Our challenge: How do we pivot Barclaycard’s Festival activation budget and brief from real life to online, in light of covid19 causing the cancellation of the 2020 summer festivals?

Barclaycard wanted to drive reach, authenticity and connection with customers across the entertainment sector. Targeting Millennials and Prime Families, Share the Stage provided the ‘unexpected delights’ that customers would usually find in the festival environment.

We managed to pull off the project in just 6 weeks from the initial brief to the first live show, all whilst tackling remote working and heightened shoot safety measures.

By creating ‘Share the Stage’, we ensured headliners could still share the limelight with acts who were meant to support them. We produced and shared four incredible shows with millions across the internet – they were so well received, we even bagged a one hour special broadcast on Channel 4.

Away from the stage, festivals are usually packed with unique ways to get your creative juices flowing and your taste buds tingling. So, to sit alongside the performances, we partnered with the very best in food, entertainment and comedy to create online content that helped Barclaycard customers create their very own festival experience at home.

We also added an extra layer of exclusivity for Barclaycard customers, offering a number of discounts (related to the content partner offerings/products) to drive card use.

We were tasked to drive reach, authenticity and connection with customers across the entertainment sector. By creating ‘Share the Stage’, we helped fans enjoy quality live music and discover new talent from the comfort and safety of their own homes, ensuring they ‘Stayed Entertained’ (brand objective) during the height of lockdown.

“Live music is the reason I got into playing music, so it would have been absolutely devastating to my career and must be the same for everyone at the minute. I can’t imagine what it must be like for new artists who are just starting to release music to have to deal with. Anybody who took me on tour I owe a tremendous debt to. So many artists gave me an opportunity, so if we can return the favour that’s the least we can do. Hopefully this (Share The Stage) goes some way to replacing that.” Lewis Capaldi

We created four episodes, each featuring performances from a top headline artist (Kaiser Chiefs, Lewis Capaldi, Mabel & Bastille) and two up and coming acts per show (Celeste, Olivia Dean, Mae Muller, NOISY, Gracey & Jetta) - all presented by Fearne Cotton and shot at the iconic Abbey Road Studios. Each episode included interviews, plus an exclusive headliner cover of one of the smaller bands tracks. The cover tracks were the ultimate metaphor for the support shown by the established artists for the emerging artists…and the fans loved them!

We took the content and shared it with millions across the internet, using Barclaycard media spend to replace exposure they lost from cancelled festivals. The shows were such a hit with the public, we even bagged a one hour special broadcast on Channel 4.

87M+ impressions and 14.9M views of content to date

34.75% view rate on YouTube - vs a benchmark of 21.9%

Example ‘support act’ success in the month following the release of the show: Olivia Dean (Episode 2)

• YouTube subscribers up 74%

• Instagram followers up 26%

• Spotify listeners up 37%

Full length episodes, BTS and teaser reels: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkWhDg83b0ZtqIWyiY2b_95_QUG_uzVjW

Dedicated hub: https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/share-the-stage

“With a successful history of physical activations and Live Entertainment association, 2020 and Share the Stage has showed us the strength of diversifying and delivering our proposition digitally to multiple audiences.”

Emily Douglas, Barclaycard Experiential Marketing & Partnerships Manager

“At a time when attention spans & promotional opportunities are at such a premium, a brand like Barclaycard reacting to create a platform that super serves an industry it’s worked so closely with over the last decade is exceptionally powerful” Universal Music