Global Brand Leader Takes on the Goliath U.S. Market

1&1 IONOS, the largest website hosting company in Europe, was keen to break into the highly competitive U.S. market. Targeted digital campaigns helped them do it.

7%

Customer inflow YoY

At a Glance

Client: IONOS
Engagement: Creative Concepting, Video Production, Content Creation
Campaign: Your Host Matters
Focus: New partner sign ups
Duration: Two Months
Client: Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Atlanta

Overview

A lousy hotel, a lame party, or a silent dinner have one thing in common, bad hosts.

We needed to show what a good host IONOS was, how attentive and secure, and we needed to do it at a local level. Concentrated campaigns focusing on the core Your Host Matters platform hit the right audiences. That’s not accidental, that’s work that compounds.

The Goal

Thousands of Partner Program sign-ups and new orders in under two months. New creative content, tailored to local markets needed to be created quickly.

The Challenge

IONOS was a newer entry into the crowded US web hosting market filled with competitors that outspend them by hundreds of millions of dollars. They had limited time to get up to speed and enter the market.

The Solution

Consumer reviews revealed an opportunity to focus on their uniquely human approach to customer service ― a personal consultant for every customer free of charge.

We created the platform Your Host Matters. A good host provides personal attention, security, and respect.  The same is true for your website.

We reflected this core message in a range of market-specific digital messages.

But we needed to go deep to turn awareness into conversion. We tapped into two often overlooked audiences – Female Developers and Minority-owned Small Businesses through partnerships with Women Who Code and Small Business Expo.

The Proof

Strong audience insight led to rapid growth, including the highest social media engagement in IONOS global history.

+28%: Customer inflow in first month

jortz90 Wanted the Smoke

A Church’s Texas Chicken superfan turned troll and a limited-time-offer redemption arc.

18%

TikTok engagement rate
100%

Conversion of long-term brand detractor to super fan

At a Glance

Client: Church’s Texas Chicken
Engagement: Influencer, Social Media, Video Production
Focus: Turn a detractor into a super fan

Overview

Most agencies see a troll; we saw a Superfan with a redemption arc waiting to happen. 

We don’t just manage feeds; we fuel them ― We don’t just “monitor” social; we live in it. That’s how we found jortz90.

This wasn’t a “standard” campaign. This was a social sprint fueled by pure grit and creative adrenaline. At the finish was a campaign rooted in community that ignited a movement.

Recognition

Atlanta Ad Club American Advertising Awards, 2026

Gold Addy Social Media (Single Execution)

Atlanta Ad Club American Advertising Awards, 2026

Silver Addy Social Media Campaign

The Goal

Engage the community and drive excitement for the rollout of the LTO Smokehouse Chicken sandwich. All while bringing one negative commentor back into the fold.

The Challenge

Church’s Texas Chicken was bringing back a cult favorite: Smokehouse Chicken. With a following that craves its return, we needed to dial up the exclusivity of this Limited Time Offer (LTO).

Jortz Instagram messages on scraps of paper

For two years, one fan—@jortz90—had been relentlessly trolling the brand, demanding the return of Smokehouse on every single post. Jeremy Ortiz (@jortz90) spent two straight years dragging Church’s Texas Chicken with comments like “Y’all broke my heart”, “Bulls**t. I’ll never eat y’all’s chicken again. Only because you didn’t release the smokehouse this year” and “BOYCOTT CHURCHS for not bringing the smokehouse back.” We didn’t hit “mute.” We hit “record.”

The Solution

Instead of ignoring the “smoke,” we decided to give @jortz90 exactly what he asked for in the most unexpected way possible. We didn’t just bring the Smokehouse back—we brought him into the family.

We surprised jortz90 with a VIP experience fit for a legend, starting with a limo pickup at his front door. Over two days, we immersed him in the brand: he got the very first bite of the returning Smokehouse Chicken, cameoed in the national TV commercial, and even provided the voiceover for the spot.

First Bite

of the returning Smokehouse Chicken
Cameoed

in the national TV commercial

A person dressed in a top hat and white gloves lifts a silver cloche to reveal a box of Church's Chicken to a smiling seated man.

A close-up of an open takeout box filled with Church's Smokehouse Chicken and a biscuit resting on a silver platter.

We gave him the smoke he asked for, and he gave us the most authentic content we’ve ever produced. To celebrate his “dedication,” we rewarded him with Real Rewards loyalty points and printed his most infamous comments on t-shirts worn by the entire production crew.

A smiling man holds up one of the custom printed shirts on a hanger, featuring an all-over pattern of social media comments asking for Church's Smokehouse Chicken.

A man wearing a black cap points to his custom white long-sleeve shirt, which is completely covered in printed social media comments from a fan demanding the return of Church's Smokehouse Chicken.

18%: TikTok engagement rate

The Proof

We proved that when you respect the hustle of your fans, they’ll go ten toes down for the mission.

We captured every moment of this fan-first activation, turning his journey from troll to VIP into high-energy social content designed to light up the feed. We didn’t just “post content” — we ignited a movement. The results speak for themselves:

Launch

Successful LTO launch that leveraged authentic community interaction over traditional advertising.
Social Sentiment

High-volume social sentiment shift as fans rallied around the "jortz90" narrative.
Engagement

In a world of "skip ad," the fans stayed for the whole story with an 18% TikTok engagement rate that outpaces industry benchmarks.