THE SMALLEST DRUMMER

TitleTHE SMALLEST DRUMMER
BrandSTUDIO BRUSSEL
Product/Service/
Category A09. Media / Entertainment
Entrant DDB BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Idea Creation DDB BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Credits
Name Company Position
Odin Saillé DDB Brussels Creative Director
Dieter De Ridder DDB Brussels Creative Director
Jonas Caluwé DDB Brussels Creative
Jan Schoofs DDB Brussels Creative
Annelies Nyns DDB Brussels Account Management
Margaux Mariëns DDB Brussels Account Management
Brigitte Verduyckt DDB Brussels TV Producer
Face-It Casting Face-It Casting Casting
AMOK AMOK Tv production company

Why is this work relevant for PR?

All major Belgian media covered the incredible story of Mirko, an 8-year old drummer. In only two weeks, Belgian radio station Studio Brussel turned him into a rock star that played one of the biggest music festivals in the world. It made the smallest drummer the biggest news item. This gained the brand a lot of free attention from the media and music lovers. It proved once again Studio Brussel is able to turn young artists into future headliners.

Background

Studio Brussel is a Belgian radio station aiming to promote young talent. With this mission in mind, the client asked us to create a tv commercial to promote the music festival season, and in particular Rock Werchter, the first big music festival on the calendar. The objective was twofold: 1. make sure Studio Brussel gets perceived as the main medium to follow Rock Werchter and the festivals. 2. Prove that we have a superb nose for young talent, since our mission is to turn young artists into future headliners.

Describe the creative idea

We took the term ‘young talent’ quite literally. We started an intense casting process to search for Belgium’s youngest and most talented drummer. After seeing more than 50 kids, we discovered Mirko. Our plan was to kickstart his career. First, we featured him in our TV commercial. And then we let him play a live gig on our radio station. Our plan worked: the day after, Mirko got a phone call from Mario Goossens, Belgium’s most famous. He invited Mirko to play with him and his band Triggerfinger… at Rock Werchter, Belgium’s biggest music festival.

Describe the strategy

We wanted to target music and festival lovers of all generations, from young kids to music festival veterans. We wanted to communicate that we’re the only genuine brand to follow the festivals and to discover the headliners of today and tomorrow. That’s why we decided to bring a genuine story of a real boy. After a long casting process we found 8-year old Mirko and let him be the star in our tv-commercial. To create an even bigger bang, we also invited Mirko to our radio studio. The day the commercial premiered on tv, we also let Mirko play his very first live show on national radio. We streamed it live on our facebook page, where he became the talk of the town. We sure hoped we had kickstarted Mirko’s drumming career.

Describe the execution

First, we aired a tv commercial starring Mirko. To create an even bigger buzz on the day of the launch, we let Mirko play his first live gig in our radio studios which we also streamed on our Facebook-page. This created a buzz on social media. But the biggest surprise was still to come: only days after making his debut on national radio, Mirko received a phone call from Belgium’s most famous drummer: Mario Goossens from Triggerfinger. Our plan had worked: Mirko had caught the attention of a big rock band. And most of all: Mario Goossens invited Mirko to play Rock Werchter with him. At the festival, Mirko became the biggest sensation. We and other news media interviewed him and followed him around all day. Everyone looked forward to his show later that night, which became a great and emotional moment for everyone in the audience.

List the results

Mirko’s performance with Triggerfinger at Rock Werchter became the biggest news item of the day. Every major Belgian news medium covered the story. He was even featured and interviewed in the 7pm TV news of a competing television chain. In total, this generated more than 10 million media impressions and more than 2 million euros worth in free media. But most of all: it proved once again that Studio Brussel is the one and only medium to follow the music festivals and to discover the current and future headliners. For the 3rd year in a row, Studio Brussel was the most popular medium to follow the festivals. And that in a very competitive market. And Mirko? Well, he became a rock star just like he dreamed. Mission accomplished!