The Media Plan
In the autumn, stock music production company Epidemic Sound wanted to establish itself within London creative communities.
Founded in 2009 in Stockholm, Epidemic hires independent artists to create stem-mixed soundtracks that can be licensed for use by creators, advertisers and other businesses.
According to the latest issue of Harper’s, Epidemic’s clients secretly include Spotify, which uses its music to fill background playlists.
Following a summer OOH ad campaign launching the brand in London, Epidemic wanted to appeal more directly to local artistic talent in an eye-catching way. So IPG Mediabrands agency Mediahub sought to create a media plan centred on the use of London’s Outernet venue.
Cultural exhibition
In November, Epidemic hosted Culture Vanguards at the space — an exhibition celebrating fashion designers Samuel Ross and Bianca Saunders, rapper Rapman and photographer Ronan McKenzie.
It utilised Epidemic to support video and photography on display by creating “immersive soundscapes” to help bring the artists’ personal stories to life.
Aside from the exhibition, Mediahub also invested in an OOH element, with a 30-second pre-roll spot produced by Outernet’s Creative Studio that was used to precede each Culture Vanguards segment. Furthermore, it bought space in the Now Visa screens overlooking Tottenham Court Road.
Saj Nazir, Mediahub’s senior vice-president of media creativity, told The Media Leader that Outernet offered an “unparalleled canvas” to pair Epidemic’s “exceptional sound offering with the visual brilliance of [photography platform] Take More Photos”.
Showing up authentically
Nazir explained that “finding a space at the heart of London’s creative centre which could provide an immersive canvas, visually and aurally” was core to the campaign. But it was not the only focus.
“Epidemic wanted to celebrate black talent; we chose one of the most profile creative spaces in London to create a community event,” he added.
Mediahub believes that standard metrics for measuring campaign success were secondary to “Epidemic showing up in an authentic way for London’s creative community”.
To that end, the artists featured in the exhibition expressed appreciation for the effort.
Saunders told The Media Leader: “Visibility is so important because it shows the next generation that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. It’s vital for young creatives to see people who look like them breaking barriers, creating new narratives and being celebrated for their work.
“This recognition means a lot, not just for me, but for the broader movement toward greater representation in fashion and the arts.”
