“Leave your bubble and bring your headphones” was the simple call-to-action Katy Perry shared on her Twitter that sent her fans into a worldwide frenzy to be the first to hear her new music. The concept was a literal interpretation of the song’s title “Chained To The Rhythm”: a disco ball and chain attached to landmarks in 25 cities around the world. Each custom-made disco ball was equipped with a aux cord outlet for fans & passersby to plug in their headphones and be the first to hear Katy’s first single in over 4 years.

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The song (and resulting campaign)’s message encouraged listeners to leave their comfort zone (or “bubble”) and be open to the world around them. Katy followed suit by expanding the activation to cities outside her typical promotional bubble including Des Moines, Raleigh, and New Orleans to name a few.

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To kick off the campaign, Katy shared a short video of herself walking with a disco ball attached to her ankle by a chain including a brief clip of the song. This marked the first time fans heard a piece of the music and built heavy anticipation online. The next day, Katy shared a video of herself interacting with a disco ball, plugging in headphones with a call-to-action on her nails: “FIND ME.” The fans knew something was coming and to be prepared.

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On the morning of February 7th, disco balls were chained in 25 cities around the world. Once the balls had been dropped, Katy shared a custom map on her website allowing fans to find the precise location of the disco balls near them. The call-to-action was “Leave your bubble and bring your headphones.” Each location had a custom Snapchat filter for fans to unlock additional lyrics and share with friends.

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The resulting effect was a campaign that married digital & physical marketing presenting a unique way for fans to experience music.

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In only 3 days, the campaign encouraged nearly 600,000 native posts on Instagram & Twitter with an audience reach of over 1 billion.

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The campaign’s hashtag quickly jumped to the #1 trending topic worldwide on Twitter with nearly every major music & entertainment publication covering the event.

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The event motivated Katy’s fans to leave their bubble, leave their computer screens, and explore the world around them to hear new music in an unprecedented way. The result? Katy made headlines the following day when the single was released worldwide and broke the record for most streams in 24-hours by a female artist on Spotify.

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People have come to love Katy for her originality and over-the-top thematics, and her fans are always up for a challenge.