Pela, creator engine
Ten creators, one number to protect
A first roster for Pela: creators filming compostable cases in real life, paid in bands, judged on cost per 1,000 views.
- creators live by week six
- 10
- creator videos a month at the full roster
- 303
- weeks from the first creator to the full roster
- 5
Pie Lover, one coffee, one hook
A creator holds the Pie Lover case beside a slice of pie at a café table and says why it is grippy and compostable. The paid-partnership label is on screen from the first seconds.
Illustrative postContents
Part 1 of 15
Summary
| Roster | 10 creators, live by week ten | Live by week: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. Two creators join each week. |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Design-led everyday creators with a phone in frame | Café, outfit, home and craft creators who fit Pela's illustrated cases. |
| Production | 7 videos per creator per week | 303 creator videos a month at 10 creators. |
| Pay | Three bands: Starter, Standard, Premium | Caps from $600 to $1,500 per creator; the pay table prints every amount. |
| Bonus | $50 on a video past 100,000 views | One bonus per creator per month, organic views only. |
| Compliance | Claims sheet plus paid-partnership label | Creators quote only sheet lines: the $500 screen guarantee, flax shive, plant based biopolymer. |
| Category rule | Compostable and drop-test claims stay literal | No unbreakable, no zero waste, no composting instructions until Pela confirms the conditions. |
| Goal | $1 per 1,000 views | The base case sits at $5.74 on $10,050 cost and 1.8M views. The simulator shows the gap. |
| Report | Monday report, per creator and format | Views, cost per 1,000 views, losers to kill, winners to scale, claims flags. |
| Decision | Approve ten creators and a $15,000 ceiling | The ceiling assumes all 10 at the top cap, bonuses excluded. It is a limit, not a plan to spend it. |
Part 1 of 15, continued
The program in numbers
- Creators live at full roster
- 10
- Proposed
- Videos per creator per week
- 7
- Proposed
- Creator videos a month
- 303
- Calculated
- Base pay per creator
- $1,000
- Proposed
- Bonus past 100,000 views
- $50
- Proposed
- Bonus at the top cap of the highest band
- $700
- Calculated
- Program cost a month, bonuses included
- $10,050
- Calculated
- Views a month at the assumptions
- 1.8M
- Calculated
- Cost per 1,000 views
- $5.74
- Calculated
- Target cost per 1,000 views
- $1
- Proposed
Part 2 of 15
Track record
Former COO of Tabs. I built its creator program to 100M monthly social impressions, and the paid ad engine alongside it. The numbers below come from videos that program produced.
Same playbook as at Tabs: recruit many small creators, test one variable at a time, kill losers early, scale what holds. Phone cases are a different category and I have not run it. For Pela I would lean on its own claims sheet and on your team's read of what a case buyer cares about.
- monthly social impressions at Tabs
- 100M+
- views on one reel
- 17.7M
- views on one video
- 8M
- views on one video
- 6.5M
Part 3 of 15
Why now
50,000+
Reviews the site invites you to read
Pela's pages link to a large review base. Reviewers who wrote about a case are the first people I would message.
Published$500
A screen guarantee a creator can say
The case pages back the protection line with a $500 screen guarantee with screen protector. It is concrete and easy to film around.
Published$65.00
One price across the Pie Lover line
Every Pie Lover case I read, iPhone, Google and Samsung, is $65.00. One price keeps the creator script simple.
Published$85
Free shipping threshold in the U.S.
The site offers free shipping on U.S. orders over $85. That gives a creator one clear line to point to.
Published
Part 4 of 15
Principles
One number to protect
Cost per 1,000 views, target $1. The base case sits at $5.74, so every test is built to close that gap.
One variable per test
Hook, setting or opening line changes, never two at once. Losers killed early; winners go into the hook library.
Claims sheet or no post
Creators quote only sheet lines: the $500 screen guarantee, flax shive, plant based biopolymer. Nothing else about protection or composting.
