Google Digital GOOGLE+ DIGITAL SIGNINGS by Google Creative Lab

Type of entry: Use of Media
Category: Best Use of Special Events and Stunt/Live Advertising
Advertiser: GOOGLE
Product/Service: GOOGLE+
Agency: GOOGLE UK London, UNITED KINGDOM



Results and Effectiveness


With zero media spend we reached over 20m people, featuring on outlets such as BBC Radio 1, ABC News, Mashable and NME. This lead to 500,000 fans adding Ellie to their Circles, driving significant 30DAs, and 100,000 viewers in 156 countries watching the broadcast online - the equivalent of Ellie signing in front of a full capacity Nou Camp.

This activity led Billboard Magazine to decree Google+ “the future of music” in a double page feature, showcasing Google+ as a innovative media channel for the music industry. And during 2013, Digital Signings will scale worldwide, free to use by any artist or record label.



Creative Execution


We knew we could spend all the money in the world to tell this audience Google+ is a place for music and still not change their mindset. So, instead we decided to show them what was possible on the platform - a direct experience in a world full of broadcast.

As we knew our target audience were Ellie Goulding fans, we could use Ellie’s social channels to reach high penetration without spending anything - driving her 4m fans from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to Google+, all building towards the live signing event. We also utilised Google owned channels across Google+, turning the platform into both our broadcast tool and engagement channel.

Finally, we used Hangouts on Air, a key part of Hangouts functionality, to enable us to livestream this intimate moment across the world, which news and music sites embedded, extending the live event across the internet.



Insights, Strategy and the Idea


In just 2 years, Google+ has signed up 500m users, with 135m of those active in the stream in the last 30 days (30DAs). But that’s only just over 25%, with a huge number of warm leads. We wanted to drive more of these early adopters to become active by positioning Google+ as a credible social destination for music lovers.

This young and marketing-savvy audience demand authentic experiences, but whilst tech and media have evolved, their goal has remained the same - they dream of meeting their idol. We wanted to show how Google+ could give them an experience that wouldn’t be available anywhere else on the internet, and inspire them to use Hangouts with other music fans.

We did this by reinterpreting the classic album signing for the digital age, with the medium becoming the creative idea.