Objective

Coldplay has captivated the world for nearly three decades, their timeless music spanning generations. Yet today, their core audience skews toward Millennials. With the release of Moon Music, their first studio album in three years, a unique opportunity emerged. The mission was clear: How could we use this moment to connect Coldplay with the next generation of fans?

Seizing the opportunity, Coldplay, alongside Parlophone Records joined forces with WMG and Gamefam to bring Moon Music to Roblox—the platform where Gen Z and Alpha spend over 2 hours per day, more than YouTube or TikTok. This exciting collaboration led to an interactive campaign leading young listeners through quests where the music became a part of the adventure.

The Coldplay campaign on Roblox aimed to: 

• Create Awareness for Moon Music: Drive downloads and album sales by building excitement for the band’s newly released album through Roblox's platform of millions of players worldwide.
• Introduce Coldplay to New Audiences: Tap Gamefam’s popular games across Roblox to introduce Coldplay to younger Gen Z and Alpha players, creating an engaging space for them to discover and interact with the band’s music. 
• Innovate Fan Interactions: Craft an experience inspired by Chris Martin’s studio notebook so that fans can experience music like never before. Offer them the chance to uncover hidden album doodles, and engage in moon-themed challenges, blending the gameplay with the album 

Strategy

STRATEGY:

Available for two weeks timed with the launch of the album, the campaign introduced Coldplay’s Moon Music to Roblox players in Car Dealership Tycoon, Tower of Misery, Starving Artists, and Really Easy Obby, which have accumulated more than 6.3 billion visits to date as a part of Gamefam’s network. This massive reach provided immediate scale, reaching Coldplay’s target audience across some of the most popular Roblox games upon album launch.

• Music-Infused Gameplay: Players embarked on musical quests across four games, enjoying new Coldplay songs and in-game quests designed based on the album. 
• Deep Interaction: Chris Martin’s original album doodles were integrated into the gameplay, adding a personal touch to the campaign.
• Themed Rewards: Deepening their connection with the album, players unlocked Coldplay-inspired virtual items, including a Moon Music electric car and a Coldplay Alien Head. 
• Platform-Wide Promotion: Players joined Coldplay’s official group for access to a unique Moon Music branded aura. They could wear the aura and the alien head from quest rewards across all Roblox games, spreading the magic of the album well beyond the event.

EXECUTION: 

To promote Coldplay's Moon Music album, Warner Records launched an exciting two-week cross-game takeover on Gamefam’s Roblox portfolio, running from October 4th to October 18th, 2024. This thrilling event was designed to engage and excite millions of young players while introducing them to the new music:

• Car Dealership Tycoon: Players discovered album notebook doodles around the city unlocking a Moon Music-themed electric car.
• Tower of Misery: The campaign introduced a moon-shaped obstacle course for players with moon-themed items to collect.
• Starving Artists: Young artists participated in a fan art contest and explored album-inspired art installations.
• Really Easy Obby: Bringing a thrill to the event, fans faced crazy obstacles while collecting moons to celebrate with with Moon Music in the winner’s room.

Building a deeper connection to Moon Music, players engaged in the quests, earning UGC items as themed rewards upon completing the challenging tasks, enhancing the overall experience.

This compelling experience not only deepened player engagement with Coldplay but also set them up for a massive boost to their new album.

CHALLENGES:

The campaign development process posed a few challenges:

• Reeling in New Young Fans: Coldplay’s core fan base skews toward Millennials, so reaching Roblox’s younger Gen Z and Alpha audiences was a challenge. We had to create an experience that felt entertaining but didn't seem like marketing, as this audience could sniff out ads instantly and shift to millions of other Roblox experiences. 
• Integrating IP Organically in Gameplay: With diverse games—a car game, obstacle course, and art game—we had to blend Coldplay’s space theme seamlessly. Players unlocked themed items, tackled moon-inspired challenges, and explored celestial art, enhancing gameplay without disruption.
• Building Community: Beyond awareness, the goal was to foster connection, encouraging players to engage with Moon Music and each other, creating a lasting sense of belonging. 
• Platform Limitation: To make the moon central to Moon Music quests, we had to work around Roblox's typical skybox restrictions. We focused on games that transported players into the sky, surrounding them with the album’s lunar theme.

Results

In just two weeks, the campaign (October 4 - October 18, 2024) achieved remarkable results:

• Massive Reach: Coldplay’s campaign drew in an impressive 25.6 million total visits, recording a total of 76.7M brand engagements. 
• Time with Moon Music: Players recorded a combined 294.7 million minutes of brand engagement, which is equivalent to listening to Moon Music 6.7 million times.
• IRL Impact: Directly following the event, Moon Music soared to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (Oct. 19), marking Coldplay’s first No. 1 album in over a decade and fifth no.1 album all-time. 
• Media Praise: The Coldplay campaign received in-depth coverage from major music and gaming outlets, including Music Ally, MediaPost, and Pocket Tactics. 

Data source: RoMonitor, Billboard & Gamefam

Media