Multi-disciplinary entertainer and founder Alyson Stoner was preparing to release their debut memoir, Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything — a candid examination of child stardom, identity, mental health, and the cultural myth of being “well-adjusted” in a fundamentally dysfunctional system.
Our objective was to reshape public perception of Stoner from nostalgic child star to cultural thought leader and mobilize their audience at scale to drive pre-orders and sales. We aimed to spark substantive conversations while leveraging entirely organic social media strategies to convert awareness into commercial impact.
To honor the book’s depth, the campaign itself had to model vulnerability, humor, cultural critique, and evolution. We produced four key content pillars in our organic social strategy:
1. Nostalgia Reimagined: We leveraged Alyson’s iconic early roles as an entry point — then redirected that attention toward the book’s deeper themes, transforming familiarity into renewed relevance.
2. Viral Anti-Marketing: We leaned into self-aware, humorous TikToks and Reels that flipped trends on its head, subverting expectations and generating millions of organic views.
3. Strategic Collaborations: We partnered with creators in mental health, culture, personal growth, and entertainment—expanding reach to relevant sectors.
4. Present-Day Alyson: We showcased who Alyson is NOW—positioning the memoir as a cultural and emotional evolution, not just a celebrity tell-all.
To deepen narrative impact, we launched an original long-form YouTube series, Diaries From My Younger Self, in which Alyson read childhood diary entries directly connected to the memoir’s themes. Episodes were also distributed via their podcast feed to maximize cross-platform reach.
We further capitalized on emerging platform tools. During launch week, Alyson used Ray-Ban Meta glasses to capture press tour moments for Instagram Stories, benefiting from algorithmic prioritization of the new product feature. We also deployed Instagram Trial Reels to distribute nostalgic content to non-followers, efficiently reactivating audiences familiar with Alyson’s early career.
Commercial Impact
The campaign achieved its primary objective: Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything debuted as an instant New York Times Bestseller, translating organic momentum directly into measurable sales success.
Massive Organic Reach & Engagement
Across platforms, the campaign generated over 149 million views, driven entirely by organic content:
73M+ views on Instagram
43M+ views on TikTok
33M+ views on Facebook
Audience Growth & Repositioning
In the three months leading up to the launch, Alyson’s audience expanded across key platforms:
+9.25% on Instagram
+2.29% on TikTok
+11.76% on Facebook
Cultural Conversation & Press Momentum
The campaign sparked widespread cultural dialogue around identity, childhood fame, mental health, and healing. Viral posts generated waves of audience commentary with over 14,000 comments on Instagram alone. Our organic content also earned press coverage from outlets like Complex and PEOPLE — solidifying their repositioning from former child star to credible cultural voice.
