For over fifty years 'going to Lincoln Center' has meant visiting New York's Upper West Side to sit in one of our concert halls. Using Facebook Live, we wanted to make the world's leading performing arts center accessible to a global audience. Now, 'going to Lincoln Center' could mean visiting us from anywhere in the world via Facebook. Our goal was to provide unprecedented access to a wide and diverse audience to many of the exceptional activities that occur at the world's leading performing arts center in one day. In addition, we wanted to shine a light on some of the phenomenal artists that grace our stages. Through all of this, we hoped to deepen engagement with our existing fans and reach new audiences through digital channels.
On October 7, 2016, Lincoln Center live streamed 'A Day in the Life at Lincoln Center' on Facebook Live. Camera crews crisscrossed Lincoln Center's 16-acre campus to capture some of the performances, classes and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes activity that happen in a single day at the world's leading performing arts center. This was a collaborative undertaking by all 11 different organizations on Lincoln Center's campus including iconic organizations such as The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, and The Juilliard School. From sun up to curtain down, content was streamed from 12 locations with 3 different camera crews across Lincoln Center and New York City.
Highlights of the day included:
- The Juilliard School's morning drama warm up
- Following New York City Ballet's principal dancer Megan Fairchild throughout the day as she prepared for the evening's performance
- School of American Ballet's advanced girls' and boys' classes
- A tour of the Metropolitan Opera House's costume shop with Ryan Speedo Green and Susanna Phillips
- A performance and behind-the scenes-tour at Jazz at Lincoln Center
- A red carpet interview with director Pedro Almodovar at the New York Film Festival
- A performance and interview with piano virtuoso Lang Lang
- Curtain call at the stage door of Lincoln Center Theater's Falsetto's
We produced approximately 10 hours of live streaming content, with wireless camera crews feeding content back to a central control room. Custom graphics were added and the live stream sent to Facebook Live - all of this was produced via Telescope's Live Studio platform.
The day's live stream was highly interactive and drove engagement and viewership with:
- Competitions, like the ability to vote for pianist Lang Lang's encore song
- Overlaying fans' comments on the live stream
- Discount codes and other calls to action
All of this activity drove views by increasing the video's importance in Facebook's algorithm.
Hundreds of fans watched the streams live, and in the two weeks after the live event, the videos were viewed more than 3 million times, and the total reach was more than 10 million impressions. The day garnered a large amount of buzz, with press coverage from the New York Times, Playbill, The Wall Street Journal, Broadway World Dance Magazine, Jazz Magazine and The Hedonist.
Fans from across the globe took part with people participating from as far afield as Australia, China, South America and the UK. The event was a huge step in increasing brand awareness and perceptions of Lincoln Center's accessibility.
Existing fans were thrilled and left comments such as: "Music is my sanctuary. Thanks for the blessings. Beautiful work." Dan McCarthy, New Milford.
We also made a lot of new fans with comments such as: "WONDERFUL....I AM ALMOST 87 AND NOW I FEEL LIKE 15......GREAT" Elvia De Perez Arosemena Bogota, Colombia.
