#1917LIVE is an experimental project - a historical social media role-play that introduces an innovative storytelling format that inspires younger audiences to learn and interact with history.

Through daily posts from dozens of linked accounts, the project creates an alternate 1917 Twitter universe under the flagship feed of a fictitious news publisher. The project features Breaking News style posts, 360 videos, rare archive footage, CCTV mock-up and even a LIVE feed from 100 years ago.

We wanted to ensure this real-time dynamic publishing stream could capture history, retell it, so generations can relive it.

The project has a key community element - the #1917CROWD hashtag allowed anyone to create their own historically authentic “avatar” and engage with the events of 100 years ago. The project was endorsed by renowned writers such as British historian Dr Helen Rappaport and best-selling author Paulo Coelho, who contributed to live-tweeting 1917 events.

Key features:

- historically authentic online teasers filmed on-location

- use of rare archive footage as just-in Breaking News video

- unique 360 VR-series bringing viewers back in time to experience 1917 Russia almost as it was: you can witness WW1 battles, visit a revolutionary printing house, or sneak into Lenin’s hideout apartment

- LIVE Q&A sessions with characters like Lenin, Kerensky, Tsar Nicholas II during which anyone could ask a historic figure a question AND be answered

- collaboration with Paulo Coelho on first-person tweets by Mata Hari, adapting his book “The Spy” to #1917LIVE storytelling

- mock-up CCTV footage from 100 years ago

- #LeninTracker online map which followed Lenin’s 7-day-trip from Switzerland to Russia in real time

- POV LIVE Periscope stream from Lenin’s secret hideout

- collaboration with digital colourist Marina Amaral

- creative incorporation of trending hashtags, polls, Moments, other interactive tools

After one year, #1917LIVE accounts gained over 250,000 followers combined. More than 275,000 tweets used the hashtag #1917LIVE generating over 75 million impressions. Project-related videos generated 1,500,000+ views across social media platforms.

#1917LIVE was followed by media influencers, reporters, politicians, researchers and history enthusiasts. Journalists from The Guardian, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, France 24 ‘retweeted the revolution’. The project received media coverage in 10+ languages (Huffington Post, El Pais, La Stampa, GQ, Telesur and others).

The project generated scientific interest among scholars and educators globally: some have requested a full data-set to enable their research. Others are using the data to teach Russian history.

Innovation in #1917LIVE was praised by many influencers on Twitter and has already been recognised at numerous prestigious international awards, generating powerful PR flow.

The strategy was to immerse our followers into the reality of revolutionary Russia to the greatest extent possible, to create a surreal feeling as if events from a century ago are breaking into their daily newsfeeds. To achieve that in our storytelling we tried to use all the interactive tools social media platforms can offer.

The central narrative pillar was created by team of journalists and researchers. All tweets are accurately sourced from memoirs, diaries, letters.

Work on the project began in July 2016. The toughest challenge was to go through an enormous amount of historical data, and then organise it into a day-by-day Twitter timeline. Through 2017 our editorial and creative team hand-crafted all content, every tweet was factual, verified through multiple sources.

#1917LIVE enjoyed a truly special place with educators, history buffs, professors, teachers, students, post-grads. University scholars at Oxford, Georgetown, Cardiff, British Columbia followed the project timeline.

We asked ourselves what would be the best new way to teach history in the social media era? How can we engage an audience used to snaps, tweets, developing situations and breaking news? So we decided to create a large-scale Twitter role-play that re-enacts history, in real time.

#1917LIVE is a Twitter time-machine which takes you back 100 years to relive the Russian Revolution. Dozens of historical accounts from Tsar Nicholas II to Vladimir Lenin live-tweet events day-by-day, as if Twitter existed a century ago.

One of the project’s key objectives is to educate and inspire the audience to learn, while setting new best-in-class Twitter standards. With #1917LIVE, our task was to introduce a new format which can be effectively adapted by schools and universities in history courses globally.

Among PR objectives – we aimed at increasing brand awareness by creating an innovative storytelling.