Case study · Talent Direction & Live Hosting
A product launch
that brought music and movements together.
Google’s Pixel didn’t launch with an ad — it launched with a 5-city music festival for social good, livestreamed exclusively on Pixel. Each show paired a world-class artist with a world-class cause.
The client
Google Pixel. Launching the Pixel — Google’s first phone built around cinematic camera capabilities — required a campaign that didn’t just sell a device, but created cultural meaning around what the camera could be for.
The challenge
Deliver scale, credibility, and meaning — across artists, activists, brand, and audience — all at once.
- 01
Google was launching the Pixel — their first phone built around cinematic camera capabilities — and wanted a campaign that would demonstrate the tech while creating cultural meaning, not just selling a device.
- 02
The format had to do double duty: each show would pair a world-class artist with a world-class cause, in five different cities, livestreamed exclusively on Pixel.
- 03
Every decision had to satisfy four constituencies at once — artists, activists, brand, and audience — without diluting any of them.
The approach
One throughline — artist, cause, and Pixel.
As Talent Director and live host across all five cities, I directed creative strategy alongside the GOOD founders — making every layer (talent, partner, brand, live moments) feel like one campaign.
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Talent
Negotiate and win artists who could carry both the song and the cause.
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Cause
Pair each show with a partner whose work matched the moment.
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Brand
Build the throughline connecting artist, cause, and Pixel into one campaign.
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Live
Host the livestream across all five cities — holding the energy and meaning in real time.
Across the five cities
- 01
Artist contracts
Negotiated and managed contracts with Solange, DRAM, Glass Animals, Kelsey Lu, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and more — with Pulse Music and Paradigm Talent.
- 02
Cause partners
Aligned each show with 350.org, the ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, the Ella Baker Center, and others.
- 03
Brand & content strategy
Built the festival branding and the throughline tying artist, cause, and Pixel together.
- 04
Livestream hosting
Hosted the festival across all five cities, on camera, in real time — translating the meaning of each show to a global audience.
- 05
Multi-stakeholder choreography
Each show satisfied four constituencies at once — artists, activists, brand, and audience — without diluting any of them.
The outcome
A Shorty Gold campaign — at brand-launch scale.
- 38M reach across Instagram, Twitter & Facebook
- 9.5M+ livestream views on Pixel
- 40M+ ad impressions, Pixel campaign
- 3/5 shows sold out
A five-show, five-cause campaign delivering:
- Five sold-out (or near-sold-out) shows across five cities
- Artist contracts and management for Solange, DRAM, Glass Animals, Kelsey Lu, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and others
- Cause partnerships with 350.org, the ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Ella Baker Center
- Festival branding and content strategy tying artist, cause, and Pixel into one throughline
- Livestream hosting across all five cities, on camera, in real time
Artists & ensembles
Why it worked:
- A clear thesis: the cinematic camera deserved a story that mattered.
- Each show paired one world-class artist with one world-class cause.
- Livestreaming on Pixel itself made the device the medium, not just the message.
- The campaign turned a product launch into a cultural moment.
- The Pixel didn’t just show what it could shoot — it showed what it was for.
Looking to direct a brand moment that matters?
Talent, partnerships, creative direction — for campaigns that need to land as cultural moments, not just product launches.
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