The objective of ARRIVAL was to capture the Coachella Effect in cinematic form. This is the unique moment when an artist steps onto the Coachella stage and has the chance to transform from rising talent into a global star. Coachella has long been a discovery engine where cultural waves extend far beyond the desert, breaking artists into the mainstream.
The series set out to follow five artists from the 2025 festival lineup including Shaboozey, The Marias, The Dare, Ivan Cornejo, and Djo. Each artist represented a different genre, background, and community, chosen because they embodied the essence of discovery at Coachella and were on the cusp of a major breakthrough.
By combining intimate verite storytelling, interviews, and cinematic live capture, ARRIVAL aimed to translate this cultural phenomenon into an accessible digital format for global audiences. Filmed in the critical days leading up to their Coachella performances, ARRIVAL takes viewers inside rehearsals, creative sessions, and personal moments to capture the energy, pressure, and purpose that define an artist on the brink. Each episode culminates in a powerful performance, documenting the artist’s arrival in real time.
Another core objective was to launch ARRIVAL as Coachella’s first premium documentary series exclusively on YouTube, designed to give fans an all access look into artist journeys while positioning Coachella as a global storytelling platform where narrative, performance, and culture intersect.
To bring ARRIVAL to life, we selected five artists from the Coachella lineup who reflected the festival’s role as a launchpad for emerging global voices. Shaboozey, The Marias, Ivan Cornejo, The Dare, and Djo represented a diverse portrait of rising talent, each with rapidly growing fanbases and a unique cultural presence.
From the start, the creative approach focused on documenting the Coachella Effect in real time. This meant blending intimate verite filmmaking with the festival’s multi-camera broadcast to show both the personal and professional transformation that happens as an artist prepares for the world’s most influential stage. This was a cultural archive of the moment before an artist steps into the Zeitgeist.
ARRIVAL also marked Coachella’s first collaboration with a brand on its YouTube channel. T-Mobile’s integration was designed to feel authentic to both the artists and fans, with consistent branding at key moments, a presenting title sponsorship, and subtle magenta cues in graphics, lighting, and set design. A custom Fan Connect moment wove real voice messages recorded by fans on site directly into all episodes, creating a more personal and meaningful connection.
For distribution and amplification, we activated a multi platform promotional strategy. Alongside YouTube support, ARRIVAL was pushed across Coachella’s owned ecosystem, including festival app promotion, SMS alerts, email marketing, custom cutdowns, and earned press. The featured artists also shared the trailer and episode content with their combined 8.3 million followers.
Execution required coordinating production, live capture, artist access, and post production workflows across multiple teams including Goldenvoice, YouTube, T-Mobile, and MGX Creative. Despite the scale and the tight turnaround around the festival, ARRIVAL delivered a cohesive series that reflected the energy and stakes of each performance. Built through a strategic partnership with YouTube, it set a new precedent for how premium festival driven storytelling can live online.
ARRIVAL became Coachella’s most successful original series launch, surpassing all initial viewership goals and solidifying its impact across platforms. The series generated more than 80 million cross platform impressions and reached 2.9 million global views on YouTube, exceeding estimates by 45 percent.
A brand lift study confirmed that T-Mobile significantly outperformed industry benchmarks across all KPIs and brand metrics, including opinion, consideration, and recommendation. This success was amplified by a partnership halo effect that boosted brand impact, partnership value, fan sentiment, and enjoyment. Eighty two percent of viewers reported being more likely to consider T-Mobile and eighty three percent held more favorable brand opinions as a result of the series.
ARRIVAL also became the most watched original series ever on Coachella’s YouTube channel, accumulating 205,000 hours of watch time. Ivan Cornejo’s episode reached YouTube’s top trending list on June 26, 2025.
The featured artists also saw measurable momentum. The Marias saw the biggest growth in listeners across digital streaming platforms following their Coachella appearance, further validating the Coachella Effect captured in the series.
The project met and exceeded its goals by documenting the moment artists transition into the mainstream, elevating Coachella into a global storytelling platform, delivering strong brand impact for T-Mobile, and driving unprecedented viewer engagement across YouTube and Coachella’s ecosystem.
