The show’s alternative 1962 is a throwback to a time where people still huddled around radios, witnessing the birth of Rock and Roll with a new breed of DJs. Radio has also always been the voice of Resistance movements in oppressive regimes, spreading messages of hope and freedom to the masses.

With that in mind, we created Resistance Radio: an original audio storytelling experience featuring “live” radio broadcasts - stories of resistance, combined with “illegal” tracks from upstart rebel musicians.

Available 24/7 on digital and social platforms, we planned to draw audiences through paid media placement and earned online buzz, providing captivating entertainment to engage audiences for increased durations.

In doing so, we aimed to blur the lines between entertainment and content marketing, raising the profile of a show and network that is not beholden to linear broadcast schedules and can be introduced to new viewers at any time.

We created over four hours of an original audio narrative were produced for the show, featuring three DJ characters. We also recorded 18 reimagined cover versions of well-known 60s songs, produced by Danger Mouse & Sam Cohen, and performed by a variety of top artists including Beck, Norah Jones, The Shins, Sharon Van Etten, and Grandaddy.

The radio broadcasts emanate from our show’s alternate world via a custom radio player at Resistanceradio.com, with different experiences for desktop and mobile audiences. The stream was also available via iHeartRadio, Rollingstone.com, and on all Alexa-enabled devices. Promotional elements included one of the first Facebook Audio Live segments, paid promoted tweets, a limited edition 7” vinyl promotional single sent to influencers, YouTube music videos, national radio interviews, a staggered rollout of songs on Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud, and the final release of all songs on Resistance Radio: The Man In The High Castle album.

Within weeks of launch, Resistance Radio had garnered major press attention and over seven billion of free PR impressions, including articles in The Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, NPR, Mashable, Fortune, and People. A #resistanceradio promoted hashtag ignited a tweetstorm as both sides of the political spectrum jumped on the launch of an anti-fascist radio station, reinforcing the campaign’s relevance to contemporary America. We delivered over 2,000,000 minutes of branded audio in the first three weeks to over 250,000 listeners, with an average listening time of over 10 minutes (26 minutes on Alexa). And a qualitative response from listeners has been universally positive, moving Resistance Radio from marketing initiative to pop culture phenomenon, and generating an ongoing revenue stream from album sales.

Resistance Radio was created as a between-season marketing promotion for Amazon Studio’s The Man in The High Castle. It features over 4 hours of dramatic audio storytelling combined with 18 specially-recorded music tracks, produced by Danger Mouse and featuring performances by top recording artists including Beck, Norah Jones and more. Within one week of launch, the show gained wide-scale coverage across mainstream press and social media, engaging the country in a debate about the meaning of freedom and authoritarianism in contemporary America, all while broadcasting messages of hope and resistance from an imaginary world where the Nazis won WWII.

While continuing to attract the largest possible audience (A18-54), we recognized an opportunity to better connect with men 18-24, and more women. These audiences are more attracted to hopeful storylines, and character- driven drama rather than the deep mythology and speculative fiction loved by longtime fans. For these audiences, we introduced new, relatable characters and hopeful storylines, utilizing familiar songs by upcoming artists with large social followings. We also drew parallels to contemporary America to make the show more relatable and immediate.

For existing and lapsed fans, we identified a deeper dive into the story’s world and mythology as the main draw. Within our music and narratives, we wove “easter eggs” of mythology content such as puzzles hidden between radio frequencies, and historical background not yet explored onscreen.

Resistance Radio was created as a between-season marketing promotion for Amazon Studio’s The Man in The High Castle. It features over 4 hours of dramatic audio storytelling combined with 18 specially-recorded music tracks, produced by Danger Mouse and featuring performances by top recording artists including Beck, Norah Jones and more. Within one week of launch, the show gained wide-scale coverage across mainstream press and social media, engaging the country in a debate about the meaning of freedom and authoritarianism in contemporary America, all while broadcasting messages of hope and resistance from an imaginary world where the Nazis won WWII.