Making Reading Irresistible for Young Learners
Campaign Overview
Campaign Overview
Client: Ello
Industry: EdTech + Children’s Literacy
Campaign Focus: Brand Awareness + UGC Generation + Traffic Acquisition
Platforms: TikTok, Instagram (Stories, Reels), Paid Social
Content Type: Family UGC + Parent POV + Voiceover Skits
Ello is an AI-powered reading companion for kids in grades K–3. The Shelf partnered with Ello to run a two-phase influencer campaign that used authentic family content and smart media buying to generate awareness, clicks, and trial sign-ups. The performance team layered in allowlisting to scale top content and boost ROI on a lean paid budget.
Creative Concept
The creative leaned into family-led storytelling. Parents created relatable scenes of their kids learning with Ello—at the breakfast table, in homeschool sessions, or cozy reading corners. Skits and POV-style content helped normalize Ello as part of everyday routines. The content wasn’t about features—it was about feeling. About showing parents that Ello works.
Goals & Target Audience
This campaign was built to drive both discovery and action. We needed parents to know Ello existed, understand how it worked, and feel confident enough to try it.
Goals:
- Generate brand awareness among parents of young readers
- Drive traffic to landing pages for trial sign-ups
- Produce high-performing, reusable UGC
- Leverage allowlisting to amplify winning content and audiences
Target Audience: Parents of kids ages 4–8 (K–3rd grade), particularly those exploring educational tech or looking for learning support tools for home use.
Strategy & Creator Activation
We took a phased approach that combined micro-influencer authenticity with performance-driven scaling. The campaign ran in two waves:
- Pulse 1: Focused on awareness and platform reach
- Pulse 2: Optimized around traffic-driving formats and link clicks
Our performance marketing team used allowlisting to retarget top-viewers and build lookalike audiences around high-engaging content. By analyzing which creators and formats worked best in Pulse 1, we doubled down in Pulse 2 with the goal of moving parents down the funnel.
Influencer Mix:
- Micro and mid-tier parenting creators + select educators
Post Types
TikTok
Videos
In-Feed Posts
Reels & Stories
Allowlisting
UGC/IGC
Performance Results & Key Metrics
The Ello campaign delivered impressive full-funnel results—fueled by precision targeting, agile content optimization, and a performance marketing mindset from the start.
At the top of the funnel, we drove 6.58 million paid and organic impressions across Meta and TikTok, exceeding our reach goal by 10%. Total engagement reached 1.3 million, with creator-led storytelling pushing meaningful interaction far beyond standard benchmarks.
But reach wasn’t the only goal. This campaign was designed to convert, and that’s where the numbers shine. With just $40K in paid media, we drove 110,600 link clicks to Ello’s landing page, generating real consideration and trial from the right audience. Instagram Stories were especially effective here—accounting for 40% of total engagements and delivering 3.2x higher engagement than benchmark. That made Stories one of our highest-converting content formats in the entire campaign.
Pulse 1 built reach and engagement through authentic awareness plays. Pulse 2 doubled down on precision targeting—retargeting warm audiences and amplifying high-performing assets. The result? A powerful lift in traffic with a seamless path from scroll to sign-up.
TikTok brought volume, Instagram brought action—and together, they built a campaign that outperformed expectations at every stage of the funnel.
📊 Performance Overview
📣 Impressions & Engagement
- 6.58M paid + organic impressions across Meta and TikTok (10% above goal)
- 1.3M total engagements from creator-led content
- 99 assets delivered — 2.4x the promised volume
🔗 Traffic & Conversion
- 110,600 total link clicks to Ello’s landing page
- $40K total paid media spend
- Instagram Stories drove 40% of total interactions
- 3.2x engagement lift over benchmark for IG Stories
📱 Platform Insights
- Instagram: Higher engagement and stronger CTRs, especially from Stories
- TikTok: Drove mass reach and shareable family-led content
- Pulse 2 strategy: Retargeting + lookalikes boosted traffic & LPVs
⭐ Top Creator Performance
- Stephany & Cadence delivered a 7.70% CTR — driving 83% of total LPVs
- Jaylyn Carr produced the most-shared TikTok of the campaign
Top Performing Creators
Stella Howell of @our.peachy.home
Stella’s warm, approachable style and mom-of-three perspective made her content feel both aspirational and relatable. On TikTok, she earned an impressive 11.83% video completion rate (VTR) and delivered strong engagement across platforms. Her Instagram Reel generated 55K+ impressions and 1.4K+ engagements, placing her among the top organic performers. Stella showed exactly what Ello looks like in action—from joyful screen time to meaningful learning moments.
