Are you serious? Mr Rental?
Isn't there something else we can work on?
ML
Editor’s note to the editor’s note – Our social media project with the now glorious Mr Rental came to end in March 2017
We will keep this case study online to preserve the historical record, and in hope that our Deep Method Social team will return home... One day.
Editor’s note – Requests for case study on the Mr Rental Facebook page
We’ve been getting a lot of requests for a case study on the astonishing success of Mr Rental’s Facebook page.
Since we began running the page, it has grown from 3,500 to more than 70,000 likes, and whereas an old Mr Rental post would typically attract half a dozen comments and shares, current posts get hundreds or thousands. The community is so engaged that members create their own Mr Rental fan art, and routinely use Facebook’s direct messaging to send us surprisingly graphic love letters.
What is our formula for creating such a thriving online community? Other creative agencies will tell you there is no formula, that success is a mysterious combination of art, science and luck. At Liquid Interactive, we do not believe this is true. In fact, we have a defined—almost formulaic process—called BAE, which stands for Brand Audience Experimentation.
BAE means being willing to explore the brand, understand the audience, and continually experiment with content ideas until you achieve Profound Business Results (PBR). The results look different for every brand and every community.
Note that Brand Audience Experimentation is not for the faint-hearted. Both client and agency must be patient, brave and willing to abandon old ideas in the face of new data.
In fact, we have found that BAE is so challenging that it can’t be effectively implemented by standard social media teams, which is why we established a specialised team called Deep Method Social (or DMS for short).
Our Deep Method Social team work in a dedicated facility, a bunker in the weedy no-man’s land beside the railway track just behind the main Liquid Interactive studio. In this holistic space, the DMS team are able to explore the full Brand Audience Experimentation process, without being distracted by the day-to-day running of the office.
Obviously the best people to provide a detailed account of how BAE has been applied to Mr Rental are the DMS team themselves, however they have not responded to repeated requests for a draft case study.
This is not unusual; the absorbing nature of Brand Audience Experimentation means we’ll sometimes go for weeks without seeing the DMS team at all.
However, since a number of industry peers, clients and media outlets have asked repeatedly for a case study, we have pieced together a rough account from old email chains, conversations on Slack, and scraps of paper we’ve found in the recycling bin that the DMS leave outside their bunker door on Thursday afternoons.
This case study is not to be taken as an authoritative account—there are many gaps and mysteries—but hopefully it answers some of the more common questions.
Note: we have ordered email chains chronologically, for readability.
Sent: 23 November, 2013
Subject: Re New client: Mr Rental
Are you serious? Mr Rental?
Isn't there something else we can work on?
ML
Sent: 23 November, 2013
Subject: Re Re New client: Mr Rental
Take a breath. It’s going to be fine.
ST
Sent: 24 November, 2013
Subject: Re Re Re New client: Mr Rental
Have you been through the Facebook page? What does the average post get? 10 likes? And if anyone comments, it’s to abuse the staff! It’s like a complaints forum. 😩
We are going to get slaughtered.
LD
Sent: 24 November, 2013
Subject: Re Re Re Re New client: Mr Rental
It’s not that bad. Some people really like Mr Rental. They talk to him like he’s a person.
ST
Sent: 24 November, 2013
Subject: Re Re Re Re Re New client: Mr Rental
Why would anyone want to rent anyway!?
ML
#mrrental
5 members
November 28
Sent: 17 December, 2013
Subject: Does anyone have any ideas for MR posts?
I’m struggling with this post formula of Mr Rental + catalogue item + stock photo model.
For starters I’m running out of things to pull from the catalogue. I’ve done the exercise machine, playstation, Xbox, TV, phone...
What’s next?
Sent: 17 December, 2013
Subject: Re Re New client: Mr Rental
Anyone?
#mrrental
5 members
4 December
Sent: 02 June 2014
Subject: Mr Rental needs to go
Guys, the problem with the Mr Rental page is Mr Rental.
He’s old. He’s daggy. He’s boring.
That character is the #1 thing holding this page back.
We need to get rid of him.
From now on Mr Rental is banned from Facebook posts. We’re trying something else.
ML, ST, LD
Active 17m ago
3:52pm
Sent: 15 June, 2014
Subject: Lifehacks content pillar
Hi there DMS team,
I get where you’re going with the lifehacks but it’s not working.
Yes, the posts are popular—and I get the whole relationship to household goods, stress less living, I really do—but none of this content is ownable.
If you saw this in your newsfeed, it could be from anywhere.
There’s no relationship to the Mr Rental brand. You need to change that.
AM
Sent: 15 June, 2014
Subject: Re Lifehacks content pillar
Mr Rental is not going back into those posts!
