MESSAGES OF CHANGE

TitleMESSAGES OF CHANGE
BrandYOUTUBE
Product / ServiceYOUTUBE MUSIC
CategoryB10. Use of Social Platforms
EntrantAKQA Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation AKQA Tokyo, JAPAN
Media Placement DENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN
Media Placement 2 ESSENCE Tokyo, JAPAN
Production AKQA Tokyo, JAPAN
Production 2 CIVIL TOKYO, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Felipe Galiano AKQA Creative Director
Daniel Busch AKQA Associate Creative Director
Omri Reis AKQA Senior Creative Strategist
Johnson Lim AKQA Designer (Motion)
Takao Neko CIVIL TOKYO Art Director/Designer
Sosuke Sugiura CIVIL TOKYO Art Director/Designer
Fumio Yamamori CIVIL TOKYO System Developer
Aika Sawai AKQA Executive Delivery Director
Teruyo Watanabe AKQA Senior Project Manager
Moeka Sakuma AKQA Associate Project Manager
Hideaki Hara AKQA Account Director
Rikiya Yamakawa AKQA Associate Creative Director (Copy)
Hideyuki Izumi AKQA Associate Creative Director
Cheryl Lee AKQA Art Director (Concepting)
KC Chang AKQA Senior Art Director (Motion)
Matteus De Faria Vilas Boas AKQA Designer (Motion)

Why is this work relevant for Media?

This work demonstrates how content from social platforms can be seamlessly integrated into a traditional media campaign, and how tweets can become an entire campaign’s message. In this project, we transformed users’ messages from social platforms on digital into physical music posters, billboards and out-of-home ads in Japan. It shows how social media can be at the heart of a media campaign, and how it can empower people, amplify their voices, and strengthen the relationship between YouTube Music and its consumers.

Background

The Japanese music market is the second largest in the world, but 80% of revenue still originates from physical CD sales. To break into this market and showcase the power of its digital platform to the music industry, YouTube Music Japan partnered with acclaimed local band, Suchmos, to promote their new album ‘The Anymal’. YouTube Music aimed to showcase the power of YouTube in breaking new artists and albums, engage fan communities and connect all music lovers in one seamless, accessible experience.

Describe the creative idea/insights (30% of vote)

Japanese pop-culture cherishes the personal connection between fans and artists - from hand-shaking events to the exchange of personal, handwritten messages. Since Japan is predominantly a physical market, it is exactly these physical displays of mutual emotion that drive fans’ interest and participation. Our research showed that Japanese fans are much more likely to share information when a personal gesture from the artist is included. Our strategy therefore focused on YouTube as the platform that enables warmer, closer fan-artist relationships.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Seeking to translate this unique fan culture into social media, we asked Suchmos fans to send their warm messages to the band on Twitter. We then transformed these messages into personalized Suchmos digital posters, in real time, and sent them from YouTube’s social accounts back to the fans. Eventually, we turned the best tweets into physical outdoor posters, making fan tweets into the campaign’s main message. Fan posters were placed in important landmarks from the band’s history. The result celebrated Suchmos and their fans in the spirit of YouTube’s mission of “giving everyone a voice and showing it to the world”.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We launched the campaign on April 1st, the same day a new era started in Japan, with a new emperor signifying a once-in-a-lifetime historical change. The tweets coming from fans were recognized by YouTube’s official Twitter accounts - sending personalized posters back to the fans including their message. In the next phase, selected tweets were printed on actual posters and placed in locations from Tokyo to Kanagawa - the band’s hometown. Eventually, the band members shared videos and visuals of the various signs and messages on their own accounts - empowering them and extending their reach into millions of fans and followers.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign generated 45 million impressions, helping Suchmos’ official YouTube channel boost its subscriber number by 26%, and most importantly, propelling ‘The Anymal’ to reach number #2 on Billboard Charts in Japan. YouTube Music achieved 3% increase in brand lift, and fans came to visit their personalized billboards, amplifying their support of the band on social platforms. In total, more than 1000 music posters, billboards and digital ads amplified the voice of the fans. Reciprocating thousands of heartwarming messages with unique personal gesture from YouTube and the band. Fans flocked to see their posters - witnessing their personal impact on the album’s treception, and the band’s success.

Links

Supporting Webpage