The idea was to create a hyperlocal version of the DAVID BOWIE IS exhibition right at the heart of where David Bowie lived in SoHo, hence the name DAVID IS HERE. Research showed that David Bowie was often seen about in the neighborhood like a regular SoHo resident, and so it seemed fitting that this mini-exhibition would be held at his local subway station, Broadway-Lafayette. Each exhibition piece would talk about his life in the area, his favorite spots, where he performed, and recorded his hits—with a Spotify code that plays the David Bowie song it inspired.

DAVID BOWIE IS HERE took over all of Broadway-Lafayette station, featuring over 40 unique pieces about the music icon’s life in the neighborhood and New York City. The work covered a spectrum as broad as Bowie’s category-defying career, including never-before-seen images from photographers such as Mick Rock and Masayoshi Sukita, personal artifacts from his archive, new commissioned pieces from longtime collaborators, and a 150-ft anamorphic centerpiece that showed Bowie from two eras. Each piece came accompanied with a Spotify code so commuters could listen to the David Bowie song it inspired. To get fans to the station, we released 250,000 David Bowie MetroCards, available only at Broadway-Lafayette.

DAVID BOWIE IS HERE was a cultural sensation, catching the Metro Transport Authorities off-guard by its overwhelming response, with lines for the limited edition MetroCards stretching to 2.5 hours. The subway takeover was covered heavily in the media, resulting in over $31 million in earned media impressions. Streams of David Bowie tracks on Spotify increased 28%. 57 million consumers were reached by social sharing in the first week alone—with no paid amplification.

DAVID BOWIE IS HERE at its very core is a media idea, where the media channel is Broadway-Lafayette itself, one of the busiest subway stations in New York City. It is a media first as no brands have ever used a New York City subway station so completely beyond its prescribed advertising media spaces.

David Bowie attracts a wide audience, and so it seemed perfect that DAVID BOWIE IS HERE be situated at one of the democratic of spaces—the New York subway station. Upon procuring Broadway-Lafayette station, we worked with the transport authorities to let us use spaces that go beyond regular advertising placements, such as the 150-ft structural beams. The authorities understood that this would be less an advertising campaign, but more a showcase to one of its most famous residents and the places he loved in the neighborhood, which were often walking distance from the station. After which we designed limited-edition David Bowie MetroCards (five designs in all) that were only available for purchase at the station.

DAVID BOWIE IS is the critically acclaimed David Bowie exhibition that ends its five-year run around the world at Brooklyn Museum. As lead sponsor, Spotify wanted to help promote the exhibition and drive public awareness of the music icon, who was himself a New York resident until his death two years ago.