ScarAway UGC Campaign: How SALT Delivered 130+ Video Assets and 7 Million Impressions for Perrigo

The Challenge

Perrigo did not need a commercial. They needed a content library. One that could fuel paid media across five major platforms simultaneously, move units at retail, and do it with creative that consumers actually trust.

The tension was real. ScarAway customers researching scar treatment products want proof from people who look like them. Not actors. Not soft-focus labs. Real people with real scars and real results. But raw UGC is poorly lit, off-brand, and impossible to run in paid media. Perrigo needed both: authentic human stories and broadcast-ready execution.

They also needed scale. 130+ distinct assets. Nine real participants. Eight platforms. Eight weeks. Full licensing for perpetual Web Streaming and External Distribution. That is not a campaign brief. That is a production systems challenge.

Our Approach

The Dual-Track Production Model

We built two parallel production tracks that ran simultaneously and fed the same content calendar.

Track 1: The ScarAway Challenge (6 Participants)

We cast six everyday candidates — people with real scars, real stories, and zero on-camera experience. Our crew directed every weekly vlog update. We controlled the narrative arc, the visual consistency, and the brand alignment without scrubbing the humanity out of the footage. Fifty-four vlog-style videos, every one on-brand and emotionally genuine.

The authenticity was real. We just made sure it was also usable.

Track 2: The Mini Challenge (3 Participants)

To guarantee delivery schedules and maximize platform-specific asset volume, we launched a parallel Mini Challenge. We put our own team on camera: Sloan Inns (SALT Creative Director) and Kyle Bultman (SALT Commercial Photographer) joined external participant Mandy P. as on-camera subjects.

Directing your own team means the timeline never slips. The reshoots never happen. The brand standards never get negotiated on set. In a 130-asset campaign with nine talent schedules running across eight weeks, that kind of built-in insurance is not a luxury. It is the production.

The Deliverables Matrix

Beautiful stories are half the job. The other half is execution at scale — the grid of crops, specs, and formats that turns raw footage into assets the media buying team can deploy immediately.

We delivered every format the campaign needed, pre-cropped and platform-tested.

Main Challenge Assets (6 Participants)

| Asset Type | Qty | |---|---| | Vlog-Style Weekly Videos | 54 | | Full Story Videos (Amazon) | 6 | | Intro Videos | 6 | | Compilation Kickoff Video | 1 | | 30-Sec Google DV Cross-Screen Premium | 6 | | 30-Sec YouTube TrueView Skippable | 6 | | 15-Sec Google DV Cross-Screen Premium | 6 | | 15-Sec YouTube TrueView Skippable | 6 | | 15-Sec Facebook/Instagram Square | 6 | | 15-Sec Facebook/Instagram Vertical | 6 | | 15-Sec Instagram Stories | 6 | | 15-Sec Pinterest Max Width | 6 | | 6-Sec YouTube Bumper (Retargeting) | 6 |

Mini Challenge Assets (3 Participants)

| Asset Type | Qty | |---|---| | Professional Before/After Photo Sets | 6 | | 30-Sec Vlog Promo Videos | 3 | | 15-Sec Vlog Promo Videos | 3 |

All assets delivered under perpetual Web Streaming and External Distribution license.

The Impact

The national media effort surpassed every benchmark it chased.

The CVS digital shopper campaign delivered 7 million+ impressions — entirely surpassing category benchmarks. The curated vlog content drove an 88% video completion rate on Facebook and Instagram, in a category where typical social video completion rates fall between 15–25%. That gap is not luck. That is a content model built to earn attention.

Video assets accounted for 50% of all page clicks in the CVS shopper campaign. That is purchase intent, measurable. CVS shoppers watched the content, trusted what they saw, and moved toward the shelf. The +20% click-through rate over category benchmarks confirmed the creative model: authentic people telling real healing stories outperform polished category advertising in contexts where consumers are doing genuine research before they buy.

Seven years later, these videos and photos remain permanently on the ScarAway "Success Stories" page and continue building the brand's digital storefront on Walgreens.com. Assets built around real human experience do not expire. That is compounding ROI. Most campaigns get ninety days of use. This one got seven years — and counting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the ScarAway Challenge?

The ScarAway Challenge was a curated UGC campaign produced by SALT for Perrigo's ScarAway brand. Nine real participants — six in the Main Challenge and three in the Mini Challenge — documented an 8-week healing journey on camera. SALT directed, shot, and edited every update, then delivered 130+ final assets formatted for eight digital platforms.

What is curated UGC, and why does it outperform raw user-generated content?

Raw UGC is real but unreliable — poor lighting, loose brand messaging, and footage that rarely holds up in paid media. Curated UGC starts with real people and real stories, then applies professional direction and editing to ensure every asset meets broadcast quality standards. The ScarAway Challenge achieved an 88% video completion rate using this model, compared to typical social benchmarks of 15–25%.

What platforms were the ScarAway video assets formatted for?

We delivered platform-specific cuts for YouTube (TrueView Skippable and 6-second Bumpers), Facebook, Instagram (Feed, Stories, Square, Vertical formats), Pinterest Max Width, Google Display Network Cross-Screen Premium, Amazon product pages, and CVS digital shopper campaigns — eight distinct platform environments in total.

How do you produce 130+ video assets without quality slipping?

The deliverables matrix. Before production begins, we map every final asset by platform, format, duration, and spec. Every editorial decision in the cut is made with the full matrix in mind — which means the 6-second bumper and the 30-second TrueView are not afterthoughts. They are baked into how the footage gets shot and how the story gets structured.

Why did SALT put its own team on camera for the Mini Challenge?

Controlling talent is the fastest way to control timeline. When SALT Creative Director Sloan Inns and Commercial Photographer Kyle Bultman joined the Mini Challenge as on-camera subjects, we eliminated rescheduling risk for three of nine participants. In a high-volume production window, that kind of insurance is built into the system by design.

Why are these videos still in use seven years after production?

Authentic stories outlast trend-based content. The ScarAway Challenge documented real healing journeys — stories that remain relatable and credible to consumers researching scar treatment today. When you build content around genuine human experience instead of the current trend cycle, the shelf life compounds. Assets that keep converting for seven years fundamentally change the cost-per-result math.

What video completion rate should I expect from UGC content?

Industry benchmarks for social video completion rates fall between 15–25%. The ScarAway Challenge hit 88%. The difference is narrative structure. When real people are telling a story with an arc — a beginning, a visible change, a result — viewers stay. When the content is just product-first messaging dressed up as authenticity, they don't.

Can SALT produce a similar high-volume UGC campaign?

Yes. The ScarAway model — dual-track production, deliverables matrix, platform-specific formatting, and perpetual licensing — is a repeatable system. If you need a content library that powers paid media at scale and outlasts the campaign it was built for, let's talk.

Where is SALT based?

We are a woman-owned creative video company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We produce commercial, documentary, and performance-driven content for consumer brands and enterprises across West Michigan and beyond.