Our key objectives for this campaign were to:
- Expand beyond Broadway trade media to position AKA NYC as a leader in experiential marketing and full-service advertising.
- Connect the AKA NYC brand to its innovative campaign for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
- Build broader awareness of AKA NYC and distance the agency from its competitors.
This started with some work to win over the play’s producers. In the weeks after the event, we worked closely with AKA NYC to help make the case to producers as to why granting us the opportunity to pitch – especially to advertising trade media – would be mutually beneficial.
They finally agreed – with a limited window to pitch, using only publicly available information, and to a select few targets they approved.
Given the restrictions around pitching and positioning, we developed a highly focused strategy that targeted only the top advertising trade press. This was a key audience AKA NYC was keen to get in front of.
We were also keenly aware that the timeliness window was closing, given that the event took place a month earlier and had already received an abundance of press coverage. So, the team developed a story angle that had yet to be told – a behind-the-scenes look at how AKA NYC pulled off this Times Square takeover on a scale never seen before.
Upon receiving the green light, we had mere days to secure media interest, which they received in the form of a feature article from Adweek’s Creative and Innovation Editor, David Griner. The publication highlighted the article as its ‘Ad of the Day’ and was included in that Friday’s First Things First round-up and newsletter. The campaign was also selected by Adweek in December as one of its top 15 stunts and innovations of 2019, coming in at number six.
