Will It Blend Company Embarks On New Influencer Marketing Program

The Genesis of a Viral Phenomenon

When Tom Dickson founded Blendtec in 1976, he likely never imagined his company would become one of the most studied cases in viral marketing history. The "Will It Blend?" campaign, which began as a modest experiment with $50 worth of YouTube ads, transformed into a cultural phenomenon that generated six million views in just five days and increased retail blender sales by an astonishing 700 percent.

Yet what makes Blendtec's story particularly instructive for modern marketers is not just their initial viral success, but their subsequent evolution as social media platforms and influencer marketing matured. The company recognized that the digital marketing landscape required continuous adaptation. As organic reach declined and consumer attention fragmented across platforms, Blendtec embarked on a new chapter--one that would leverage influencer partnerships to extend their reach and credibility with target audiences.

This transition from purely organic viral content to a strategic influencer marketing program offers valuable insights for businesses seeking to evolve their social media strategy while maintaining the authenticity that made them successful.

The Origins of a Viral Sensation

The "Will It Blend?" story begins not with a sophisticated marketing strategy, but with a simple experiment. Tom Dickson, an engineer and inventor, was looking for ways to demonstrate the power of his company's blenders. The first video--filmed inexpensively and uploaded to YouTube--showed Dickson blending a box of matches. The response was immediate and overwhelming.

Viewers were fascinated by the simple question "Will it blend?" applied to increasingly unusual items, from marbles to golf balls to digital cameras. The campaign's format was deceptively simple: Dickson would introduce an item, place it in the blender, blend it, and then reveal the results with the catchphrase "Yes, it blends!" This straightforward approach proved remarkably effective because it combined entertainment value with product demonstration in a way that felt authentic rather than overtly promotional.

What distinguished "Will It Blend?" from other early viral marketing efforts was its consistency and scale. Rather than occasional stunts, Blendtec committed to regular content production, creating episodes tied to current events, holidays, and cultural moments. When the iPad launched, Blendtec created a video. When Super Bowl Sunday arrived, they produced themed content. This responsiveness to cultural conversations kept the brand relevant and provided natural sharing opportunities.

Key Elements of Viral Success

• Simple, repeatable format that audiences could easily understand and anticipate
• Entertainment value that made viewers want to share with friends and followers
• Consistent brand voice maintained across all content pieces
• Cultural relevance through timely content tied to current events and trending topics
• Authentic demonstrations that showed genuine product capabilities

The Numbers Behind the Success

The numbers behind the "Will It Blend?" campaign remain impressive by any standard. The initial investment of approximately $50 in YouTube advertising produced returns that exceeded most traditional marketing campaigns by orders of magnitude. The campaign won the bronze-level Clio Award for Viral Video in 2008 and was nominated for the YouTube Award for Best Series in 2007.

Perhaps most importantly, retail blender sales increased by 700 percent during the campaign's peak, demonstrating that viral content could drive tangible business results. This dual benefit--brand awareness and direct monetization--made the campaign a model for content marketing success.

The campaign also generated significant media attention beyond YouTube. Tom Dickson appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he blended a rake handle in seconds. The videos were featured on The CW's Online Nation series, and Dickson contributed to the History Channel's Modern Marvels. This cross-media presence amplified the digital campaign's reach and established Blendtec as a brand that could capture attention across multiple platforms and formats.

Blendtec also earned approximately $15,000 annually from Revver, the video hosting service that shared advertising revenue with top content creators, demonstrating that early viral content could generate meaningful revenue directly from platforms.

Evolution to Influencer Marketing

As the digital marketing landscape matured, Blendtec faced the same challenge as many successful viral brands: maintaining momentum when organic reach declined and consumer attention became increasingly fragmented. The approach that worked in 2006--when YouTube was new and competition for attention was minimal--required adaptation as platforms evolved.

The company's shift toward influencer marketing represented a strategic evolution rather than an abandonment of their original approach. Rather than relying solely on their own content production, Blendtec began connecting with influencers who could extend their reach and credibility to new audiences. This approach aligned with broader industry trends, as brands increasingly recognized that influencer partnerships could provide the authenticity and trust that traditional advertising struggled to achieve.

