Genius marketer dresses as postman and 'delivers' resumes in a box of donuts to land a job — and it worked

In late 2016, a man dressed as a postman—complete with black sunglasses and a black-and-white T-shirt labeled "Postman"—visited 40 top advertising and tech companies in the Bay Area. Carrying brown paper bags, he pressed elevator buttons, knocked on glass doors, and delivered packages to HR personnel, who then passed them to their CEOs, following the package instructions. When the CEOs opened the packages, their initial curiosity turned into wide-eyed amazement, followed by laughter as they leaned back in their sleek leather chairs. The mastermind behind this inventive marketing stunt was Lukas Yla (@lukasxyz), an enterprising marketer who proved that sometimes the most effective marketing comes from thinking inside the box, as reported by Metro.

It’s easy to imagine an HR professional skimming through a stack of resumes, glancing at a few, selecting one or two, and relegating the rest to the office storage closet or the stationery bin beneath their desk. Yla, a marketing specialist, moved from Vilnius, Lithuania, sought to break this routine when he moved to San Francisco in search of a job. Aiming to apply to top tech and advertising firms, Yla devised an ingenious strategy to distinguish himself in a sea of job seekers. Rather than submitting a traditional printed resume, he opted for a creative twist: he dressed as a postman and hand-delivered boxes of Mr. Holmes Bakehouse doughnuts, each accompanied by a personalized pitch for the job.

Each box contained four fresh, crisp doughnuts and a printed note on the inner flap that read: "Most resumes end up in trash, Mine - in your belly." While it’s unclear how this marketing genius came up with this strategy, the idea is brilliant. Resumes might be discarded, but doughnuts? Never. By delivering these irresistible treats, Yla cleverly captured the attention of hiring managers, compelling them to consider his CV. The note also included a link directing recipients to his LinkedIn profile, seamlessly merging creativity with practicality.

"As a marketing professional with more than five years of experience, I knew that to stand out from the crowd and grab attention I had to make a bold move," Yla told Business Insider. To a layman, this might sound like an easy gimmick. However, he stated that it’s a well-tested marketing strategy. "In reality, it was a precisely crafted campaign that went through many different iterations," he said. "To maximize my ROI and land an interview, I did multiple campaign A/B tests with different sizes of companies, target audiences and copy. The short Bit.ly URL also allows me to track who visits my LinkedIn profile and when, so I am constantly improving my campaign."

And even though the unemployment rate in San Francisco is just 3.7%, the competition is still tough, per YCharts. Amid this competitive landscape, Lukas Yla aimed to make a memorable impression, even if it meant starting from scratch. To achieve this, he needed a sharp and creative marketing strategy. “I was looking for the most direct way to reach decision-makers at the companies. I thought that I might fail to compete only on ‘resume’ level with other candidates that have work experience in San Francisco,” Yla told Metro.

“It felt like the right moment to challenge myself,” he added. Of the 40 boxes Yla delivered to companies like Lyft, Uber, Instacart and Postmates, his unique approach earned him over 10 interviews. Bastian Lehman, cofounder and CEO of Postmates, even praised his “delicious CV,” calling it “fantastic” on X. "People appreciate this approach," Yla said. "They understand that it requires time, creativity and a hustler attitude."