Check the Mailbox for Flashback Fan Engagement

by Kim Anenberg Cavallo, COO at Done Deal Management and part of the Global Day of Unplugging Team

I still have them somewhere in my storage unit — letters I wrote to Leif Garrett during sixth grade. "Dear Leif," they'd start, my handwriting decorated with hearts streaming enthusiastically across wide-ruled notebook paper. 

Looking back, I cringe a little. But it helps me focus on a question that motivates me in my job managing artists in 2026 - where can we find the meaningful connections between fans and artists beyond comments on social media? Can a musician really feel the bond with their audience when most eyes are hidden behind screens? 

The Discord Paradox

I do love what digital platforms have done for artist-fan relationships. Our Discord servers are vibrant communities. Instagram Stories let artists share moments in real-time. A fan in Tokyo can comment on a post within seconds of a fan in Toronto. It's incredible.

But somewhere in all that immediacy, something got lost. When you can fire off a DM or comment instantly, when engagement is measured in seconds and counted in likes, the connection starts to feel disposable - like fast fashion for relationships.

I see it in the analytics. Thousands of interactions that barely register. Some fans share that they feel like they're shouting into a void, even in communities with thousands of members.

Why Global Day of Unplugging Can Be The Change We Want to See

With the annual awareness campaign and world-wide intentional moment less than one month away - think Earth Day for your sense of belongingness - I had an idea that felt either super cool or completely insane. What if we asked fans to do something radically analog? What if we brought back fan mail?

Not as a novelty. Not as a gimmick. But as a genuine, intentional alternative to the constant scroll.

So we did it. We announced that for a period of time surrounding Global Day of Unplugging (always the first weekend in March), some of the artists on our roster would be accepting old-school, handwritten fan mail at the Global Day of Unplugging PO Box in Los Angeles. And we promised that every single letter would be read, not by an AI assistant, but by either the actual artists or the teams who work closely with them.

The Lost Art of Waiting

Here's what I'd forgotten since my Leif Garrett days: the waiting was part of it.

I'd mail those letters and then spend weeks imagining them on their journey. Was my letter in a mail truck right now? Had it reached Leif’s house yet (Hey, I was 12!)? The anticipation built something that instant gratification never could—hope, investment, imagination.

The fans who have written to our artists are experiencing that now. There is an excitement building in the online communities that the rapid fire dopamine hit of an Instagram notification will never match. They're posting messages in the Discord servers describing the postcards they’re sending and how their handwriting looks  - which many don’t see that often.

What Fan Mail Taught Me About Connection

As part of an artist management team, I spend a lot of time thinking about algorithms, engagement rates, streaming numbers, and social media strategies. And, this fan mail experiment reminds me of something essential: the best connections aren't always the fastest ones.

Writing a letter requires intention. You have to decide what to say, commit it to paper, address an envelope or postcard, find a stamp. You can't delete it or edit it after you send it. It's permanent, considered, real.

And that changes the quality of what gets said.

Fans aren't dashing off quick reactions. They're being vulnerable. They're telling the artists they love about the concerts that changed them, the lyrics that saved them, the songs that sound like their own lives put to music.

And the artists—who spend so much time crafting perfect social media posts, worried about being taken out of context, managing their online presence—will have the chance to read this old school fan mail and feel real human connection, analog and unfiltered.

The Future Is... Slower?

We're not abandoning digital platforms. That would be absurd and, frankly, bad for business. But we are eager to see how this fan mail project grows and impacts the relationship between artists and the communities that support them.

My sixth-grade self would be proud that I'm still creating spaces for the same kind of earnest, unfiltered, fan devotion to exist the way it did for me and Leif.

And, although I hesitated to share my secret crush, I am grateful for the opportunity to “put my stamp” on the field of artist management, hopefully in a way that gives fans and musicians a deeper connection beyond screens.

Want to write to ONE OK ROCK, Henry Morris, or Riff Wood? Ironically, we ask that you join their Discord servers or sign up for their IG Broadcast Channel to find out more about the fan mail projects. Or email collab@globaldayofunplugging.org for more info.