We knew we could spend all the money in the world to tell this audience Google+ is a place for music and still not change their mindset. So instead we decided to show them what was possible on the platform - a direct experience in a world full of broadcast.

As we knew our target audience were Ellie Goulding fans, we could use Ellie’s social channels to reach high penetration without spending anything - driving her 4m fans from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to Google+, all building towards the live signing event. We also utilised Google owned channels across Google+, turning the platform into both our broadcast tool and engagement channel.

Finally, we used Hangouts on Air, a key part of Hangouts functionality, to enable us to livestream this intimate moment across the world, which news and music sites embedded, extending the live event across the internet.

With zero media spend we reached over 20m people, featuring on outlets such as BBC Radio 1, ABC News, Mashable and NME. This lead to 500,000 fans adding Ellie to their Circles, driving significant 30DAs, and 100,000 viewers in 156 countries watching the broadcast online - the equivalent of Ellie signing in front of a full capacity Nou Camp.

This activity led Billboard Magazine to decree Google+ “the future of music” in a double page feature, showcasing Google+ as a innovative media channel for the music industry. And during 2013, Digital Signings will scale worldwide, free to use by any artist or record label.