Small ramp, hard ceiling
Two creators a week up to 10 over six weeks. Monthly ceiling $15,000 with all 10 at the top cap, bonuses excluded.
Part 4 of 15, continued
One channel for everything
#briefs
Briefs, drafts, reviews and the weekly numbers
MayaMon 8:30 AM
This week's brief: the Pie Lover case, café-table reveal. One hook, one setting. Case in hand, one line from the claims sheet.
Got it. Filming Tuesday.
JordanTue 10:15 AM
Can I say it's unbreakable if I drop it on camera?
No. Say the sheet line: drop-tested for real life, backed by our $500 screen guarantee with screen protector.
Weekly botAppMon 9:00 AM
Report posted: videos by creator and format, views, cost per 1,000 views against the $1 target. Two losers flagged for the kill list.
MayaWed 2:40 PM
Draft sent back: the hook works, but the composting line says more than the site does. Reshoot the last few seconds with the sheet wording.
Reshot, uploading now.
Weekly botAppFri 11:05 AM
Jordan's autumn-sofa video passed 100,000 organic views. $50 flat bonus queued, one per creator per month. Flagged as a paid-test candidate.
MayaThu 4:00 PM
Check: every live video needs the paid-partnership label and sheet lines only. Reply with your link if one of yours is missing the label.
All mine are labelled. Links below.
The messages illustrate the working channel, with invented people: briefs go out on Monday, claims questions get an answer the same day, and nothing posts without the check.
Part 5 of 15
Formats
Brief 01
Café-table reveal
“Watch what I pull out at the café.”
Handheld at a café table, case in hand beside a drink. Turn it slowly in daylight, then say one sheet line.
Brief 02
Grass-level close-up
“A phone case that started as plants.”
Low angle outdoors, case upright in grass. Pan across the vegetable art, then read the made-with-plants line.
Brief 03
Outfit match
“Does this case match my coat?”
Mirror or friend shot in a layered outfit. Hold the case up next to the coat and show the artwork up close.
Brief 04
Couch unboxing
“Fall just got its own phone case.”
On a sofa with a blanket. Unbox, press your thumb on the grip, then prop the case against a cushion.
Brief 05
Flat-lay craft
“Every pattern has a designer behind it.”
Overhead on fabric or linen. A hand enters, rotates the case, then holds on the details for a few seconds.
Every product line in a video comes off the claims sheet word for word, for example “Soft, grippy texture. Smooth meets sturdy in the best way. Never slippery, always secure.”, “Actually protective. Drop-tested for real life. Backed by our $500 screen guarantee with screen protector.”, “Made in North America. Crafted with fair wages and quality you can trust.”. Product names are said as printed.
Part 6 of 15
Recruiting
Four sources in
Pela's own reviewers
The site links to 50,000+ reviews. People who wrote about a case are the first I would message, one note each, with the claims sheet attached.
Design-led niches
Café, outfit, home-decor and craft creators. Their feeds already look like the illustrated cases, so the art does half the work.
Theme search
Search the themes of the line: Food & Drink, Animals & Wildlife, Space & Sky. Creators who post that world already fit the art.
Affiliate or ambassador page
I did not find an affiliate or ambassador page on the site. There is no existing program to inherit, so the first roster starts clean.
Five filters, fewer each step
1Phone in frame
Their videos already show a phone in hand, in real light, not a studio.
2Taste fit
Their feed has the cozy, illustrated, design-led look of the Pela line.
3Honest tone
They can read a claims sheet aloud without stretching it.
4Clean past work
No past posts that overstate eco or protection claims.
5Steady cadence
They can post seven videos a week for as long as they are live.
Part 7 of 15
Who
Café-table lifestyle
Films drinks, desserts and desk setups. The case sits in frame beside a coffee.
Likely product: Powder Blue Pie Lover iPhone 15 Case
Outfit of the day
Posts coats, jewelry and styling. The case becomes the accessory.
