Why is this work relevant for Media?

This work has been inspired by the unique way passionate Japanese music fans share handwritten messages with their favorite artists - an act that strengthens the emotional dependency with fan communities. Knowing how meaningful this is, we leverage this feeling and gave fans the opportunity to have their very own messages being part of our media campaign featuring their favorite band. Using a trans media channel strategy, we invited fans to share their passionate messages on social platforms, and amplified their messages by transforming them into unique personalized music posters - and eventually into billboards, and out-of-homes across Tokyo.

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 the 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, engaging fan communities and connecting all music lovers in one seamless, accessible experience.

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

Japanese fan-culture cherishes the personal connection between fans and artists - from hand-shaking events to the exchange of personal, handwritten messages. Because Japan is predominantly a physical market, it is exactly these physical promotions 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 band is included.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Seeking to translate fan culture into the social media realm, we asked Suchmos fans to send their warm messages to the band on Twitter. We then transformed these messages into personalized digital posters, in real time, and sent them back to the fans. Eventually, the best tweets turned to physical outdoor posters and placed in important spots of 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. It was also the start of a new school year and Suchmos first fully digital album, available on YouTube. With this change in the background, we asked fans to tweet their thoughts about the new album. Insightful tweets were transformed into personalized posters featuring an exclusive band photo, and sent back to the fans from the brand account. In the next phase, selected tweets were printed on actual posters and placed in locations from Tokyo to Kanagawa - the band’s hometown. Eventually, 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’ 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. Reciprocally, thousands of heartwarming messages of appreciation were shared by fans - some including the place of their own posters in the city.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and/or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

Fandom in Japan uniquely supports more equal relationships between fans and artists. Instead of passive followers lured by talent and charisma, Japanese fans prefer to actively, and creatively deepen their relationships with artists, assuming a central role in events and performances. The local music industry cultivates these closer relationships by providing promotions and incentives that tie music products with direct interactions with artists - from handshaking events, to personal messages’ exchange or exclusive performances and goods. It is this promise of a closer relationship, more than the music, that drives Japanese fans’ behavior.