Case Study: DigitalOcean achieves scalable global Hacktoberfest t-shirt fulfillment for 50,000 participants with Kotis Design

The explosive growth of Hacktoberfest and the t-shirt redemption

DigitalOcean needed a reliable way to fulfill Hacktoberfest rewards as participation exploded—from a few hundred recipients in 2014 to tens of thousands within a few years. To manage sizes, shipping addresses, customer service and global shipping logistics for free t-shirts and stickers, DigitalOcean partnered with Kotis Design and used Kotis Design’s redemption web page/program service to replace fragile spreadsheet-based tracking.

Kotis Design implemented a code-based redemption system that captured size and shipping data, automated fulfillment, and handled global shipping logistics. The solution scaled with the event—moving from 515 redemptions in 2014 to handling up to 50,000 shirts annually—eliminating spreadsheet errors and freeing DigitalOcean to focus on the event itself while Kotis Design managed swag delivery worldwide.

DigitalOcean