Facebook is built on community, a safe, digital space to share and interact with one another. Facebook Watch is an embodiment of this philosophy, continuing to build a community of passionate fans around through original video content formats.

Sorry For Your Loss, the critically acclaimed Facebook Watch series, follows a young widow suffering the unexpected loss of her husband. This then sparked a Facebook support group where real people could go to grieve by sharing their own tales of love and loss. Facebook recognized the powerful impact this show was having on its fans so wanted to go a step further. Enlisting the help of 3x Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum recording artist Julia Michaels. To write and record an original composition for the launch of series 2. Using the healing power of music to inspire and unite a community.

After witnessing the Facebook groups and authentic conversations of real-life widows that had organically formed around season one of Sorry For Your Loss, Facebook wanted to find a way to incorporate the community into season two of the show. By teaming up with Julia Michaels, they were able to invite five of the real women struggling with the losses of their husbands to fly out to LA and share their experiences to serve as inspiration for Julia’s original song “If You Need Me”.

In addition to the original track and performance video, we offered fans a rare glimpse into the mind of Julia and her world, creating branded content highlighting her song writing process as well as her personal experience meeting the widows. With interview, studio and BTS footage, fans were able to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the program came to life.

Sorry For You Loss was a cathartic experience for many, uniting a community around a shared experience. Music was the perfect vehicle to continue this healing process, inspiring others to share and connect.

But to authentically bring this idea to life we needed the right artist to deal with this sensitive subject matter. Julia Michaels was perfectly placed, having penned top hits for major artists such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Kygo. Together with Facebook she brought to life the emotional power of the series; beautifully capturing these women’s inspiring stories in song.

This campaign delivered multiple executions, each delicately capturing the emotional elements of the campaign:

1 x Bespoke Track: “If You Need Me”

1 x Behind the Scenes content

1 x Promo Video (exclusive to Facebook)

1 x Music Video

1 x Social Media Posts by Julia Michaels (across Facebook, Instagram & Twitter)

1 x Campaign Amplification Plan (using artist’s audiences and our unique first party data to further promote the campaign)

The music video creative direction was built around the transformative process of grief: Isolation, Transformation and Hope. The uplifting mood of the song is gradually mirrored throughout the visual treatment; reflecting hope, the light at the end of the tunnel that everything is going to be ok. Set in a warehouse, the raw feel of the venue nods to the real-life stories told in it.

• 3.3M cumulative views across all social channels

• 32.5M+ PR views in one month

• 5.4M+ total streams

• 400 Playlist Adds

• 46K+ spike in brand new Julia Michaels Spotify listeners

• 5.1M+ YouTube views - 18 x the amount of average views for content on Julia Michael’s channel.

With the key themes of isolation, transformation and hope underpinning the creative process, a music video featuring widows from the support group framed the campaign and created tangible fan experiences for Facebook around meaningful, universal issues.

Solace was provided via the shared experience of music and served to grow the community further. The campaign resonated emotionally as well as commercially, even sparking cover versions of the track, and achieving widespread success for Facebook and its users.