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Max Runyon
Marketing/Social Media
Literal Larry
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What happens when creatives get bored
In January of 2021, amidst the ennui of the pandemic, I was replying to a tweet highlighting a game-altering Mark Williams dunk for the Duke Blue Devils when I interpreted the post a bit too literally. Four hundred likes and a Duke win later, Literal Larry was born.
In three short months, my Literal Larry account grew to over 100,000 followers. Through community building, effective outbounding, and content creation, Larry was an account that caught the attention of social media managers for some of the most iconic brands.
One strategy that helped propel the rapid growth of Larry was unique brand interaction that became both a hallmark of the Larry account and a mutually beneficial endeavor. When brands would "violate the rules" of being literal, the Larry community would demand that they pay homage by putting Larry in their bios in some capacity. This would excite the Larry community and bring much-welcomed new traffic to the brands' pages.
From my community getting "Literal Larry" trending on my birthday in 2021 to the official Twitter account selecting Larry as one of ten accounts to follow in 2022, it is safe to say that being literal pays off.
Marshallville--College Project
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What is Marshallville?
Marshallville, which was named after and honored the highly accomplished Shocker men's basketball coach Gregg Marshall, was a specially designated area outside of Wichita State's Koch arena which served as a camping and gathering place for Shocker student men's basketball fans. We at Marshallville coordinated game campout activities, established and maintainedthe student line, and created and led unique Shocker fan efforts, including cheers and signs.
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The Mission
I created the Marshallville organization as a result of my observation as a WSU student of a lack of student body camaraderie and coordinated Shocker men's basketball fan effort. Marshallville was designed to give those who resided both on and off campus a place to gather and socialize before home games and to coordinate fan efforts.
Marshallville provided a unique student experience which included pregame festivities such as pizza parties, music from local radio stations, and arranged visits from Coach Marshall and current Shocker players. We also held student campouts before important home basketball games and used our platform to help raise awareness, community support, and contributions for local charities.
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The Magic of Marketing
Marshallville began with one "like" on a Facebook page. After my three years of leadership, Marshallville had shown significant growth on its social media platforms. It had over 3,800 Facebook "likes" and over 7,000 Twitter followers. Marshallville was featured by every major local media outlet and received national recognition several times from ESPN, including a shout out from College GameDay. The Travelocity gnome was even a distinguished camping guest in Marshallville.
Marshallville epitomized a successful grassroots marketing campaign. As a sophomore Integrated Marketing Communications major with zero financial resources, I was able to grow a significant and loyal following by strategic planning and skillful use of social media and other available resources.
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Sponsorship and Donations
Papa John's became the first official sponsor of Marshallville when the popular pizza chain approached the organization in the spring of 2016. Photos show that the Marshallville banner sported the Papa John's logo.
In addition, in fall of 2016, local radio station Power 93.5 sponsored several hundred Marshallville t-shirts for students.
Prior to these official sponsorships, a number of other high profile chains, including Chick-fil-A, Pizza Hut, Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme, Hardee's, Kwik Shop, Academy Sports, and McDonald's, continually offered product donations and community support. A camper favorite was the donation of Girl Scout cookies from local Troop #41450. Everyone loves Girl Scout cookies!
To see more or discuss possible work let's talk >>
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