A music video was a great way to bring people in Shell’s key target markets together, reaching across language and cultural barriers – but to really captivate digital natives it had to be striking, interactive and different.

We decided to partner with five international singers, each with a different style and following, all with a history of involvement in worthwhile causes that would make them an authentic ambassador for one of the energy ideas. They would collaborate on a single song, showing how when we work together, we can truly transform things and #makethefuture

The visual concept was a “hive of energy” – a 3D honeycomb in which each hexagon contained an artist or a sustainable technology for which they were an ambassador. Together, the music and visuals would harness the artists’ passion and talent to demonstrate how the different clean energy innovations relate to the audience’s lives.

The search for engaging music partners began in November 2015. Within six months Jennifer Hudson (US), Luan Santana (Brazil), Pixie Lott (UK), Yemi Alade (Nigeria) and Tan WeiWei (China) had signed up. Each had vocal talent, a huge following and a genuine desire to #makethefuture.

Next, we needed a song that would resonate with audiences everywhere. BEST DAY OF MY LIFE by American Authors had an upbeat message and energy. Renowned producer Steve Aoki brought the artists’ different cultures together in a spectacular remix.

The video was shot in May 2016, with each singer bringing a different technology to life. In September it was released on YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr and Snapchat, as well as digital OOH in London, New York and Buenos Aires. Three artists performed and demonstrated the clean energy ideas at an event in a Brazilian favela, and all shared the campaign messages through traditional and social media.

The Shell "Best Day of My Life" video’s original, compelling design immediately captivated audiences, becoming one of the most shared campaigns of 2016.

A colour-coded interactive version that allowed users to see and hear just one artist at a time expanded on the linear video’s success by a factor of twelve

In summary:

816 million video views

99 markets

Most shared brand facebook post of 2016

Over 1 billion people reached through earned media

329 earned media articles

Best-performing branded content in Shell’s history

The campaign proved how much can be achieved through collaboration.

Best Day of My Life is, by definition, an integrated campaign. We created a positive, optimistic programme of activities, consisting in live event, music video, interactive music video, digital OOH, partnerships with artists and innovation technologies.

To double our energy supply by 2050 will take a huge global collaboration. The next generation will need to make it happen so the #makethefuture campaign was targeted at digital natives, particularly in the target markets of the US, UK, China, Nigeria and Brazil.

This demographic is known to switch constantly between different platforms and devices. They follow their favourite music artists on social media and readily share content that they love.

The obvious platforms for #makethefuture were YouTube and Facebook, allowing the music video to be viewed on a computer, tablet or phone. An interactive version on Snapchat would engage audiences for longer and make history as the platform’s first vertical video.

The video would be premiered on outdoor screens in key global capitals, and our global supergroup would help to build momentum, attending a live (and live-streamed) event, sharing their collaboration online and promoting it in PR interviews.

By 2050, the world will need double its current amount of energy supply.

And for most people, the discussions around the future of energy are difficult to engage with because it’s not necessarily clear how these issues connect to their current or daily lives. These problems are usually treated as boring, discouraging and unalterable.

The company’s brief, then, was to grab the attention of “millennials” regardless of where they were or what language they spoke. The objective was to get them thinking about how their phones were charged, or their homes heated; to showcase bright energy innovations; and to harness the power of collaboration.