Duolingo

Case study

Client

Duolingo

Services

Communication Design

Year

2022

Challenge

Duolingo needed cultural relevance in Japan beyond app-store messaging, in a market where language mistakes are a source of embarrassment rather than conversation.

Decision

I conceptualized and directed the Museum of Wonky English — the first institution in Japan celebrating the art of mistranslation — and built a UGC engagement strategy so the experiential activation lived on social, not just on-site.

Outcome

Record-breaking social performance, international press (Ad Age, The Drum), and a measurable lift in daily brand mentions (550 → 987, +79%).

Key metric

765,000 X (Twitter) impressions — 155% above the 300,000 OKR target

The work

Duolingo - Museum of Wonky English

For Duolingo, the world’s leading language-learning app, I conceptualized and directed a user-generated content campaign connected to an experiential activation celebrating the poetic charm of mistranslations in Japan. By transforming language-learning mistakes into a cultural conversation, we created the “Museum of Wonky English,” the first institution in the country to showcase the art and humor of mistranslation.

Developed and executed an integrated engagement strategy that encouraged visitors and a broader audience to share their own examples of “wonky” English, amplifying participation both on-site and across social channels.

Social Media Performance

Generated record-breaking Twitter engagement with 765,000 impressions (155% above the OKR target of 300,000)
Achieved a +7,588% lift compared to the Q4 average (9,952 impressions)
Increased daily Duolingo brand mentions from 550 to 987 (+79%)