Strategy / Content Production / Studio Production
THE CHALLENGE
In a bid to tap into a widespread resurgence for throwback music amongst Millennials and Gen Zs alike, BBC Sounds was set to launch a brand new show, 1Xtra Throwbacks.
They engaged us to create a robust social strategy and identity to ensure they connected to the target audience with the sounds and sentiments that have influenced their culture and shaped their musical tastes.
our STRATEGY + WORK
Our guiding ambition and the north star of the project was to leave a lasting impression with the audience and establish 1Xtra as the go-to destination for throwback R&B and Hip-Hop music via BBC Sounds.
We approached the project in two phases:
1. Conducting an initial stage of research to better understand the music, artists and aesthetics that best encapsulated nostalgia for the audience
2. A strategy phase where we ideated best practice guidelines for content creation, created branding tool kits, and produced content format ideas and an initial suite of assets to guarantee an impactful launch across socials.
We conducted thorough primary and secondary research, developing audience persona profiles and identifying the music, artists, places (digital and IRL) and existing formats indicative of 90s, 00s and 10s Black nostalgia music for the audience through questionnaires, focus groups, social listening and data analysis.
Based on our findings, we developed a tone of voice and creative positioning that would ensure 1Xtra Throwbacks was authentic, relatable and appealed to both Millennials and Gen Zs alike from the get go. The lynchpin of our creative approach centred around the concept of ‘modern nostalgia’ - a sentimental yearning for a return of the golden era in music and pop culture.
We devised a creative strategy that highlighted the impact of historical and present day artists, connecting the dots between old school and new school music, and exploited opportunities not yet explored by competitors.
We created a playful array of formats to launch with, including Pin the Plaster on Nelly and Ringtunes, which we shot and produced with show presenters Joelah and Keke. We also created exciting compilation assets of BBC archive that were focused on specific musical genres that Throwbacks as a project covered, from 90s R&B to UK Garage.
Upon project completion we delivered a playbook and project roadmap presenting our research and end-to-end strategy for 1Xtra Throwbacks, as well as a brand and visual toolkit, launch assets for multiple formats including video, motion and graphic assets.
the impact + REACH
We had an exceptionally successful shoot day with hosts Joelah and Keke, as we’d not only ideated content formats for the social launch that were fun and engaging, but we also considered our hosts when including specific questions and topics. Ultimately we wanted to ensure we really got the best reactions from them as well as just ensuring the content was something they wanted to share on their own socials.
Our content created the perfect launch moment for the new series, helping the cross-generational audience identify the show as the perfect embodiment of modern nostalgia through fun and lighthearted quizzes, challenges and archive throwbacks.
