For the holiday season, Xbox wanted to get influencers to remind people that a personalized Xbox controller makes the perfect gift. The hitch? They didn’t want to pay the influencers for another disingenuous #ad.

So how do you get influencers to talk about you without paying them? Do your homework. We found influencers who were pro-Xbox. Then we stalked, er um, researched them. We dug into the things that they love – their pets, their favorite games, foods, movies, colors, etc.

We then sent them an ugly (and I mean ugly) holiday sweater and a matching Xbox Controller that reflected their personality down to their love of llamas. Each package was rounded out with a personalized holiday card and Xbox-themed gift wrap.

The influencers spread the love by unboxing and sharing their gifts on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, racking up over 80,000 likes and over 4.2 million views. With a little research and a lot of yarn, we helped Xbox build more love.