Over the past 50 days, I found that if I FaceTimed my 11-year-old nephew in the evening, he probably wasn’t going to be interested in talking to me.
Why?
A YouTuber named Ryan Trahan was doing a 50 States in 50 Days challenge to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. There was a new video every day telling about which state they’d been, what their Air BnB was like, and how much money he and his wife Haley had raised that day. Hardly the kind of thing an aunt in Houston could compete with.
Rory is a big Ryan Trahan fan and has been watching his videos with my sister for years. Ryan Trahan is one of the few things YouTube has to offer that they could agree on.
As the series progressed, a trend appeared in the donations Ryan read out at the end of each video. They were getting increasingly … Christian.
Opportunity for generosity + creative visibility
A big chunk of the 5 million viewers for each video, and certainly a majority of the families and businesses who donated, seemed to be Christian, and Ryan and Haley began to speak more and more about their faith. These small moments were becoming a platform for faith and mission. It occurred to us that we could reach a lot of new people who might be looking for their next calling or their next leader by donating and getting a brand shoutout. 11-year-old boys weren’t the only ones watching. Their parents were, too. Plus, even if it went nowhere, we would be donating to an excellent cause.
The Vanderbloemen marketing team hit the ground running. Here’s what we learned from joining the 50 States in 50 Days Challenge:
1. Faith doesn’t have to whisper
No need to casually draw what could be (or very much might NOT be) half of an ichthus on the dirt with your sandal-clad foot to feel out a faith situation. We had the opportunity to share our mission in 150 characters, so we couldn’t afford to be subtle about it.
We came up with a message that was clear and to the point:
“We help Christian orgs find key leaders. Find yours at vanderbloemen.com/lp/50states. Jer. 29:11 Thanks to Rory for getting us hooked on this series!”
…with a mention of Rory as a show of good faith that we weren’t just jumping on the bandwagon because it seemed like a great marketing opportunity. Legit fandom brought us to the table.
Ultimately, having only 150 characters was a blessing, not a challenge. It was a great lesson in how to introduce our brand to a global audience from a tiny space. Bold witness felt much more authentic to us than watered-down branding.
2. Cultural moments can be mission moments
I never associated YouTube subscribers with “church people,” but the Gen Z revival seems to be for real. And showing up in (up until that point) unexpected spaces matters.
We were eager to be in this new space, reaching a brand new and diverse audience. And we were excited to be part of something happening now. In ministry, it’s not always easy or advisable to speak out on current events. This was a way for us to be relevant and part of something big and exciting.
3. Young audiences can smell insincerity
My nephew talks about being Christian or being “Christian.” He does the air quotes to denote the latter. Christians, in his book, love their neighbors and celebrate the Good News. “Christians” are people who claim to be Christian and then act very unchristian.
We saw with the donation messages at the end that some worked better than others. Some were sincere and some protested too much. Those sounded, as the kids say (or used to say, I have a fulltime job so I can’t keep up) ”sus.”
4. Spontaneity takes time
We decided to donate last Wednesday. The marketing team had their message solidified and my approval on everything by Thursday morning. They hit the donate button at noon.
It turns out the videos came out four days after they were filmed. Makes sense, given the editing involved in producing a new 30 minute video every day. Our donation made it just in time. We showed up on day 49 of the series, yesterday, the last day they were reading donations.
It was only because we have a dynamic and nimble marketing team that we were able to commit to this. My advice: prepare now to say yes to future cultural opportunities.
5. A good cause is a good cause, no matter what it does for your leads
As COO, I’m very budget-focused. Marketing spends and I question. That’s how it goes. Usually. But in this case, giving $5,316 to help sick kids was a no-brainer.
We can find top talent and recruit world-changing leaders. We learn about and support so many worthy missions when we help clients and churches find their next great hire. But once in a while we need to look at our own mission and take time out to live our faith, share our faith, and contribute in ways more overt than we’re used to being.
“Even though it’s a brand, there’s real human beings behind it, with generous hearts.”
That’s what Ryan said as he was reading yesterday’s donations. The 50 States in 50 Days series was a success by all accounts, raising over $11 million dollars for St. Jude. Ryan and Haley deserve to go dark for the next 50 days after that road trip.
Will our donation and shoutout lead to anything? Maybe, maybe not. We set up a landing page that’s attracted dozens of great new candidates, but it’s too soon to tell if we will gain any new clients.
But I would say yes to an opportunity like this again in a heartbeat. And I encourage more of us to do the same. Don’t sit out on cultural moments. Be part of the conversation. You can participate in this world with integrity. In a church or on YouTube, the Gospel does not need perfect conditions to be heard. Just add your voice. And when it comes to competing for the attention of your nephew, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
