CMT’s Artists of the Year selected Randy Travis as the show’s ‘Artist of a Lifetime.’ To make RAM a part of that moment ViacomCBS looked to linear, social and digital content pieces that would simultaneously stay true to RAM’s legendary identity and give it an epic award show glow up. As the digital part of this campaign, our created custom branded content that merged classic country with a new voice and the ruggedness of RAM with the emotion of meeting one’s hero.
Randy Travis is one of the most iconic names and voices in country music, but after a severe stroke in 2013 that saw him flatlined and in a coma, he was eventually left with aphasia that dramatically hampered his speech. So, when CMT’s Artists of the Year event selected Randy Travis as their ‘Artist of a Lifetime,’ an award sponsored by RAM Trucks, we had to look for unique ways to honor the legendary artist and stay true to RAM’s identity.
Our team learned that Jon Pardi, a country star on the rise, has been a fan of Randy Travis since he was a young child, when his grandmother introduced him to the singer’s music. Not only did Pardi have a love for Travis from a young age, his musical influence is clear in the songs Pardi writes and performs, making Pardi a natural fit to help honor Travis.
What started as a piece on the beginnings and influence of Randy Travis, who in moving to Nashville had a job as a dishwasher at the Nashville Palace (now our set for the shoot) morphed into a magical moment between Jon Pardi and Randy Travis himself. As Pardi shared his memories of the iconic singer, and performed Travis’ timeless “Forever and Ever, Amen” our team was working behind-the-scenes to orchestrate the very first meeting between the two country music singers -- a complete surprise for Pardi. As Travis entered the room where Pardi was performing the emotions were palpable. Pardi, the tough farmer turned country star, couldn’t hold back as tears filled his eyes.
The truly special moment was captured by our crew and crafted into two short-form video pieces that featured RAM, and were shared with fans across CMT Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
The final digital pieces resulted in high praise from our brand partners at RAM. Across socials
the pieces garnered 11.3 Million impressions, 3.2M views, 29% view rate, as well as earned media articles from prominent music publications such as American Songwriter, Whiskey Riff, Sounds Like Nashville, The Boot, Taste of Country, as well as radio stations nationwide.