I’m serious! Don’t push me on this! I know what I’m doing!
No Mr Rental!
ML
Sent: 02 April 2014
Subject: Lifehack sites
Hi guys
Lifehack posts are doing great:
Airplane mode charging 3.1k
Bread tag power cables 2.7k
Xmas lights 898
But does anyone else feel like we’re running out of ideas?
ML
Sent: 02 April 2014
Subject: Lifehack sites
We could do something topical?
ST
ML, ST, LD
Active 17m ago
3:52pm
#directmessages
4 members
22 June 2015
Sent: 11 July 2015
Subject: Re Re Lifehacks content pillar
AM,
Just letting you know I give up
I’ll put Mr Rental back into the lifehack posts
ML
#mrrental
5 members
19 October 2015
Sent: 18 December 2015
Subject: What’s wrong with the carpet?
Is it just me or has the carpet gone crunchy?
ML
Sent: 18 December 2015
Subject: Re What’s wrong with the carpet?
Sorry that’s sand. We went to the beach at lunch.
ST
Sent: 18 December 2015
Subject: Re Re What’s wrong with the carpet?
The beach?? That’s an hour away!
ML
Sent: 18 December 2015
Subject: Re Re Re What’s wrong with the carpet?
Worth it. We were just saying how great it was to swim in the ocean.
There were loads of people, maybe a hundred of us. Someone had rented a big fridge and filled it with fruit and ice cream.
You should get out more. Participate in the culture. We invited you?
LD
Sent: 18 December 2015
Subject: Re Re Re What’s wrong with the carpet?
I didn’t know. I was asleep in the meeting room!
ML
#mrrental
5 members
16 December 2015
Sent: 29 January 2016
Subject: Re We need space cats
Team DMS, are you sure about the space cats? Client is giving me a lot of pushback.
AM
Sent: 29 January 2016
Subject: Re Re We need space cats
We need them. If client says no we’re doing it anyway.
ST
Sent: 29 January 2016
Subject: Re Re Re We need space cats
Client wants you to test both ways.
AM
Sent: 29 January 2016
Subject: Re Re Re Re We need space cats
Already done it
FYI space cats won
Twice as good as no space cats
#sorrynotsorry
LD
Sent: 15 February 2016
Subject: Mehmet Clotard
Hey ST have you seen this?
I read it and felt like I was waking up to something.
ML
Sent: 15 February 2016
Subject: Re Mehmet Clotard
ST? Hello?
ML
Sent: 15 February 2016
Subject: Where is ST?
LD have you seen ST this week?
ML
Sent: 13 March 2016
Subject: Timesheets
Hi guys
I know you’re busy but can you please straighten out these timesheets. We have weird hours, unknown job and activity codes, someone’s writing in French, and several of you have stopped submitting altogether.
Please get on top of this.
JT
Sent: 13 March 2016
Subject: Re Re Re Re Case study
Can someone please get back to me about this case study. We are getting questions.
AM
Sent: 1 April 2016
Subject: Hey
Hey you
I haven’t heard from you for so long. No text. No email. Maybe you’ve been crazy busy.
How are you? Are you okay? Please don’t read too much into this message. I’m just checking in on you, that’s all.
Bridget
Sent: 2 April 2016
Subject: Re Hey
Hey you too!
I wrote you a note a while ago—like an actual paper note—but I must have forgotten to send it to you. Probably put it in the recycling bin or something.
Everything is great! Really! 😊 Sorry I haven’t been in touch. Been busy at work. Lost track of time and space, you know? 😊
I’m so glad you emailed me. I want you to know it’s all good. I was holding onto the idea of us for a long time, but then I realised there’s nothing in life we can ever really hold onto. Ownership is an illusion. Everything is changing, and you and I are like bubbles in a stream.
I’m feeling really good, B. I hope you’re feeling good too.
ML
Editor's Note
And that's all we have to date. Assuming anyone from the DMS gets back in touch, which they will have to because these timesheets really are a mess, then we will update this patchwork account with a more definitive story about how Mr Rental has evolved as a brand over the last year and a half.
Certainly it is a fascinating story and a great testament to how a patient and courageous client, working with a committed team who truly understand the Brand Audience Experimentation process, can work together to produce an amazing result.
And let's not forget the audience, since the real success of Mr Rental has been the enthusiasm and participation of a dedicated fan-base who seem to genuinely love rental, whether it’s a longterm lease of a fridge, phone or sofa, or the short term rental of, say, an Xbox or a rowing machine.
While the correspondence above might convey an initial sense of uncertainty among some staff, it's worth noting that this is not unusual for Liquid Interactive projects in general, and DMS projects in particular. However, we are always confident that the process will lead to good results eventually, as it has not just with Mr Rental but with many other clients...