Universal Music Enterprises
Black History Month Campaign
Project
Black History Month Campaign
Role
Brand Startegy
Graphic Design
Art Direction
The brief was to create a powerful campaign for black history month that utilizes Universal Music Enterprises’s extensive and legendary roster of artists. We pitched a campaign focused on the slogan “American music is black music”. The phrase refers both to the immense influence of black music as well as a way to reclaim credit stolen from black artists in the past (e.x. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rock and Roll). Strategically leading from activations to artist participation to education, we pitched a campaign that celebrates artists inspiring other artists, continually innovating, evolving, and sculpting American music.
Collaborators
Blue Hamel
Alejandro Reyes
Nicolas Coppa
Lucia Gambiao
Geo Lantigua
AMERICAN MUSIC IS BLACK MUSIC.
Black History Month provides the perfect opportunity to explore, celebrate, and raise awareness for the pervasive influence of Black music on American culture — its ethnographic fingerprints on every genre, from jazz to rock, hip-hop to electronica. By making use of Universal’s indispensable musical catalog and talent roster, we can form a multifaceted, three-phase campaign that draws users in with meaningful brand partnerships; uplifts the next generation of Black entrepreneurs and iconoclasts; and encourages consumers to discover and stream Black music for themselves. Our aim is to design a campaign that is as fluid and ever-evolving as Black music itself, retaining a sense of longevity that impacts listeners long after Black History Month is over.
STRATEGY
BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
CONTENT / ROSTER INTEGRATION
EDUCATION
Moodboard
For the visual identity of the campaign, it was crucial to convey the core message of annotating, amending, and reinterpreting black music history and erasure. Using a stark black and white color scheme with elements of hand drawn notes and annotations, we created a visually eye catching and organic campaign.
Prototype Campaign Posters
The initial activation for the campaign would be a set of posters showing artists on the roster with their chosen favorite record from an artist on the poster. The posters would be AR as well, allowing the user to point their phone at the poster to see an immersive experience and go directly to the streaming link for the song. In major cities, larger billboards of all the artists and their favorite records would be featured as a collective tapestry/map, representing the generations of black artistic excellence that continues giving. The original vinyls for the records could be sold as NFT's.
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UberEats brand partnership promoting black-owned restaurants in the user's area. Collaboration with UMG artists to promote and choose their favorite black-owned restaurants.
We further proposed various activations such as a block party featuring multiple artists on the roster, as a way to foster community, collaboration and celebration. In every step of the campaign, a portion of proceeds would go to underserved black communities.
Final Posters