The key insight from Blendtec's influencer marketing evolution was recognizing that their original viral success was fundamentally about building relationships with an audience. The "Will It Blend?" videos worked because viewers felt a connection with Tom Dickson and trusted his demonstrations. Influencer marketing extended this relationship model by partnering with creators who had already built similar connections with their own audiences. For brands looking to replicate this approach, exploring micro-influencer strategies can provide additional insights into building authentic creator partnerships.

Best Practices From Blendtec's Approach

Several specific best practices emerge from Blendtec's evolution from viral content to influencer marketing. First, the company demonstrated the importance of starting with a strong organic foundation before scaling through paid partnerships. Their viral success established brand recognition and credibility that made subsequent influencer partnerships more effective--influencers were eager to work with a brand that already had an established reputation for entertaining content.

Another best practice involves maintaining creative control while allowing influencer flexibility. Blendtec provided influencers with clear brand guidelines while giving them latitude to adapt the "Will It Blend?" format to their own audience's preferences. This balance ensured brand consistency while respecting the influencer's authentic voice and relationship with their audience.

The company also demonstrated patience in building influencer relationships. Rather than rushing to execute large numbers of influencer partnerships, Blendtec focused on developing genuine relationships with a select group of creators. This relationship-first approach led to more authentic content and longer-term partnerships that continued to deliver value over time.

Integration of Organic and Paid Strategy

Perhaps the most valuable lesson from Blendtec's journey is the integration of organic content and paid influencer partnerships into a cohesive social media strategy. Rather than treating these as separate initiatives, successful brands recognize that they reinforce each other:

• Organic content establishes brand identity and provides素材 for influencer partnerships
• Influencer content extends reach and provides social proof that validates the organic content
• Paid advertising amplifies the most effective content to maximize return on investment

This integrated approach requires alignment between content teams, influencer relationship managers, and paid advertising specialists. All must understand the brand's positioning and target audience to ensure that content--whether organic or influencer-created--reinforces the same messages and values. For B2B brands looking to apply similar strategies, understanding how to succeed on LinkedIn can provide additional insights into platform-specific influencer approaches.

When developing your own social media marketing strategy, consider how organic and paid efforts can work together to build sustainable audience engagement and brand recognition over time.

Key Takeaways for Marketers

Several key takeaways emerge from Blendtec's journey from viral video success to influencer marketing leadership:

1. Build foundations first: Viral success can provide a foundation for long-term brand building, but maintaining momentum requires continuous evolution and adaptation to changing platform dynamics.

2. Maintain consistent fundamentals: The fundamentals of effective content--authenticity, entertainment value, clear brand identity--remain consistent even as platforms and tactics change.

3. Extend rather than replace: Influencer marketing works best when it extends rather than replaces organic content strategies, creating a cohesive approach to social media engagement.

4. Prioritize relationships: Build genuine influencer relationships based on shared values and authentic product enthusiasm rather than transactional partnership arrangements.

5. Stay audience-focused: Remain committed to creating content that genuinely serves audience interests rather than purely promotional messages.

For businesses considering their own evolution from organic content to influencer partnerships, Blendtec's experience offers a useful roadmap. Start with a strong organic foundation that establishes brand identity and credibility. Build genuine influencer relationships based on shared values and authentic product enthusiasm. Integrate organic and influencer content into a cohesive strategy. And most importantly, stay true to the core principle that made "Will It Blend?" successful: creating content that people genuinely want to watch and share.

The company that began with a simple question demonstrated that creative content marketing could transform a niche blender manufacturer into a global cultural phenomenon. Their subsequent evolution into influencer marketing shows that even the most successful viral campaigns can adapt and thrive in changing digital landscapes.

Sources

1. Content Marketing Institute - Will It Blend Company Embarks on New Influencer Marketing Program
2. Wikipedia - Will It Blend?
3. UNSW BusinessThink - How a blender smashed the secret of going viral