Rippers Crack the Code Videoland / RTL Nederland
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
"A locked vault. A voice from the shadows. And a race against the clock to crack the code."
To celebrate the launch of Rippers, the raw and gripping new original crime series, BLACKLIST turned a standard media drop into a high-stakes interactive mission for a select group of creators.
The Mission
Create a buzz-worthy seeding activation that captures the gritty energy of the show and cuts through the digital noise.
Our goals:
Turn the show’s tense crime narrative into a playable, highly shareable experience
Drive massive organic buzz across social channels among urban men aged 18–34
Maximise User-Generated Content ahead of the premiere
Our Creative Concept
Instead of a traditional PR package, we built a gamified unboxing experience rooted in mystery and suspense, forcing creators to actively earn their reward.
We sent a heavy-duty industrial document box, combination-locked and branded with the Rippers logo. Scanning the QR code triggered an exclusive audio message recorded by one of the lead actors, with a hidden clue buried inside it. Crack the clue, get the code, open the box.
We targeted lifestyle influencers with genuine ties to the show's world, including creators close to the main cast, who filmed themselves working through the puzzle live.
Content and Payoff
To blur the lines between the series and reality, the entire activation was built for social media. Creators took their followers along for the ride, filming the suspenseful moment they listened to the audio and tried to open the lock.
Once cracked, the box rewarded them with the ultimate Rippers binge-watching kit: the iconic balaclava worn in the show, a custom Tony’s Chocolonely bar wrapped in official key art, snacks, and a 3-month Videoland subscription.
Impact
745,000+ impressions | 40% share rate | 69 creators reached
Creators posted multi-story sequences as they worked through the puzzle, and followers stuck around for all of it. Creators posted multi-story sequences as they worked through the puzzle, and followers stuck around for all of it. Turning a delivery into a game gave the content a natural hook, would they crack it or not, and completion rates reflected that. By the time the show launched, Rippers had real traction in exactly the community it was built for.
