Situation: With the UK in various forms of lockdown throughout much of 2020 people were stuck at home and consuming entertainment in their homes and on smart speakers more than ever before.

Brief (for new idea): Music is the #1 reason to own a smart speaker or display (72% of customers). The speakers are bought primarily to experience a ‘new way of listening to music’. Historically our marketing had highlighted the many things our smart speakers can do from helping you cook to turning on your smart lights. However, in this campaign we had the singular focus to create a clear association between [Brand] and music and to showcase that [Brand] speakers are the best way to listen to music at home.

Objectives:

- Deliver 200m+ editorial press impressions (benchmark based on prior campaign)

- Drive 3M YT views (to hit 1:1 equivalent media value)

- Hit sales targets

In the spring of 2020 venues shut and Brits were consuming more music at home than ever before. Brits were also coming to grips with lockdown and needed something to lift their spirits. We partnered with a leading music company to authentically show our users a ‘new way to experience music.’ With a simple voice command [Brand] owners were able access new live music by their favourite artists in the comfort and safety of their homes. 11 UK and 7 international artists hosted 3 separate virtual music events throughout 2020, available on their [Brand] devices or on YouTube.

In May we focused on Mental Health awareness week and the healing power of music. In December, we recreated our artists' favourite Christmas hits with a cheerful narrative. This campaign wasn't about creating another ad, it was about creating the content people wanted in a year when they needed it the most.

We started with a timely consumer insight: music is the #1 purchase driver for smart speakers and during lockdown consumers were listening to music at home more than ever before.

Next, we considered the editorial agenda which was focused on mental health and mood as people were thrown into lockdown. We partnered with our PR agency to conduct research on the impact of music on our mood (spoiler alert - it's significant).

Since we aren't a music brand we knew this activation hinged on partnering authentically. Our strategic partnership with [Music Company] leveraged talent to create exclusive content and conduct press interviews to tell our story.

With a limited budget we built for earned and then scaled through owned channels. Each [Campaign] started with press then moved into the live event and scaled through owned.

Finally our [Campaign] was timed to align with key promotional moments to maximize sales impact.

In order to create an exclusive experience for [Product] owners we built a bespoke voice command. By simply saying the voice command the participant entered into the virtual performance. We later posted the live performances on YouTube for everyone to enjoy.

After the success of the original [Campaign] in May of 2021 the UK campaign scaled globally to 12 countries with a new line-up of artists to support our big Autumn 2020 product launch. The UK then wrapped up the year with another UK-only Christmas event. [Campaign] is still being iterated on and launched across the globe into 2021.

[Campaign] was intended to be consumed via your [Product] but awareness of [Campaign] scaled through press coverage, paid and organic social, influencer partnerships, The [Brand] Store, CRM, YT Mastheads, Home App cards and our 3PR retail partners.

The results speak for themselves: [Campaign] had the highest editorial reach and social engagement of any [Brand] campaign, ever.

Media Outputs:

- 7M YT video views (vs 3M goal)

- 1M+ engagements on social

- 640M editorial reach

- 282 pieces of coverage

- 2:1 EMV (equivalent media value), double our 1:1 EMV goal

- 15% more efficient media buy than BAU

- 2M track listens

Audience Outcomes:

- Grew unaided awareness from 25% to 26% in absence of big paid media budgets

- 100% positive press sentiment

- Increased conversation about [Brand] by 21%

- Increased positive mentions about [Brand] by 55%

Business Outcomes on [Product Website]

- +714% unit sales

- 2X conversion rate on site when exposed to [Campaign]

- Highest [Brand] website traffic when campaign was live