Likely product: Powder Blue Pie Lover iPhone 14 Case
Cozy home and fall
Blankets, candles and autumn rooms. Fits the Autumn Table and Halloween collections.
Likely product: Powder Blue Pie Lover Google Pixel 8 Case
Craft and DIY
Flat lays, fabric and sewing. Follows how a pattern is built.
Likely product: Powder Blue Pie Lover iPhone 13 Mini Case
Plant-based, low-waste
Talks about everyday swaps. Can read the flax shive line straight, no extras.
Likely product: Powder Blue Pie Lover iPhone 16 Pro Max Case
Android daily user
Pixel and Galaxy owners. The site sells Google and Samsung cases next to iPhone.
Likely product: Powder Blue Pie Lover Samsung Galaxy S22 Case
Left off, every time
Always out: creators who push unproven eco claims, anyone who wants to say unbreakable or zero waste, accounts aimed at children, and anyone unwilling to label paid posts. Compostable stays Pela's own wording only.
Part 8 of 15
First twenty
- Café and dessert creators who film plates and drinks
- Fall-aesthetic home creators: blankets, candles, cozy rooms
- Outfit-of-the-day creators who style accessories
- Denim and thrift fashion creators
- Craft, sewing and fabric-art creators
- Illustration fans who follow independent artists
- Cat-owner creators with everyday pet content
- Plant-based kitchen and low-waste swap creators
- Garden and wildflower creators
- Pixel-owner creators who review Android daily
- Galaxy-owner creators who film unboxings
- iPhone daily-carry creators who show bag contents
- Desk-setup and stationery creators
- Coffee-shop work-from-anywhere creators
- Dorm and small-room decor creators
- Halloween and seasonal-decor creators
- Gift-guide creators who test small gifts
- Commuter creators who film what is in my bag
- Travel creators who show carry-on items
- Phone-photography creators who care about grip in hand
Part 9 of 15
Claims sheet
Approved, word for word
Quoted exactly as the brand publishes it.
“Eco-Friendly iPhone, Google and Samsung Cases”
Opening line or caption, any format
“Soft, grippy texture. Smooth meets sturdy in the best way. Never slippery, always secure.”
Hand-held shots, grip demos
“Actually protective. Drop-tested for real life. Backed by our $500 screen guarantee with screen protector.”
Protection talk; always keep the screen-protector wording
“Made with plants. Our cases are made from flax shive and a plant based biopolymer.”
Grass-level close-up and materials talk
“Designed by our in-house team.”
Flat-lay craft format
“Made in North America. Crafted with fair wages and quality you can trust.”
Closing line of any format
“Free shipping on U.S. orders over $85”
Caption or end card for U.S. viewers only
Never said
Each one with the reason it stays out.
It's unbreakable
The site says drop-tested and a screen guarantee with a screen protector. It never says unbreakable.
Zero waste
The site says compostable. It makes no waste claim.
It dissolves anywhere, even in the ocean
The site says working towards plastic free oceans, not that the case breaks down anywhere.
Free shipping worldwide
The site states free shipping in Canada and USA, with low-cost shipping elsewhere.
The guarantee covers any damage to your phone
The guarantee is for the screen, with a screen protector.
Better than every other case
Comparisons with other brands are not on the sheet and cannot be backed.
To confirm with the brand
Held until someone on the brand side signs off.
Where and how the case is composted
The site says compostable. I need Pela's conditions before a creator describes the process.
Terms of the screen guarantee
Needed before any creator films a drop test around it.
Part 10 of 15
Pay
Starter
$300–600
a month, by band
For newer creators with a real but small audience. Lowest cap, a trial run of one Pie Lover brief.
Bonus at the cap: $300
Standard
$500–1,000
a month, by band
For creators who hit the weekly cadence and keep claims clean. The working middle of the roster.