Stephany & Cadence of @stehfuhnee_
A standout duo in every sense, Stephany and her daughter Cadence delivered the campaign’s top-performing content. With a joyful, unscripted energy that instantly connected with parents, their TikTok and Meta videos drove 1.1M impressions, 381K engagements, and an industry-defying 7.70% CTR. Cadence’s confident, kid-led demo of Ello became the blueprint for what works—and the reason 83% of landing page visits came from their content. Stephany’s “Raising me | Raising her” ethos made every moment feel real, relatable, and high-converting. This video? Everything.
Jaylyn Carr of @mrscarr_
Jaylyn brought heart, humor, and major reach to Ello’s TikTok strategy. As a Minnesota-based mom of three, her family-first content hit home—generating 653K impressions, 362K engagements, and a 54.55% video completion rate that crushed benchmarks. Her TikTok became the most shared post of the campaign, showing how real-life routines + relatable commentary = scroll-stopping performance. Jaylyn proved that when creators lead with love and authenticity, the algorithm (and the audience) responds.
Brittany Scanlan of @thescanlanstory
Brittany blended cozy mom life with performance power. From her Philadelphia suburb home, she delivered campaign messaging with clarity, ease, and warmth—earning 222K impressions, 87.6K engagements, and a solid 4.03% CTR. Her kid-focused IG Story gave parents a clear window into how Ello works, while her tone kept it real and relatable. Brittany’s content struck the balance between aspirational and accessible—making her a key driver of engagement and trust.
Tenille of @puremomblog
Atlanta-based mom blogger Tenille delivered heartfelt, high-engagement content that beautifully captured Ello’s role in real-life learning. As the voice behind Pure Mom Blog, she brought a balance of authenticity and insight—earning a 28.53% engagement rate on Instagram with content that resonated with parents seeking screen time with purpose. Her approachable style and focus on mindful motherhood made her a top organic performer, and a strong example of how micro creators can spark macro trust.
The Campaign Wrap-Up
The Ello campaign did exactly what modern influencer campaigns are built to do: move people from discovery to decision. We didn’t just generate clicks—we generated curiosity, confidence, and content that stuck.
With just $40K in paid spend, we activated 15 creators and walked away with 99 high-performing assets that delivered on every level—reach, resonance, and results. We paired creator styles with platform behaviors, aligned messaging to parent mindsets, and scaled the content that hit hardest.
This campaign built believers. It changed perceptions of what AI-powered learning could look like. And it gave Ello an always-on bank of social proof to support growth across channels.
When the content is real, and the strategy is tight, the results speak for themselves.
🧠 Key Takeaway
The Ello campaign proved that authentic, parent-led storytelling can outperform polished promos—especially when it taps into the daily routines and digital habits of modern families.
- Performance wasn’t luck—it was structure. Pulse 1 created familiarity. Pulse 2 turned trust into trial.
- Instagram Stories delivered 40% of all engagement—driving clicks and conversions through candid, creator-led demos.
- Parents trust parents. Kid POVs and busy parent benefits drove the highest CTRs, LPVs, and platform lift.
- 99 reusable assets extended Ello’s content runway, giving their team creative fuel long after the campaign wrapped.
Bold ideas. Cultural relevance. Data-first strategies.
At The Shelf, we create the blueprint that drives results for brands and inspires the industry. Ready to see what we can do for your brand?Let’s talk.
Schedule a Strategy Call
