For Harry Styles’ sophomore album, Fine Line, Columbia Records activated a global digital advertising and social media campaign that brought the fictional island of Eroda, the setting of the music video for lead single “Adore You”, to life. We created an entire country by just using a website dated back to 2004, island social channels and IRL components. In the online properties, people could find information about the island which then led to a comprehensive digital advertising campaign targeting self-identified Harry Styles fans all over the world.

For Harry Styles’ sophomore album, Fine Line, Columbia Records brought the fictional island of Eroda, the setting of the music video for lead single “Adore You”, to life. Launching with a Harry-themed message generator in October 2019, we began collecting fan data that became the foundation of our Fine Line roll out. Including addressable audience data from Harry’s social handles and YouTube channel, we identified 8.5MM fans around the world, and targeted these individuals with cryptic advertising inviting them to visit Eroda. The ads were translated into 6 languages across social, display, video, and audio channels. The campaign ignited international intrigue, with articles, reddit threads, and worldwide trending topics all asking the question, “What is Eroda?”. We invite you to explore the mystery of Eroda and join us for the execution of the most innovative music marketing campaign of the year.

Our Eroda campaign wouldn't have been possible without the unique concept that is the “Adore You” music video. The video is in a complete world of its own - a forgotten fishing village where superstitions run high and it's perpetually cloudy. With a witty fan base like Harry’s, we immediately knew we could take the fans on a wild journey through our social handles and that they would be there to decipher every code we threw their way. The video’s peculiar script would become the blueprint for our social handles and website updates. We updated the Twitter daily with various rules from the island, tourist information and travel guides; while consistently changing small details on the island’s website so nothing ever quite made sense. We were able to build anticipation, spark Discord & Reddit conversations, and ignite Harry’s fan base, all while never even tying it to him yet.

Throughout the campaign, our strategy was twofold: build fans a world (or in this case – an island) that they could discover and claim as their own, while keeping an eye on opportunities to invite new fans into the fold. Social content was rooted in references from the to-be-released "Adore You" music video, which would provide the payoff for die-hard and new fans alike. Seemingly obscure copy points became inside jokes among followers, with users sharing screenshots of their plane tickets and Erodian itineraries. When a Subreddit and Discord channel appeared, we paid close attention to the most popular theories (a video game, an episode of Black Mirror, a new Disney movie) and pivoted messaging in real time to keep the speculation growing. Brands got on board, with Burger King photoshopping Eroda into their store locator. Over the two week campaign, we made sure everyone felt welcome on our island.

Twitter was our key social platform throughout the Visit Eroda campaign. Official Eroda handles fueled all conversation, while key #VisitEroda hashtags kept the momentum alive. Fans shared their findings using the tag and our official account acknowledged and responded to fan findings in a vague but peculiar manner. Website updates were shared to Twitter, as we simultaneously leaked information throughout the web, while spreading IRL content of brochures, pins, and island merch throughout the internet / platform. We gave fans a reason to keep coming back daily to discover more. The more invested you were in Eroda, the more the Eroda account would reveal. The worldwide impact of this campaign was felt as “Eroda” trended #1 worldwide on Twitter multiple times before Harry’s name was even connected to our campaign.

Eroda trended #1 worldwide on Twitter before Harry’s name was ever mentioned or explicitly connected to the campaign, and continued to trend following the reveal. Fans created bootleg merch, posted Eroda tattoos, and drove the social handles to nearly 600K followers overall. In the following weeks, Fine Line became Harry’s most successful launch, topping the Billboard 200 for two weeks and earning one of several Grammy nominations for Music Video of the Year for “Adore You”. Fine Line was named the 4th most streamed album Worldwide on Spotify in 2020, and fans are still tweeting about Eroda to this day.