Go Media’s free billboard for @dailyrejections blows up socials

When Herman Jagpal knocked on the door of Go Media’s central Auckland office and asked for a free billboard he was completely expecting to be told no.

Instead, director Mike Gray surprised him by saying yes.

It was day 200 of entrepreneur Jagpal’s year-long pledge of rejection therapy. Each day he asks a stranger for something – to help him cross the street, perhaps, or to swim in their pool. Then, with their consent, adds the video to his Instagram account: @dailyrejections.

Whether they say yes or no to his random and often whimsical requests is beside the point. The real aim is about rediscovering human connection, meeting people and building confidence, says Jagpal.

“You can almost get anything you want if you get the right person at the right time,” he adds.

Milestone days

Jagpal thought asking for a spot of free advertising on a billboard seemed like the perfect way to celebrate making it to 200 days of his daily rejection project.

He knew of Go Media through seeing their billboards while out and about, as well as their sponsorship of Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland’s Penrose.

“I knew I had to give it a try. The worst case was that they would say no, the best case is that they would say yes and it would be this incredible experience,” says Jagpal.

The power of giving

It’s definitely not a request you receive very often – and it’s safe to say the Go Media team were surprised by Jagpal’s arrival on their doorstep on July 19.

“I was just wondering if I could get a free billboard?” he asks.

“Wait, sorry, what do you mean?” exclaims the team member who greets him at door.

“Just like a billboard, but for free,” reiterates Jagpal. The team member doesn’t question further but instead leads him inside to meet Gray.

Gray says his first thought was about the Advertising Standards Authority: what exactly did he want to advertise?

But when Jagpal started to give some more insight, Gray couldn’t say no – despite not quite knowing yet what rejection therapy was all about.

He connected Jagpal with one of his designers and 45 minutes later they were heading down the road to Go Media’s site on Fanshawe Street.

In that five-minute walk, Jagpal talked more about his project. It resonated with Gray, his own philosophies and those of his company.

The company regularly gives away free media spots – in the last year, they’ve given away $12 million across sports, music and culture, including sponsoring the Guinness World Record Haka campaign.

“I believe in the power of giving,” says Gray. “We give away free campaigns all the time.

“It’s what underpins and motivates me and makes it meaningful to work at our company.”

It’s always a no unless you ask

Jagpal’s ad, which congratulated him on 200 days of rejection and included the quote: “It’s always a no unless you ask” ran on the Fanshawe Street site for 10 minutes. As you can see by the pictures, he was pretty stoked with the result.

The resulting reel went viral, with 1 million views on Instagram and 6.8 million on TikTok. Jagpal now has 625,000 and 137,400 followers on each platform respectively. Gray has pledged to help further by promoting Jagpal’s Instagram across the Go Media network.

Go Media’s social media “blew up too”, says Gray, going from 3500 followers to now 10,400 on Instagram, followed up by people wanting to know the company’s TikTok account.

“We didn’t have one, so at 11pm on Saturday night we made one – we now have 49,000 followers.

“We helped Herman because he asked and that story is resonating across the world. People are saying it has ‘restored their faith in humanity’… There’s been an outpouring of love.”

Gray sees his and Jagpal’s philsophies as being similar: the power of asking and the power of giving, and he’s enjoying spreading those messages to people.

Following on from Jagpal’s viral reel, Go Media ran a competition on TikTok and Instagram to give away a billboard for free, calling on people to tag their Everyday Heroes. Entries closed on July 27.

Then on July 26, they were at Go Media Stadium where the Warriors were playing the Gold Coast Titans where they gave a signed ball away to a young Warriors fan.

Small moments, huge impact

Jagpal is grateful for his quest that among others has seen him attend a stranger’s wedding, play football in a stranger’s backyard and ask a group to play tag with him.

It’s a step out of the comfort zone, sure, but it’s allowed him to connect with so many people – which he says is the key to happiness in life.

“It’s taken on a life of its own. The challenges usually take three to four minutes a day, but they lead to so much more.”