As it prepared for a global expansion, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child needed to increase worldwide awareness of the play, refresh and align creative elements for all worldwide productions, and reaffirm its connection to the official Harry Potter franchise. Specifically, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child needed to do three things:

* Increase worldwide awareness of the play, particularly among Harry Potter fans

* Demonstrate that the play is a canonical part of the beloved Harry Potter brand, with the full endorsement of J.K. Rowling

* Refresh creative so that worldwide productions shared a look, feel, and POV.

We created a global campaign that was launched with an unparalleled experiential takeover of Times Square. Using a record-setting 51 screens, the takeover surrounded audiences with nearly 360-degrees of visual content that teased the show's story about the battle between light and dark.

The global campaign included:

* A new title treatment that incorporated both J.K. Rowling's name and the lightning bolt letter forms seen on Harry Potter book covers and in Harry Potter films

* A new front-of-house design

* A new tagline and key art

* A new television commercial

And most importantly…

* An unparalleled experiential takeover of Times Square

The new global campaign needed to launch with an event that matched the scope and power of the Harry Potter brand. Times Square was the perfect location for this event, since it is one of the most iconic destinations in the world, plus it would reach New Yorkers and global fans alike.

To be successful, the Times Square takeover had to be groundbreaking and attention-worthy. It had to communicate the battle between light and dark that drives Cursed Child's story. It also had to suggest the live experience that Harry Potter fans can only have when they see the play on stage.

We created a groundbreaking immersive experience; a memorable reveal of the show's new tagline and key art; worldwide social media, press, and influencer coverage; and real-world activities to delight those in attendance.

Syncing all 51 screens in Times Square was no small feat, as they are controlled by eight different vendors and run on different clocks. We were, in fact, initially told that our vision was impossible. But we made it happen, through both magic and ingenuity.

The film itself featured Harry Potter welcoming the crowd back to Hogwarts for another school year. After Harry fired lightning bolts around the screens, they glitched and went dark, and the sense of gloom in Times Square was palpable. Shadowy dementors flew and swooped on screens across Times Square, and Voldermort menacingly whispered Harry's name.

We filmed the event and the crowd's reaction in several different takes (with three cameras, one jib, and several GoPros), and within 24 hours we turned that footage into a new commercial that was released globally.

The takeover generated over 1.64 billion impressions, which is more than 5X our projected goals.

Within four days, paid social generated 1.3M+ impressions, with 368% lift in clicks and a 227% increase in average CTRs. Social sentiment was overwhelmingly positive, with many users declaring that the play was clearly part of the Harry Potter canon.

The Broadway Briefing, an influential industry newsletter wrote, "It was among the more impressive marketing activities we've ever seen for a Broadway show." On his popular blog, Tony Award-winning producer Ken Davenport wrote, "Kudos to everyone on the Potter team for imagining the impossible and making it a reality."

The show itself saw a 70% increase in e-commerce sessions and a 30% increase in official website traffic.