With so many different genres' origins in Black Music, we could not not celebrate Black Music month and needed to provide a curated experience for music fans to do so too. It had to be a meaningful and authentic celebration for fans - something that felt as real to them as their own passion for the music. We wanted to elevate the genres, the artists, and most importantly the fans. This needed to feel like a fan-forward piece of storytelling, that was relatable and vivid.
We worked to create a meaningful and hyper authentic piece of branded content. We strived to capture a snapshot of black music as it permeates in the lives of black music fans. We titled the piece 'Forever The Influence' and it followed characters as they voyaged through a day in the life, where we see the different roles that music plays for them. Forever The Influence is a 2 minute long video piece that tells the story of the lasting influence that Black Music has across fans and across music.
We featured real fans, and elevated the real insight that amazon delivery drivers are often playing music when driving through your neighborhood to deliver a package. We interwieved the stories of these characters, showing the way these genres they listen to interconnect and the influence that the music has across people and places. We used the metaphor of vehicles to convey the constantly traveling and moving influence that this music has acros lives. We were also very intentional with our selection of music, selecting tracks and artists that spanned generations, from Kirk Franklin through to including the very current Black country music star Shaboozey.
Despite a relatively small promotional budget for this piece, we saw the strongest amount of engagement we have seen yet on a campaign. We observed large amounts of comments praising the authenticity of the story and explaining how this piece resonated with them, with organic engagement from a range of KOLs.
