The Afterparty is a new whodunnit comedy series on Apple TV+ where one of the biggest stars (Dave Franco) plays a pop singer named "Xavier" who is murdered in the first minute of the first episode.

To create buzz for the show, we brought the deceased (fake) pop singer, Xavier and his music to life, by turning him into a real pop singer (who also just died).

Nothing was meant to feel like an ad, because every execution was music that was actually really good. Since all our executions were music based, we didn't buy media in traditional "ad" placements--all our media was music-lead and was aimed at amplifying our music content in social.

Target: Millennials and Gen Z were targeted using different social platforms to reach specific audiences.

Millennials were targeted via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and VEVO/YouTube.

Gen Z were targeted via a custom TikTok music video and promoted hashtag challenge.

R.I.P. Xavier wasn’t just a music release for a made up musician, it was a Trojan horse for The Afterparty, that created buzz around one of its main characters while engaging millions of people, and introducing them to key plot points of the show.

The tracks in Xavier’s 4-song posthumous EP gave people insights into the plot, expanded on the character’s backstory, and were designed to get different audiences excited about the show.

We released a music video for Xavier's first single, “Imma Live Forever,” which ironically let potential viewers know that Xavier dies in the show, and even contained hilariously predictive lyrics about how he might be murdered.

To attract younger audiences, another song was written specifically for TikTok’s duet feature, called “Do Wet,” and was about all the things the character likes to do while wet. We created a custom music video for the song on TikTok.

The music content was a massive success, with “Imma Live Forever” getting over 24 million music video views (combined VEVO, FB, TW, IG), and “#DuetDoWet getting 8.9 billion views on TikTok.

The content was featured on morning show news sites, general entertainment sites, and trade press, as well as shared organically to people's feeds. The success of the songs and music video grew quickly, which caused Dave Franco (Xavier) to be requested for late night show interviews on Jimmy Fallon and James Cordon. The main focus was to discuss the music and its impressive production as well as The Afterparty. Both music videos were featured during the broadcasts.

And even though he was never technically alive, Xavier’s death and posthumous music releases had a massive impact on the success of The Afterparty, which immediately became one of the biggest shows on Apple TV+