Sam Smith had already been the voice on some huge hits, but we wanted to create something innovative and groundbreaking that would connect with his existing fans and simultaneously bring on board a whole new audience.
We needed to create the biggest possible launch for the debut album of one of the biggest breakthrough acts of 2013. What better way to showcase an artist than through the power of live performance ? So we created a unique launch event, taking over a whole TV ad break to broadcast a live performance direct from the Roundhouse (in London) in partnership with Channel 4, Mediacom and Google Play. This integrated partnership had two key elements: the live advert on Channel 4; and a partnership with Google Play that took the performance to a wider audience and drove direct sales. Interest started from a live Q&A hosted by Sam where he also alluded to the special announcement that he would be streaming his whole London show publicly online. After teasing the event with trailers in the week prior, we took over the whole of the last break in Alan Carr’s Chatty Man, which cut to Sam’s biggest performance yet at the Roundhouse in Camden. Live on air, Sam performed his latest #1 single, ‘Stay With Me’, to both the crowd at The Roundhouse and a massive new audience around the country. We needed to create an opportunity for a deeper engagement to follow on from this moment, to provide the audience with a chance to consume more content and, crucially, push them to a purchase environment.
Google Play, looking to build profile for its music store, was the perfect third partner. Sam himself announced the event via a Google Hangout, we gave them exclusive rights to the full gig footage and they drove traffic to that with targeted messaging. They also gave our campaign scale and reach by hosting the footage in various ad units, including the YouTube masthead that we served through Google’s vast network.
1.5m simultaneous viewers of the live TV advert across the live stream and TV (with 100k additional tuning in specifically during the advert break).
680k people tuned in to the live-stream on Google Play.
1,700 people filled out the Camden Roundhouse.
In The Lonely Hour was the fastest selling debut album of 2014, with 101,000 first-week sales.
37.5k clicks directed to Google Play.
Interactive adverts achieved a 4% engagement rate.
Google+: 576% increase in comments, 378% increase in post shares, 268% increase in +1s, 54% increase in followers.
#GooglePlayLive trended on Twitter and Facebook in the UK.
KEY LEARNINGS
Advertising that thinks outside the box and utilises innovation has the biggest impact amongst fans and new audiences, giving it the edge over traditional styles. Delivering a campaign that appeals to the majority or the target audience provides the greatest return for both artist affinity and sales. Incorporating multiple stakeholders into one partnership can give a great synergy that enhances the final outcome by making use of an increased skill set.
Project Budget
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