2012 IAB Awards | Branded Content Winner
The Ship Song Project
Agency: The Monkeys
Client: Sydney Opera House
Strategy
Research discovered that while Australians shared a deep sense of pride in the Sydney Opera House, they didn’t consider it as more than an iconic venue. The Monkeys were tasked to get people to think about the Sydney Opera House as a cultural hub accessible to everyone and that welcomed creativity globally.
Tactics
The Ship Song Project brought together 15 International and Australian artists to perform the iconic piece in the form of a music video. This enabled viewers to gain access to some of the most private areas of the Sydney Opera House, discovering a more intimate space than the cliché sails.
Each artist shared the video and website links with their own fans and followers to generate word of mouth. In addition, PR played a key role in accelerating views on music blogger sites and mainstream news. Paid media was also used, with street posters and cut downs for TV which further drove traffic to theshipsongproject.com.
Results
In the 24 hours after its launch, the film clip was shared 1.7 million times online, was picked up by every major television news program and featured in every major Australian newspaper. There was also extensive international coverage. The single reached no. 34 on the iTunes singles chart and trended on Twitter and YouTube for four days. Over $2m was earned in free PR, editorial and social media.
