5,000

5,000 BE KIND boxes were sold with 20,000+ fans joining the waiting list.

• Research 360

• Branding & Design

• Product Curation

• Website Development

• Fulfillment & Shipping

• Customer Support

• Thought Partnership

• Project Management

And we partnered with the best in the business.

Element 5 Digital
My Subscription Addiction
Paige Kookier
STEP Central
SUBTA Consulting

Our Insight

Ellen as a person and brand has always been about kindness and giving back.

Going back to her stand-up comedy days, Ellen’s personality had always been driven by one belief: be funny, but never at someone else’s expense. We’ve always been impressed by Ellen’s unwavering kindness, compassion for everyone, and generosity. This was the inspiration behind the BE KIND. by ellen box

The Solution

The BE KIND. by ellen box is the first subscription box to combine a celebrity brand, anchored in kindness and positivity, with products and causes which reflect that philosophy.

01.

Asking the Right Questions.

The business objectives were clear; however, the box theme and product curation strategy were not. Our first task was identifying viable box themes and calibrating prospect interest profiles. We listened to over 800 people through the survey research and conducted multiple design options, which collectively led the team to creating a new product and brand extension that felt truly “Ellen.” The result – BE KIND. by ellen.

02.

Collaboration was key.

We are three time zones away from Ellen’s team, so weekly calls and check-ins were key to making the project a success. From there we employed a rigorous attention to detail, using a cloud-based project management tool to provide on-demand updates. In-person sessions added to the discussion intensity whenever needed. Clear and consistent communication helped us build and maintain trust throughout the project.

03.

Brand honesty guided the creative tone.

Every aspect of the box experience was accounted for. From the “microcopy" we wrote for interactive web buttons ("Let’s be friends” instead of the lifeless “Submit”) and the modern booklet layout — to the box packaging and the charming gorilla sticker used to secure the interior wrapping paper.

Clear, personal and socially conscious drove every design execution, even the error messages felt like Ellen was speaking to you.

04.

Delivering a box worthy of Ellen.

With no experience managing the operations, the Ellen Team was glad to leave this to our team. Fulfillment, inventory management and shipping of each BE KIND box with a total of 17 individual elements, were packaged with TLC from start to finish resulting in an unboxing experience celebrated by customers.

Our customer care team personally answered over 500 customer tickets to ensure a high touch experience.

A bonus: we worked with STEP Services, which helps people with disabilities find employment. #evenmoregood.

05.

Contingency Planning.

We knew the box would sell out (just not so quickly!). We pre-programmed the landing page to switch automatically, based on stock. As soon as the number of boxes hit zero, the website changed messaging to reflect the stock status and inviting visitors to sign up to keep in touch. The purchase form also switched to instead capture names and email addresses. This allowed us to notify fans of upcoming availability or future boxes.

06.

Naturally, people started talking. A lot. 3.7M social views.
We care about the customer experience, so our social listening was in full-on mode. We watched the experiences ripple out into the real world as people shared their box joy with friends, family and yep, the 4-legged furry ones too.