“The Pursuit” was a first-of-its kind, social thriller game that unfolded live on Facebook, inviting the audience not just to watch a crime story unfold, but to help solve it in real-time.

The experience invited viewers to step into a live 360° crime scene, joining detectives in checking for clues and collecting evidence. Over the days that followed, fans could dig into additional evidence as it was released—through Facebook photo albums, videos, and wall posts—to develop their own theories about the case.

The experience culminated with a live interrogation of key suspects, where viewers could feed the detectives questions to ask, and ultimately capture the culprit.

“The Pursuit” kicked off with a first-person criminal investigation, streamed live on Facebook in panoramic 360, inviting fans to join two detectives in real-time as they examined a newly discovered crime scene, checked for clues, and collected evidence. As one of the first branded uses of Facebook Live 360°, audiences were captivated by the new and compelling experience.

Audiences were invited to answer the question: Who killed Stan Green?

Immediately following the live stream, Facebook’s full suite of products and media units were utilized to reveal evidence from the case. For over a week, photo albums were continuously updated as evidence was catalogued, and videos were posted containing security footage, voicemails, and witness interviews. Fans followed along with their theories in the comments, maintaining high engagement throughout.

The experience culminated with a live interrogation where viewers questioned two main suspects, tested their theories in real-time, and ultimately revealed the killer.

“The Pursuit” garnered over 1.5M Video Views, 3,100 Reactions, 1,200 Shares and 1,300 Comments. Fans were highly engaged and combed through every detail while trying to crack the case. Views translated into followers, and followers became sleuths trying to solve the mystery.

The campaign deeply immersed its hardcore audience and helped introduce Oxygen as the go-to network for programming in the true crime genre.

Oxygen wanted to connect with younger women (ages 18-49) who’ve been introduced to true crime through popular series like Making a Murderer, Serial, and The Jinx.

These fans of the genre love to play “armchair detective”, following the twists and turns of a story, and trying to crack the case before the answer is revealed to them.

Social media offered the opportunity to connect with these up-and-coming viewers, as it’s a key source of discovery for new, buzzworthy true crime content, and it’s often where they turn to first when looking for entertainment.

Relaunching as a true crime network, Oxygen needed to capture the attention of fans on social who can’t get enough of this type of programming — the audience that loves to follow crime stories and play “armchair detective” along the way. Our brief was to create a buzz-worthy social activation to engage this audience and help solidify Oxygen in its new position as a true crime destination.