The goal was to elevate Made by Google’s annual IO event and make it a social sensation. The task was simple: add cultural relevance to create content that consumers will care about and reach an audience that goes beyond just the tech crowd.
Tech keynotes are great at being informative but not great at being memorable. You know what’s easy to remember? A great f*cking party. So we threw an epic After Party following Google’s annual keynote event to show off the new Pixel 9 and its Google AI features in a way non-techy people would appreciate and we made sure it had everything that makes a really good party:
A fun host: Keke Palmer
Spicy encounters: Hot Ones interviews with Google Execs
Elaborate drinks: Trixie Mattel and Monet X Change using Gemini to create mocktails
Magic Tricks: Jimmy Butler made people disappear with Magic Editor on his way to the party
Surprise wardrobe change: Joe Ando with Gemini as his assistant
Flirty banter: Chicken Shop Date’s Amelia Dimoldenberg doing sideline reporting
And Puppies because why not.
We intentionally chose talent and social-first shows that drive conversation on social media, to stitch together a live-to-tape brand new IP for Google, called the ‘Made by Google After Party. It’s not typical that media publishers allow you to take their IP out of their ecosystem but partners trusted us to creatively pull off a media-first-of-its-kind format.
The After Party consisted of multiple segments that humanized the new Pixel 9 feature. We paired the brilliant minds at Google with the faces of culture. For example, Sean Evans interviewed Google’s SVP of Device & Services Rick Osterloh as Gemini on Pixel helped him navigate the Hot Ones Gauntlet; whilst Pixel’s Product Manager, Kenny Sulaimon, is interviewed on Pixel 9’s camera technology with adorable puppies as his subjects.
The social-first content approach paid off new product capabilities such as Gemini Live - Google’s AI capabilities and AI-powered camera features such as Add Me, and Magic Eraser through lighthearted content v’s only demonstrating technological advancements within an on-stage live demonstration environment.
It was imperative that creative and media executions were designed in a way where paid, owned and earned could work together. Beyond the Hero 30-minute YouTube show, we created a social-engine designed to ignite buzz in the lead up to the launch and continue to drive conversation and views in social-first content once the main show had launched.
The hero videos were stitched into the :30 minute live-to-tape After Party show that aired on YouTube immediately following the Made by Google event. We then carefully designed a social strategy that pushed out 45x unique assets, consisting of BTS, sizzles, recaps, cutdowns all made to fit the social environment. These assets lived across Google’s own social channels, our media partner channels and across our talent’s own handles with a thoughtfully designed organic and paid boosting strategy. We used ‘collab’ posts with our 8x talent to help draw new audiences to Google's owned channels and content. (8x talent, 6x platforms, 23x handles)
Google’s After Party event launch achieved remarkable success across multiple channels, surpassing key benchmarks within just 24 hours and driving impressive engagement throughout the first week. Here’s a breakdown of the standout results across social, media, and PR efforts:
