Legendary UK dance act Faithless released their first studio album in 10 years, All Blessed, on 23rd October. We started by asking the band for a manifesto to work to and they said, “Be conscious, be caring, love yourself so you can love others and understand who you are and where you are. This is music with feeling and words with meaning.” This gave a strong basis for the campaign.
To warm the audience up, fans around the world were treated to a series of unique moments, unlocking exclusive content at sunset #AsTheSunSets. This partnership with Landmrk and the European Space Agency (ESA) used space data to determine a user’s location and unlock content at nightfall. Fans were presented with new music, video and an exclusive live stream. Fans could create their own badge, containing their location co-ordinates and the time the sun set in their area. Fans shared these badges on social media, driving the reach and awareness of the band while paying tribute to the feeling of never-ending nightlife that Faithless have always created.
To further tap into the spirit of bringing people together, we used a number of platforms to encourage fan interaction and engagement, including Facebook Live, Twitch, and a Tim’s Twitter Listening Party.
One of the underlying themes of the album is immigration and empathy. This was given added resonance as the events of 2020 unfolded. To mobilise fans we created a ‘film trailer’ highlighting the key issues that happened throughout the year, from the wildfires to Covid-19, the Black Lives Matter protests, immigration, and political unrest. Faithless have always been outspoken on social and political issues, so the digital campaign tackled these issues head on in the imagery and creative direction used.
As part of the campaign, Faithless will be launching #PlayItForward, to raise money for charity through the sharing and giving of music. Well-known DJs and musicians will be encouraged to donate signed vinyl that will be given away as one large, money-can’t-buy collection. People donate to buy a ‘ticket’ to give them a chance to win the collection, with all proceeds going towards Choose Love, raising money for the charity Help Refugees.
All Blessed debuted in the UK album chart at #6. It was the #1 independent album and dance album release that week.
To engage with existing and new audiences, we tailored creative. Nostalgic but forward-thinking content worked well for existing and lapsed fans. The film trailer and socially aware content helped us cut through social noise, tap into a new audience and be a part of the conversation. Fans responded well to Sister Bliss’s personal content giving the social channels renewed energy.
We increased Instagram fans by 32%, with spikes around #AsTheSunSets, the ‘film trailer’ and release week. Content uploaded to YouTube and Community was used to mobilise fans, resulting in a subscriber increase of 18%.
#AsTheSunSets was a global event, with fans across Europe, US, South America, Russia and Australia unlocking content and sharing badges. The website included a sign-up option to boost data capture.
The digital activations helped secure Faithless’s biggest day on streaming on album release, 56% higher than their previous best. Streaming through release month increased 33% and monthly listeners were up 12%. The album received excellent playlist support including multiple New Music Fridays, MINT, New Music Daily, Beats of the Week & New Dance. Playlist reach increased by 144% and the number of playlists increased by 22%
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