Bonus at the cap: $500
Premium
$800–1,500
a month, by band
For proven hooks and repeat winners. Highest cap, earned after clean posts across a full cycle.
Bonus at the cap: $700
Under 100,000 views
$0
The base pay covers the work.
100,000 views
+$50 flat
Whatever the band.
1,000,000 views
Top-up to your cap
Bonus = band cap − base pay.
- One bonus per creator per month, however many of their videos pass 100,000 views.
- The bonus is per video: $50 flat for a video that passes 100,000 views.
- Organic views only. Paid boosts and reposts never count toward the threshold.
- No bonus on a video that broke the claims sheet or the category rule, even if it took off.
Starter: $600 cap − $300 fee = $300 bonus; Standard: $1,000 cap − $500 fee = $500 bonus; Premium: $1,500 cap − $800 fee = $700 bonus.
The bonus pays for reach after the work is done, never instead of it. One bonus per creator per calendar month keeps it an incentive and keeps the program cost predictable.
Part 11 of 15
Simulator
Base case: 303 videos, about 1.8M views, $10,050 cost, $5.74 per 1,000 views against a $1 target. To reach it, 4.2% of videos go viral or the median video hits 21,711 views.
Program facts
Pela creator engine, per month
- Monthly cost
- $10,050
- Base pay
- $10,000
- Est. bonuses
- $50
- Videos / month
- 303
- Est. views / month
- 1.8M
- Cost per 1,000 views
- $5.74
Above the $1 target at these inputs.
To hit $1, the roster needs about 10.1M views a month. That means about 4.2% of videos going viral, or a median near 22K views per video. That is why the day-90 gate exists: keep the accounts that clear it, replace the rest.
Proposed, not measured. Views = videos × median, breakouts at 10× the median, viral at 750K. Bonus: +$50 for a viral video, one per creator per month.
Part 11 of 15, continued
What moves the result
| If the median is | Views / month | Monthly cost | Cost / 1K | Hits target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 750 | 1.4M | $10,050 | $6.96 | No |
| 1,500 | 1.8M | $10,050 | $5.74 | No |
| 3,000 | 2.4M | $10,050 | $4.24 | No |
| If the viral share is | Views / month | Monthly cost | Cost / 1K | Hits target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3% | 1.2M | $10,000 | $8.44 | No |
| 0.5% | 1.8M | $10,050 | $5.74 | No |
| 1% | 2.9M | $10,150 | $3.52 | No |
The math. Videos a month = 10 creators × 7 a week × 52 ÷ 12 = 303. Views per video = (1 − 4% − 0.5%) × 1,500 + 4% × 10 × 1,500 + 0.5% × 750,000 = 5,782.5; 303 videos × 5,782.5 = 1.8M views a month. Cost = 10 × $1,000 = $10,000 base + 1 bonus × $50 = $10,050. Cost per 1,000 views = $10,050 ÷ 1.8M × 1,000 = $5.74 against a $1.00 target. To hit the target, either 4.2% of videos go viral or the median video reaches 21,711 views, other inputs held.
Move the sliders and the label recalculates. The result is only as good as the guesses behind it, so the median views, the share of breakouts and the share of viral videos are marked as Assumptions until the first month of posts replaces them.
Part 12 of 15
Phases
| Item | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators live | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Videos a week | 0 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 56 | 70 |
| Base pay a month | $0 | $2,000 | $4,000 | $6,000 | $8,000 | $10,000 |
Warm-up
Sheet and shortlist
Before launch: claims sheet signed off, ten creators shortlisted, hook library started with the five formats. No creators live in week zero.
Month one
Ramp to ten
Two creators a week join until 10 are live. Seven videos each per week. One variable per test, losers killed early.
Month two
Full roster live
All 10 live. Bands move on clean cadence. Videos past 100,000 organic views become the first paid tests.
