CHOREOGRAPHER Ryan Heffington

Backstory

Watch Aloe Blacc’s “Love Is the Answer” and you might be in awe of the perfectly timed – and incredibly advanced – choreography woven throughout the story, perfectly synced for audiences to toggle through 5 distinct views of a performance that unfolded throughout the historic Park Plaza Hotel in LA, ending in the new Lincoln MKZ.

In just two days, choreographer Ryan Heffington created and taught a talented team of more than 50 dancers moves that were so seamless they flowed like the music itself. And we were there to document the experience.

Content

We stole a few minutes here and there during the making of the campaign to produce the above documentary-style content. By providing the context behind the challenge Heffington faced of coordinating dozens of dancers to interpret the feeling of a song, we were able to create an introduction into the campaign content for cultural audiences who were interested in his creative process and then compelled to explore the campaign he helped to create.

We extended the story several times over, as long-form content on LincolnNow, including the short film that explored the choreographer's process (above), and through countless photos we shot as the project came together.

Publishing

Using paid media across Facebook and Twitter, we published the content to audiences targeted in social channels as being interested in Heffington's work (usually associated with the award-winning music videos he choreographed), or to individuals interested in performing arts.

As Heffington's career boomed with the work he did for Sia (winning a VMA for the choreography in Chandelier and further blowing our minds with Elastic Heart), Chet Faker, FKA Twigs, and Arcade Fire, we had an inside story about his process that fans were curious to see. This content helped Lincoln join cultural conversations that would have otherwise been impossible, and led new audiences to view the "Love Is The Answer" MKZ campaign after seeing the process documentary. Engagement went through the roof, particularly during the VMAs and when Sia's uniquely choreographed music videos launched, and we brought more people into Lincoln's Grammys campaign in that following year through related social posts than we garnered with the initial media launch the year prior. In the process, we showed that extended content not only extends the ROI of a campaign, but that relevant content, respectfully delivered to the right audiences within the appropriate cultural context, can introduce a brand to audiences previously thought "unreachable". Art and commerce. Win.

(On another note, I wish I had made this work on Ryan's choreography for the aforementioned Sia video. Alas, I did not, but you should still see it because it's great content!)