Bridge School Concert App

CHALLENGE:

The Bridge School (a nonprofit school focused on working with developmentally disabled children, started by Peggy and Neil Young) has an extraordinary annual live concert, which brings together a stunning roster of musical talent to raise money and awareness for the school.

Neil Young, Dave Matthews Band, Arcade Fire, Mumford and Sons, Foo Fighters, Beck… the list of performers, as grand as the mission statement. With only 3 weeks left before the 25th anniversary event kicked off, the team began to look at ways to better socialize the experience and broadcast the event to a much larger audience than just the 16,000 in attendance at Shoreline Amphitheater. The 2011 landmark edition called for a loaded Facebook app to promote and administer a highly anticipated concert, allow for real time donations, and a means for users to share their stories and memories from the last 25 years of concerts.

With the high volume of eyes and ears expected, The Bridge School approached Facebook about creating an application that would serve as the digital epicenter.

GOAL:

Stepping in as a partner for Facebook, HYFN set out to build The Bridge School Concert app for the 25th annual event on a hyper-condensed schedule. The app would be integrated as a tab on The Bridge School page and stream the concert live while allowing users to donate securely.

The exclusive content and features would be leveraged to increase Facebook likes for the organization.

SOLUTION:

The Bridge School app served as an immersive experience for page visitors, who flocked to the tab on concert day in preparation for the live stream. They brought their friends too, thanks to viral features like commenting, sharing and the timeline section.

A commenting stream was built for RSVPs that generated more buzz before the concert, and another one for reactions during the performance. The timeline integration allowed users to upload pictures and text of their memories for each year of the concert all the way back to 1986.

In addition, users were able to donate securely with their credit cards without even leaving the app. They also could order the CD and DVD of the concert.

RESULT:

In 24 hours, The Bridge School saw its Facebook likes increase by more than 400 percent.

The app allowed the concert to reach a vast audience — essentially anyone with an Internet connection — and establish a stronger pool of donors to support the mission for the 25th year and beyond.