first ad tests
- Weeks 10 to 16Scaling winners, six creators retained
The ads that work now are forty seconds of someone in a bathroom telling the truth. Paper Plane found the people and did the paperwork.
Have a brief like this?
Send a short brief. A producer replies within one business day with times for a 45-minute creative call.