We set out to bring hip-hop fans together around one of 2016's major music milestones—the 15th anniversary of Aaliyah's tragic and untimely death. Our goal was to unite the BET audience for a day of celebration and remembrance, while reinforcing the network's influence as a cultural touchstone for Aaliyah admirers.
We used Instagram as the focus of our activity as it's the most active and collaborative channel for BET's younger audience groups. We created an interactive mosaic comprising of 15 videos devoted to the entertainer's legacy, all forming a tribute in thumbnail view. Each video helped tell the story of Aaliyah's life, included footage from the BET archives, animated timelines, and personal messages from today's biggest stars.
In order to capture the audience's attention, the mosaic was the only content posted to BET's Instagram on the anniversary. The videos stayed at the top of the page to effectively inspire fans to express their love for the late-superstar.
In 24 hours, our Instagram tribute earned over 10MM social impressions, and reached a 63% higher engagement rate than BET's daily average on the platform. BET's #Aaliyah15 content generated over 340K social engagements, and an overwhelming positive sentiment from fans—"thanks BET for helping make sure Aaliyah is never forgotten."
