Title	BEETHOVEN X THE AI PROJECT
Brand	TELEKOM
Product/Service	TELEKOM
Category	A05. Consumer Services / Business to Business
Entrant	DDB GERMANY Berlin, GERMANY
Idea Creation	DDB GERMANY Berlin, GERMANY

Name	Company	Position
Dennis May	DDB Group Germany	CCO
Diana Sukopp	DDB Group Germany	CCO
Florian Grimm	DDB Group Germany	MD Creative
Karsten Ruddigkeit	DDB Group Germany	ECD
Dennis Krumbe	DDB Group Germany	CD Copy
Mark Räke	DDB Group Germany	CD Art
Anna Rösch	DDB Group Germany	Senior Copy Writer
Saskia krug	DDB group Germany	Senior Art Director
Simon Hansen	DDB Group Germany	Executive Director Client Service
Katrin Spiegel	DDB Group Germany	Executive Director Client Service
Meike van Meegen	DDB Group Germany	Agency Producer
Natalie Kröger	DDB Group Germany	Account Director
Luca Seichter	DDB Group Germany	Account Director
Edward Jasion	DDB Group Germany	AM & CE
Ahmed Elgammal	Rutgers University	AI Expert
Matthias Röder	The Mindshift	Musicologist
Mark Gotham	Cornell University	Music Theorist
Walter Werzowa	Musikvergnuegen	Composer
Giacomo Lodi	Hastings Audio Network	Audio Post Production
David Hortmann	Optix Post Production	Editor
Philipp Grösser	Optix Post Production	Editor
Romuald Golenia	Optix Post Production	Producer
Florian Engels	Optix Post Production	Motion Design
Chris Iskandar	Optix Post Production	Motion Design
Can Ibar	Optix Post Production	VFX
Michael Gottschalk	Optix Post Production	VFX
Patrick Günther	Optix Post Production	VFX
Michael Schuld	Telekom (Telekom Deutschland GmbH)	Business Unit Lead TV & Entertainment
Stephan Althoff	Telekom (Deutsche Telekom AG)	Lead Corporate Sponsoring

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Germany's largest telco provider Telekom has made it their mission to let people experience what truly connects us. For Beethoven’s 250th birthday, Telekom connected technology, humans and the whole world: by completing the composer’s 10th symphony. Very few people had ever seen Beethoven’s last sketches – let alone heard the music they enclosed. As Telekom is widely known in Germany for its branded entertainment and innovative content, the company made it their mission to take Beethoven’s legacy out of the museum and onto the stage. To be heard by thousands of people – and streamed by many thousands more worldwide.

Background

In 2020, Germany celebrated the 250th birthday of its most renowned composer: Ludwig van Beethoven. A creative genius and one of the most radical innovators of all time. The country’s leading telco-provider Telekom wanted to honor the composer with a unique project. They gathered world-renowned AI experts, musicologists, music historians, and composers to see if Beethoven’s mind could be recreated through an artificial intelligence. Their goal? To complete his last symphony – an invaluable masterpiece that Beethoven couldn’t finish during his much too short life. By connecting artificial intelligence with human emotion and creativity, Telekom wanted to turn technology into a tool that connects people from all over the world. A commitment that is so deeply ingrained in the brand Telekom, that they made it their tagline: “Erleben, was verbindet” (“Experiencing connection”).

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

When Beethoven died, he left behind 40 sketches for a final 10th symphony. 200 years later, we asked ourselves: Can an artificial intelligence, enhanced by human emotion, complete Beethoven's legacy? At the time, AI couldn’t continue a piece of music for more than a few seconds. Now, it had to create an entire symphony from a few sketches. A team of world-renowned AI experts, music historians, musicologists and composers had to create a fundamentally new generation of AI. One that studied Beethoven’s music and his influences, but that also learned to compose on its own. And composing it did: hundreds of phrases each night! The experts selected the most powerful phrases – and gave them back to the AI to elaborate upon. After three years of work and two million notes, Beethoven’s 10th symphony was finally completed. Though the intense collaboration between artificial intelligence and human emotion.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

As Germany’s leading telco brand, Telekom feels a responsibility not only to introduce new technologies to the market but also to ensure their acceptance in society. When it comes to AI, many people feel intimidated by its potential impact on their lives and livelihoods. Telekom wanted to make people truly experience the positive potential of AI – while at the same showcasing themselves as the country’s leading brand for innovative technologies and exclusive content. By using AI to complete an unfinished masterpiece of the world’s greatest composer, Telekom leveraged artificial intelligence in a fundamentally new way. The new technology proved to be a tool for human creativity, not a substitute or rival. In appealing to people’s minds as well as their emotions, Beethoven X helped replace the prevalent skepticism of AI with a true fascination for it.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

BEETHOVEN X was introduced to the public via a Livestream press conference in 2019, including a live performance of one of the AI’s earlier compositions. Two years later, when the 10th symphony had been completed, a free audio teaser was released on Spotify leading people directly to the Livestream event. An online film additionally advertised the free Livestream event all over social media and targeted different audiences. On the 9th of October 2021, the premiere of Beethoven’s 10th symphony could finally take place. In the Telekom Forum Bonn, 900 guests experienced how the composer’s last sketches had been turned into live music – performed by star organist Cameron Carpenter and the famous Beethoven Orchestra Bonn. Another 2500 guests attended the second concert at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, while thousands of viewers followed the events on Telekom's own TV channel and via a free Livestream on the website.

List the results (30% of vote)

When “Beethoven X – The AI Project” was introduced to the public in 2019, both journalists and bloggers started to report on the project, keeping up with its development and supplying details about its tech background. Shortly after the second concert in October, 590+ publications were counted in print and online media, radio and TV. Overall, a press coverage worth 729 million Euros was reached by the end of October as well as an ad value of 14,3 million Euros (still counting, as this only reflects the first month). More importantly, however, a live audience of 3000 guests experienced the premiere of Beethoven’s 10th symphony in the Telekom Forum Bonn and in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Additionally, an uncountable number of viewers watched the events on Telekom’s own TV channel and via a free Livestream on their website – strengthening the brand’s reputation as Germany’s leading telco and entertainment provider.