Rap is all about STREET CRED.

For the launch of the hip hop show Validé, we asked the street to do the campaign! We turned the name of the show “Validé” into a STREET CRED LABEL allowing fans to validate the things they love: their homies, their hood, their style,… everything! Created via an interactive instagram filter, their stories became the official campaign in DOOH, in light projections around the city and in Adidas stores (official collaboration). The show got the respect of the hiphop community: it was the biggest success of CANAL+ ever.

Canal+ needed to rejuvenate their audience.

The Show "Validé" was back on Canal+ for a long-awaited second season, after a first season that broke the network's all-time records.

To promote this series that about rap, we wanted to target rap fans in the most authentic way possible.

The name of the show “validé” is a slang word used by the youngsters to say that something is street certified. This cultural reference was an opportunity.

An integrated campaign that starts from social media. We decided to let rap fans create the campaign themselves. Because, who better than the streets can validate the streets? To do so, we turned the name of the show “Validé” into a Street cred label, allowing fans to personnaly validate the things they love with an interactive Instagram filter: their homies, their hood, their style,… everything!

But this User Generated Content was only the starting point: a series of fan stories using the street cred label were broadcasted in digital out-of-home all over France.

The street cred label made out of the show logo with a frame became also the key visual of the campaign. In the premiere with a photocall of the cast, in the street with projections on graffiti and hip-hop related places, even in Adidas store where 700 rappers became certified by freestyling in a mini studio.

Our target was rap fans of all ages. Today in France, rap is the favourite genre, listened by 38,2% of the 18-24 and 35,3% of the 25-34. Mostly in urban areas.

But rap is all about street cred, we had to prove we are legit to be accepted by the community. To do so, we decided that fans should do the campaign themselves. Starting from social media with User generated content turning into an authentic mass media campaign.

For the media strategy, we wanted to be as close as possible to the target. The DOOH was the most accurate: allowing us to show different user generated content and also because it’s the best way to touch the urban community.

• 09/23 : Premiere with the vip’s. Cast and celebrities started to use the Instagram filter and to validate things.

• 09/24 : 50 influencers starts to use the street cred label IG filter. We start to collect the User generated content of people using the filter.

• 10/04 : Corner at the adidas store of Citadium (the biggest street culture shop In France.) for 1 week. With a mini studio where 700 rappers did a freestyle certified with the street cred filter.

• 10/08 : Stories of the fans broadcasted in DOOH all over France

• 10/08 : Stories of the fans broadcasted on the largest vertical screen of France, in front of Citadium

• 10/08 : Light projections of the street cred label in the street of Paris. On graffiti and hiphop related places.

• 10/10 : Launch of the show on Canal+

The authenticity of the campaign helped the success of the series, which was definitely validated by the streets. Season 2 generated more than 10 million views in 6 days and more than 16 million views in the first month post-launch.

The street cred label filter got over 4 million impressions.

700 rappers where certified by the street cred label in the Validé mini-studio in the Adidas stores in Citadium.

Today in France, rap is the favourite genre, listened by 38,2% of the 18-24 and 35,3% of the 25-34. Mostly in urban areas.

But rap is all about street cred, we had to prove we are legit to be accepted by the community. To do so, we decided that fans should do the campaign themselves. Starting from social media with User generated content turning into an authentic mass media campaign.