Sound on

YouTube Music
App Launch Campaign

Everyone's heard Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

But you don't get to see the first time it was played live in a Olympia dive bar...or at the Reading Festival...or performed by a full orchestra. Unless you visit YouTube.

YouTube has more music than any other streaming service.

But despite a catalog full of deep cuts, official recordings and live versions, people don’t think of YouTube as a music authority.

In 2018, they were ready to deploy a streaming app to take on the competition.

They asked us to turn up the volume for launch with a disruptive social campaign.

From Bowie to Bieber.

To announce the YouTube Music app, we curated a 36-tile Instagram takeover showcasing some of modern music's greatest moments.

It celebrated the diversity and interconnectivity of artists, ranging from the Beatles, James Brown, Madonna and Missy Elliott to stars like Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa and Shawn Mendes, who all rose to fame on YouTube.

Special x 3.

  1. The art for each post was carefully linked to the next, creating a seamless, single-unit timeline.
  2. Each post was a video or carousel, offering a mixed-media deep dive into the artist.
  3. The experience echoes YouTube exploration: Fans could swipe, zoom and read, while being creatively steered to download the app.

Instagram = the new home page.

Why bet on the profile page? Because after rolling out standalone handles for @YouTubeMusic seven months before app go-live, we found that followers gravitated to the brand’s profile page over individual posts.

We planted our mic stand on that real estate with an immersive experience exploding with discovery.

The audience was all ears.

10MM+ downloads of the app in first 90 days.

#1 on the overall charts in new markets.

135 media outlets from 16 different countries covered the launch.

7.6% growth of Instagram channel on launch day.

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