Official Hank: King of the Campaign
We’re always telling people that running a Kickstarter project is like running a campaign. You can’t just throw up a project and wait for money to rain on you. It takes work, dedication, and a whole lot of spreading the word.
If there’s anyone who can attest to the effort, it’s Official Hank. He’s been running an astounding PR effort with the help of partner Clayton Whitman for the past two months to raise funds for the Official Hank billboard dance chart campaign (5 days left!). He’s done everything from press releases and news write-ups to fundraising parties and thank-you videos. Not to mention “pledge menus” — sleek printed lists of his reward tiers created specially for his parties!
On top of all that, when he didn’t quite make his goal the first time around, he didn’t skip a beat. He went right back into a second project with a new mission and a new goal and kept the momentum going. Good for him.
Check out some relics of Hank’s campaign marathon below. The ingenuity might surprise you, and his drive will definitely inspire.
Thank-you videos
On October 12 Hank promised a special treat to any backer that pledged that day: a shout-out in a thank-you video. That brought in nine new pledgers. He spent the whole day in New York’s Times Square shooting video clips every time a new backer notification popped into his inbox. And that wasn’t the first one. On his first project, he was shooting thank-yous from the top of a roller coaster in Coney Island!
Bistro fundraising parties
He held not one but two fundraising soirees, where he performed his music and encouraged people to support his project. He even supplied pledge forms so that anyone who wasn’t computer savvy could simply fill out all the necessary info and he’d create accounts and make the pledge on their behalf. Lots of work, but it payed off big time.
Pledge menus
Care for an advanced download of Hank’s EP with that martini? Yes, please!
Hometown events
Hank reached out to press in his hometown of Norwood, Massachusetts, and got this nice write-up. He also set up a joint fundraising event at a local restaurant that raised $600 total, half of which went straight to his project.
Fliers, cards, and more
And of course, giving people an easy way to remember and link to your project is always a smart idea.
Putting himself out there
As any dedicated pop artist should, Hank’s been rocking red carpets all over town, putting on shows, and meeting industry insiders (like Christina Aguilera below!). He says he wants to get his song “Feel Good” out there so people have something fun to let go to: to forget about life for a second and escape into happy pop goodness. Go ahead and listen to the track on his website, and don’t be afraid to bust a move.
If you’d like to get in on the fun, you can support the project here.
