Deadbolt Escape Rooms was founded in 2016 by brothers Jason and Shawn Brannon in Tupelo, MS. In 2018, they launched The Deadbolt Mystery Society, a murder mystery game subscription service blending escape room puzzles with crime show investigations, reaching a global audience.
After the COVID-19 pandemic closed Deadbolt Escape Rooms in 2020, the brothers focused solely on The Deadbolt Mystery Society. The company has since produced over 100 mysteries, books, and a podcast, The Warwick Recordings. Their work has been featured by Amazon Studios, Buzzfeed, USA TODAY, CNN, Yahoo, AOL, and The New York Times.
In 2024, The Warwick Recordings became the #1 Fiction podcast on Spotify in Great Britain and climbed the charts on Apple Podcasts in the United States, reaching the Top 5 in Drama and Top 12 in Fiction.
- People reached
- 280k
- Impressions
- 420k
- UGC pieces
- 240+
Niche
Other
The Challenge
The business faced significant difficulties in generating user-generated content (UGC) from their customers. Despite various efforts, they struggled to encourage customers to create and share content. This challenge was highlighted during coaching sessions with business coach Heidi Cortez, who recommended Social Cat as a solution.
"We were having a very tough time getting our customers to provide us with user-generated content. That's the main reason why she directed me toward the platform."
The Solution
The primary goal for the business was to generate high-quality User-Generated Content (UGC) from micro-influencers.
"The primary objective is simply to get content from people who are creating content so that we can use that with our brand."
While their customers did provide content, the quality wasn't sufficient for building a strong brand presence. By working with micro-influencers through Social Cat, they were able to obtain professional-grade content that better represented their brand.
An added benefit was the increased exposure and market reach achieved through the influencers' posts, which helped drive new markets back to the brand.
"Obviously, when they post the content on their platforms, that's to drive different markets back to us. I guess that's a secondary bonus for us."
Social Cat enabled them to meet their primary objective of obtaining high-quality UGC while also boosting brand awareness and expanding their market reach.
The Results
- Collaborations completed
- 72
- Avg followers per influencer
- 11.7k
- People reached
- 280k
- Total cost
- $3131
- Social Cat fee
- $2409
- Influencers cost
- $150
- Pieces of UGC
- 240+
- COGS
- $572
- CPM
- $5.73
Would you like to get started with influencer marketing? Start a free trial with Social Cat and collaborate with micro-influencers to get sales, brand awareness and user-generated content.
Comparison with other Influencer Marketing platforms
For this comparison, we'll have a look at three different platforms: Upfluence, Insense, and Grin.
For an accurate comparison, we must have an understanding of the following:
- Platform Fees - We're comparing entry-level plans for each platform.
- Upfluence - $700/mo (starting price)
- Insense - $450/mo (billed quarterly)
- Grin - $999/mo
Comparison with Upfluence
Upfluence bills more than $20000 for its services for the same period of time.
- Platform fees - $11900
- Influencer fees - $7200
- Content licensing fees - $1800
- Total cost = $20900
Social Cat
Upfluence
Comparison with Insense
- Platform fees - $7650
- Influencer fees - $7200
- Content licensing fees - $1800
- Total cost = $16650
This is the total cost of the campaigns if Deadbolt decided to work with Insense in this specific comparison. One aspect to take into consideration is that Insense bills quarterly, and there's no cancel-anytime policy in place.
Social Cat
Insense
Comparison with Grin
GRIN is another popular Influencer Marketing software, and the above is a breakdown of the costs of working with this platform compared with Social Cat. The comparison is made on the same length and same types of influencers.
- Platform fees - $16983
- Influencer fees - $7200
- Content licensing fees - $1800
- Total cost = $25983
GRIN doesn't do gifted collaborations for a more accurate comparison. Even if we compare with Social Cat from the paid collaborations perspective, Social Cat still ends up more affordable due to its accessible pricing: almost ten times more affordable than GRIN and due to its content licensing feature.
Social Cat
Grin
Final notes
In summary, here are the main key points highlighting why Social Cat is the best option:
Campaign execution and adjustments: Over nearly a year on Social Cat, the user ran a continuous campaign, adjusting it slightly during peak seasons like Black Friday. The consistent goal was to maintain a steady flow of quality content.
Content volume and creator engagement: The user received content from 75% of the 20 monthly participants, resulting in approximately 30 pieces of content per month. The content included various formats like reels and pictures, contributing significantly to their marketing materials.
Impact on marketing strategy: Utilizing the UGC for paid advertising on platforms like Facebook and Instagram revealed mixed results. Successful reels were repurposed for ads, but some content needed to be discontinued due to unexpected audience reactions.
Creator alignment and flexibility: While most creators were not directly aligned with the entertainment or gaming industry, the quality of the content was prioritized over market alignment. The user valued the good content produced, regardless of the creators' niches.
Ease of use and recommendation: Social Cat's ease of use was a significant advantage, simplifying the user's workload in managing socials and running the company. The user highly recommended the platform for its effectiveness and simplicity, particularly for business owners needing hassle-free content solutions.
Would you like to get started with influencer marketing? Start a free trial with Social Cat and collaborate with micro-influencers to get sales, brand awareness and user-generated content.
