Title	CAPITAL COUNTIES
Brand	HEARTBEAT
Product/Service	TOURIST DESTINATION
Category	A10. Brand Voice (incl. strategic storytelling)
PR Agency	EDELMAN Madrid, SPAIN
Production Company	CHARLES PéTILLON Paris, FRANCE
Entrant Company	EDELMAN Madrid, SPAIN

Name	Company	Position
Charles Pétillon		Artist
Beverly Churchill	Capital Counties	Creative Director
Catherine Riccomini	Capital Counties	Head of Marketing
Sophie Kenyon	Capital Counties	Events Manager
SJ Thomson	Capital Counties	Social Media Manager
Chris Wilcocks	Edelman	Director
David Child	Edelman	Director
Jade Beaty	Edelman	Account Executive
Simrata Bhalla	Edelman	Assistant Account Executive

The Campaign

What do you get when you fill a nineteenth century, Grade II listed building with 100,000 white balloons? Something that makes your heart skip a beat. Which is what Covent Garden needed to do to attract more visitors and compete in a global city which offers endless other things to do and see. Luckily, Covent Garden is steeped in culture and sits at the heart of London’s West. So we decided to return to its roots as the centrepiece of London life with an epic spectacle that became a global sensation. How? By inviting French artist Charles Pètillon to create an original artwork - Heartbeat - that filled the ceiling of Covent Garden’s iconic Market Building with 100,000 balloons which gently pulsated with light, symbolising the area’s legacy as the beating heart of London. Over 2.3 million people visited over the installation’s monthly residency, which increased footfall by 13%. 406 pieces of coverage appeared in over 20 countries with media impressions exceeding 2 billion globally – all through earned media. American actor Jared Leto even tweeted about the campaign, and Barbie herself took a selfie beside it.

The Brief

Remind people about Covent Garden’s legacy as the beating heart of London’s West End. Make this the core brief for the area’s 2015 annual cultural commission, which transforms the area into an open-air art gallery.

Execution

We invited French artist Charles Pétillon to create his first ever public installation in Covent Garden’s historic Market Building. For one month, the 19th century building was filled with 100,000 white balloons which gently pulsated with a gentle light, to symbolise Covent Garden as the beating heart of London’s West End. The installation, Heartbeat, launched just before the London Design Festival, using the event as an additional media hook, and ensuring Covent Garden made headlines before anyone else. A seeding phase generated coverage and online conversation using a CGI. We then invited influential media and Instagrammers to see the installation being officially unveiled. Profiling of the images, and the artist, created a global story.

2.3 million people visited, increasing footfall by 13%. 406 pieces of coverage appeared in 21 countries with media impressions exceeding 2 billion globally – all through earned media. Highlights include: The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Metro, Evening Standard, Time Out, Huffington Post, BBC, ITV, CNN, Sky, Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. International coverage included BBC China, El Pais, Blouin Artinfo, El Commercio, Hola, The Australian and Londoniete. American actor Jared Leto tweeted about the campaign, and high profile influencers like blogger Garance Doré shared it with her followers. Barbie herself even took a selfie beside it.

The Strategy

Identify fresh, emerging talent to create something entirely original and bespoke to Covent Garden. Create something of scale that would dramatise the surrounding architecture, taking on different perspectives as visitors explored the area. Create something playful and whimsical, in keeping with the character of the Covent Garden area. Create something that was fun, exciting and accessible enough to create a global news story and inspire people to visit. Create something that could be experienced, photographed and shared rather than simply viewed.