The National Parks are among America's most cherished treasures, drawing 300MM+ recreational visits each year. Since the pandemic, their popularity has skyrocketed, leading to infrastructure strain exacerbated by budget constraints in Washington, most of which has been placed on the “big name parks” (i.e. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, etc.). By 2024, the National Parks Service, and their non-profit arm, the National Park Foundation, were seeking innovative ways to introduce less popular yet equally impressive Parks to a wider audience. They were also looking for additional funding to preserve these Parks for future generations, recognizing the need for a creative strategy to expand park access without increasing physical visitation.
Meanwhile, and worlds away, Paramount+ sought to to differentiate themselves from other streamers to drive awareness and foster brand loyalty. Their core tactic in recent years had been a national ad campaign, titled “A Mountain of Entertainment,” in which top talent from across their platform, including the likes of MTV’s Snooki, and Star Trek’s Captain Picard, gather at the summit of the fictional “Paramount Mountain.” Paramount+ sought to double down on their “Mountain of Entertainment” positioning and came to us to extend their media campaign, with an openness to whichever advertising/marketing tactic or platform would get them there.
We aimed to build a bridge between the “Mountain of Entertainment'' campaign and real mountains by aligning the National Park Foundation and Paramount+. The win-win strategy was to lean into the mountain metaphor and make a statement about the diversity and splendor of Paramount+ content, while leveraging the power and scale of Paramount+ and its 70MM+ subscribers to achieve the Parks’ goals. Specifically, we wanted to do something show-stopping with the most iconic mountains in the U.S. that engaged people where they already were - in their homes.
To make it happen, we brokered an on-going, annual partnership between Paramount+ and the National Park Foundation, making Paramount+ the Foundation’s “first official streaming partner.” Paramount+ committed to partnering with the National Park Foundation to support the Parks in two key ways:
By leveraging the Paramount+ streaming platform and YouTube channel, we coordinated live streams of the most dramatic and inspiring vistas for free to everyone in the United States and worldwide.
Launched on Earth Day 2024, we broadcast content from seven national Parks over seven days, featuring views from both popular and lesser-visited Parks. To ensure we protected the Parks for future generations, we included fundraising QR codes within the live broadcasts, which allowed people at home to donate to the National Parks. Featured Parks Included:
Pulling off this one-of-a-kind collaboration required overcoming several hurdles. For one, working in collaboration with a federal government agency in some of the most remote locations in the country usually takes years to execute. Despite being told in early 2024 that this project was impossible to complete by Earth Day, we made it happen in under 4 weeks. Additionally, our camera crews were pushed out beyond the reaches of any sufficient, existing internet connectivity, so we opted for Starlink satellites for their portability and reliable streaming bandwidth.
In the lead-up to launch, the live streams were announced through a PR campaign and media partnership with The New York Times, using the tagline, "Yes, You Can Literally Stream a Stream. Enjoy." Paramount+ and the National Park Foundation promoted the partnership through a social media campaign across Instagram, X, and Facebook. As bonus, evergreen content for Paramount+, 8K footage from each Park was edited into “Moments of Zen” - i.e. calming meditative video clips of the Parks’ splendor to support mental health.
The partnership was a massive success, achieving all of the National Park Foundation’s goals, including fundraising, reach (specifically targeting diverse audiences in major DMAs) and increased awareness of lesser known Parks.
Paramount+ brought the live streams directly into the homes of 100+MM consumers around the world, with 5 of 7 Parks falling outside of the Top 10 most recognized Parks (according to NPF data. The streams delivered an average view time of 12 minutes (meaning many watched for 30 minutes or more!). In addition, we raised $1MM+ for the National Park Foundation, consisting of a donation from Paramount+ and funds raised by consumers over the 7 days.
Our data indicates that major cities were the most successful tune-in markets, reinforcing our strategy to bring the great outdoors to consumers in urban/suburban environments.
The campaign achieved significant earned media coverage, garnering over 600 million PR impressions. Social media chatter from outdoor enthusiasts and general viewers showcased the public’s desire to slow down and appreciate nature's wonders.
This campaign allowed millions of people nationwide and globally to access the U.S. National Parks without taking time off from work or booking expensive travel, thus allowing The National Parks Foundation, with help from Paramount+, to continue their mission of protecting the Parks for future generations.
