Have you read “Tiny Timber Twinkles Again?” If not, start there to learn more about the journey of Tiny Timber!

From a neighborhood complaint to an endearing community mascot to a groundbreaking marketing campaign; how did District Bridges use a small moment in time on the internet to create a strategy spanning two years?

As the holiday season approached in 2023, we were not sure anyone would even remember the tale of Tiny Timber; the short tree that caused so much grief and then comradery in Columbia Heights the year before. But on November 11th, we decided to test whether our audience still responded to his story, by posting a promotional video hinting at the return of the “Short King of Christmas.” What followed was reach and engagement over 10x our account average. Although we had already planned an End of Year marketing campaign with an overview of our successes from the year, it was clear from that moment, we needed to swerve to include our plucky little evergreen in whatever we were promoting. Our Director of Storytelling & Marketing planned a meeting with the team and threw everything we’d planned out the window. With only two weeks until December 1st, a new plan was born.

Through a collaboration with the Enspire Creative Marketing team, we created a series of posts to share the story of District Bridges through the eyes of our fearless fir, including a three part rhyming holiday story for each program written by our Director Storytelling and Marketing and illustrated by the talented team at Enspire. (See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.)

Through 17 Grid Posts, 6 Reels, and 3 email blasts, District Bridges increased our social media reach by 107% and post engagement by 67.5% compared to the same time frame the previous year. District Bridges’ Instagram account also saw 224 new followers during the Tiny Timber Takeover alone and is still seeing the benefit in engagement two weeks into the new year.

The only reason we were able to increase engagement and reach by such astounding amounts is because we were willing and able to abandon what was planned to pursue what was sparking our audience’s interest. Was it more work? Absolutely. Ditching a marketing plan with two weeks to create a new one is not for the faint of heart. But the outcome and impact of that decision speaks for itself.

The Tiny Timber Takeover was the first step to us shifting away from using social media marketing as a checklist tool for promoting events and businesses we work with, to comprehensive, strategic storytelling as an organization, connecting and engaging with our audience in a fresh new way.

So what’s our advice if you want to see a 107% increase in reach for your organization? Put googly eyes on your biggest pressure point! But if googly eyes aren’t your thing, the key takeaway is be brave enough to abandon your “plan” to meet the moment and capture your audience.