In a perfect world, every content creator we enlist – whether for user-generated content (UGC) or influencer marketing campaigns – gets the chance to experience the product.
See, smell, hear, taste, feel. Maybe not all at once, but at least one where relevant.
In the case of Castlery, a homewares brand that prioritises versatile design and opening people’s eyes to the spaces they already have, our ideal world = Creators get to sit on couch.
They’d get to touch the fabric, test the recline, watch TV on it, fall asleep on it, maybe even get the chance to clean it and decide whether or not that’s easy to do.
All that before ever recommending it to their audience.
But in the real world, that’s not always the case. Shipping cut-offs, budget constraints, long-distance geographical challenges, and the fact that influencer marketing ads often need to go live yesterday. You’re also looking at big ticket items when it comes to Castlery.
$3,000 couches and dining tables aren’t the easiest thing in the world to mass ship to creators.
So, when Castlery came to us with a mission (aka. campaign objective) to launch their biggest sale of the year (aka. their EOFY sale), we had workarounds to figure out.
In partnership with micro-influencers and mid-tier creators, our content briefs had to ideate solutions that involved multiple Castlery products… Without the actual physical product.
Enter the green screen – and our “wishlist” angle that smashed it out the park.
Why? Because sometimes, wanting is good enough to demonstrate appeal.
Think of it this way: Your best mate’s trying to convince you about how great their date is. They’re funny, they’re kind, they’re good to service staff. And “they just look better in person!”
Those two might not be together yet, but tell us your friend isn’t giving the hardest sell you’ve ever seen in your life. And it’s that same principle in action here.
Romanticisation, idealisation, aspiration.
Potential customers who want a product can sometimes sell the dream better than existing ones, purely because they’re still dreaming about it – which means an ability to express exactly why said product / vision / fantasy is so desirable in their eyes.
With that in mind, this influencer campaign sought to drive audiences to Castlery’s EOFY sale landing page. Sticki’s experts needed to find content creators who’d highlight product USPs, and bring attention to flexible perks like 30-day risk-free returns and Castlery’s Room Designer Tool.
All without touching the product.
Now, this isn’t to say that tangibly including a brand’s product(s) is a bad thing.
Green screen videos are more like taking a bulldozer and creating your own light at the end of a tunnel when there isn’t one. But if you’ve got products available and convenient to send, it’s always good to let content creators try them out as much as possible.
For Castlery, we built a two-pronged paid influencer strategy that covered both bases.
Every creator was guided to spotlight key features like:
And after this influencer campaign wrapped, we found that green screen creators outperformed the ones filming in-store. Who would’ve thunk!
It’s practically Pinterest! If you still aren’t keen about the screen, have a look at these.
One misconception we get as a brand-facing AND creator-led influencer agency is that green screen videos look clunky or amateurish. Maybe a little bit 2019.
But every example you’ll see below is stylised and clean, much like the Castlery brand itself.
@juthamat.by.jem walks us through her Castlery picks via a green screen-style video that opens with some stunning interior inspo of the mid-century modern variety.
Jem’s curated wishlist features standout pieces from the EOFY sale, from modular sofas with hidden storage to fabrics that can actually survive weeknight dinners.
But when it comes to furniture shopping, picking items you like is easy. The hard part comes in figuring out whether or not it’ll fit within your space, or if each piece you love can actually work cohesively together.
Not a problem for Jem though. She put Castlery’s Room Designer Tool to the test, and showed us all how these picks come together – all styled up in her dream home.
Everyone loves a how-to guide!
Sharing info is in fact the very reason why the Internet was invented, so when a content piece opens with something like “How to have an aesthetic home with toddlers,” you already know… Viewers are sat.
@sinead__finn_ (and her green screen) puts an end to choice paralysis by showing us her top Castlery picks – all backed by an explanation of their features too.
Wrapping up her video with the EOFY sale callout, Sinead basically created a killer video ad that adheres to our proven storytelling method perfectly: Hook, Angle, CTA.
Like a friend walking you through their dream home finds, green screen content felt native, aspirational and trustworthy – without the pressure of a polished showroom backdrop.
Across both Instagram and TikTok, these “wishlist” video ads delivered stronger numbers across all major performance metrics (incl. clicks, comments, shares, and purchase intent).
How do we measure purchase intent?
For one, the comments speak for themselves:
Talk about tackling both conversions AND brand awareness objectives!
And this sale campaign ultimately saw:
Not bad at all for influencer content made without ever touching the furniture – requiring only a phone, some very talented content creators, and the revolutionary editing powers of Capcut / TikTok.
Next time an influencer agency tells you they can’t take on your campaign because of a difficult or “impossible” product type, send them this.
Proof that creativity beats convention every time, because the best content agencies know that when it comes to social media ads, you don’t need the product to sell.
What you do need is a great story, a great storyteller, a great content idea, and a great offer.
By empowering creators to talk about the products instead of just posing with them, we unlocked storytelling that felt personal, educational, and effective.
And we’ve said it once but will say it again: Sometimes, the best way to sell a couch is to hear from the people that dream about owning it, instead of the ones who already do.
We’ve already started working with Castlery on more influencer campaigns after this one, and now? Green screen content isn’t the fallback plan, it’s our winning strategy.
Interested in chatting about possible angles for your brand or product? Head here.
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