can you feel it?
I don't normally overtly pimp the agency work in these pages, but indulge me as I summarise the story of how we took Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Beethoven’s 7th Symphony to the heart of Melbourne.
And captured the imagination of the people of the city by immersing them in the experience.
Literally…
We needed to frame the MSO experience as accessible, desirable and relevant to a diverse mass audience of music and culture loving Melbourne-ites and drive sales of single tickets in 2014.
We knew that the MSO, and orchestral music in general, is often perceived as being inaccessible, elitist or requiring some specialist practical understanding of the theories of music in order to be enjoyed.
So we wanted to demonstrate that you shouldn’t have to know anything at all.
Because it’s something that you feel.
If we could show a mass audience of ‘people-like-me’ immersed in that experience, feeling something together we could democratise the MSO and attract new customers.
We launched their new brand campaign ‘Don’t Just Hear It…Feel It’ and the 2014 program by turning the forecourt at Southern Cross Station into a concert hall…
Last Monday lunchtime, over 50 lucky commuters, from toddlers to the elderly, were able to conduct the 40-piece orchestra themselves, while hundreds of surprised commuters looked on.
Within hours the story was picked up by the national TV news networks (Channel 9, Channel 10 and ABC News) and newspapers.
So what was our strategy?
(channeling John Grant - note for the ad nerds)
Immerse a mass of people in a richly detailed setting.
Make it larger than life, prompting childlike wonder.
Capture that experience and broadcast it to everyone else.
If you've made it this far also check the extended 12" remix.
The campaign launches today. Results to follow.
