Mila has always believed in the power of community-driven innovation, where customer input directly shapes our product evolution. When preparing to launch the Mila Air Mini air purifier, which would boast a new suite of colors, we saw an opportunity to create something beyond a standard product announcement. Instead of a traditional reveal, we decided to use the playfulness of an April Fool’s Day campaign to merge creativity, humor, and customer engagement into a social campaign that could directly involve our customers, and give them an opportunity to help determine the colors for their favorite air purifiers.
Enter Mila Aura—a conceptual air purifier that humorously claimed to change colors based on the energy in a room. Leveraging the playful spirit of April Fool’s Day, we launched the campaign across social media, email, and the Mila app, teasing audiences with the concept of a dynamic, mood-driven air purifier. The joke ended with a landing page that allowed customers to vote on their favorite Mila Air Mini colorways by helping us choose the Mila “Color of the Year."The response was overwhelming, with nearly 2,000 customers sharing their input on their color preferences.
This campaign reinforced Mila’s dedication to listening to its community and creating products that resonate with their desires, setting a new standard for interactive product development.
The campaign used the humor of an April Fool’s prank to gather real consumer preferences for new Mila Air Mini colors. By making the experience engaging and playful, we created an opportunity for market research that directly shaped product development in the launch of a hero product.
One of the biggest challenges in any market research exercise is obtaining authentic feedback. Consumers are often influenced by survey formats or the way questions are framed, making it difficult to capture their true preferences. The humor of this campaign removed those barriers. Instead of a traditional survey, we introduced "Mila Aura," an air purifier with "color-changing capabilities," playing into the idea that it could adapt to the energy of a room. This fictional product sparked curiosity through social media posts, playful copy, and compelling visuals. The joke set the stage for meaningful engagement, encouraging customers to interact with the concept while giving us valuable insight into their preferences.
Deployed strategically across multiple channels—including social media, email marketing, and the Mila app—the campaign encouraged customers to comment, react, and vote on their favorite colorways. What started as a lighthearted prank quickly turned into an interactive survey, with customers eagerly discussing their preferred colors. The engagement exceeded expectations, with nearly 2,000 customers providing direct input.
We closely monitored audience sentiment and feedback. The enthusiasm and sheer volume of responses validated our approach. Customers actively participated in shaping the future of Mila Air Mini. We seamlessly transitioned from the Mila Aura joke to launching Mila Air Mini in the colors voted on directly by our customers.
This campaign transformed an April Fool’s joke into a practical research tool. Humor made it easy for customers to engage, while their responses provided clear direction for product development and building launch enthusiasm. By making the experience entertaining and interactive, we ensured that customer input directly influenced the final product, demonstrating the power of creative engagement in shaping consumer-driven innovation.
The campaign exceeded all expectations, delivering strong engagement metrics, actionable consumer insights, and translated into actual sales.
This campaign proved that involving direct customer input can be a powerful tool for innovation, especially in the most playful of moments. By combining humor, interaction, and product development, we successfully turned an April Fool’s joke into a customer-driven success story for Mila Air Mini.
