The Goal: Develop a custom product and integrated marketing campaign that harnesses Soft Kill’s cult following and Mr. Black Effects’ boutique reputation to drive sales, awareness, and long-term brand equity through niche artist collaborations.
The Execution: Built from personal relationships with both Tobias Grave of post-punk band Soft Kill and Portland-based Mr. Black Effect Pedals, we developed a custom guitar pedal synonymous with Soft Kill's signature reverberated post-punk, chorus-soaked sound.
Rooted in the Limited Edition insight created from Soft Kill's fan behavior, we developed an LTD product strategy designed to maximize urgency and sell-through, resulting in the pedal selling out in under two hours. Due to overwhelming demand, Soft Kill directly released additional limited-run variants, each of which sold out, validating the approach and extending the lifecycle of the collaboration.
The campaign was built as a partnership-marketing effort across multiple brand-owned channels, with dedicated content including a full-length custom video, photos, social teasers, artist-driven editorial, and a coordinated social rollout. This campaign served as a proof point for how artist-first brand collaborations can reach new audience segments and drive revenue, especially when rooted in authenticity.