Month three
Hook library pruned
Winning hooks replace weak ones. Creators with clean claims move up a band. Cost per 1,000 views checked against $1.
Day ninety
Keep, cut or resize
Decision on three months of cost per 1,000 views, by format and by creator. The roster follows the numbers.
Monthly ceiling
$15,000 hard limit
$15,000 with all 10 creators at the top cap, bonuses excluded. A limit, not a plan to spend it.
$15,000 Monthly ceiling, all 10 creators at the top cap, bonuses excluded Proposed
The roster grows by two creators a week, so hook performance can be read week over week instead of by anecdote.
Part 13 of 15
Weekly report
Every Monday: videos by creator and format, views, cost per 1,000 views against the $1 target, losers to kill, winners to scale, and any claims flag.
Creator engine, last 4 weeks
Target $1 per 1,000 organic views Illustrative
- Creators reporting
- 5
- Posts last week
- 32
- Avg cost per 1,000 views
- $8.94
- Bonuses owed
- $0
- Keep / Watch / Replace
- 1 / 1 / 3
| Creator | Band | Format | Posts | Median | Best | Cost / 1K | Bonus | Flags | Call |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator A | Starter | Café-table reveal | 7 | 2.1K | 25K | $3.37 | $0 | None | Keep |
| Creator B | Standard | Grass-level close-up | 7 | 1.4K | 8.4K | $9.83 | $0 | Claim check | Replace |
| Creator C | Premium | Outfit match | 6 | 1.8K | 54K | $7.94 | $0 | None | Watch |
| Creator D | Starter | Couch unboxing | 5 | 900 | 3.6K | $12.99 | $0 | Over cap? | Replace |
| Creator E | Standard | Flat-lay craft | 7 | 1.2K | 11K | $10.59 | $0 | Release missing | Replace |
| All creators | not applicable | not applicable | 32 | 1.5K | 54K | $8.94 | $0 | not applicable | not applicable |
Illustrative rows with invented creators, coherent with the pay bands above. Keep means the cost per 1,000 views is at or under the program average, Watch is up to half again over it, and Replace is anything higher.
Part 14 of 15
Organic to paid
From organic to paid
Organic first
Every video goes live on the creator's own account with the paid-partnership label.
Pick the winners
Videos that pass 100,000 organic views, or beat the format median by a clear margin, enter a shortlist.
Ask for usage
Pela asks the creator for ad usage of the shortlisted video. Terms agreed before any spend.
Test as an ad
The video runs as a paid test with the same hook. One variable changes at a time; losers stop early.
From the video to the checkout
- Send viewers to the Pie Lover case page at $65.00, matched to their phone model.
- Say free shipping on U.S. orders over $85 only in the caption, and only for U.S. viewers.
- Point iPhone, Google and Samsung owners to their own case pages.
- Use the screen guarantee line only with the screen-protector wording.
- Send doubters to Customer Reviews, where the site invites readers to see 50,000+ reviews.
Part 15 of 15
Category rules
Phone accessories: rules for a compostable case
A creator talks about protection and compostability. Both need exact words, and the sheet is the only source.
Protection stays literal
Say drop-tested for real life and the $500 screen guarantee with screen protector. Never unbreakable, never survives any drop.
Compostable as the site says it
Use compostable as the site does. Do not describe where or how fast it breaks down until Pela confirms the conditions.
Eco wording is Pela's
Eco-friendly only as Pela's own wording, said as Pela's. No claim of zero waste or of a cleaner planet.
Label every paid post
Each paid post carries the platform's paid-partnership label and a clear on-screen mention in the first seconds.
Safe drop tests
Drop tests happen at table height, on a soft surface, with a clean case. No risky stunts and never a stranger's phone.
Price and shipping as published
Quote $65.00 and free shipping on U.S. orders over $85 only as the site states them. Send people to the page for the rest.
The brand’s legal team sets the final rules. This is the operating floor I’d start from, not legal advice.