Lead agency Mission Media called in projection mapping and video consultants Bluman Associates to turn its concept into reality, transforming the 509ft building for special guests including secretary general of the United Nations Ban-Ki Moon and David Guetta.
Guetta's One Voice video was filmed especially for the groundbreaking cause marketing campaign which aims to turn people's words into real support for communities affected by humanitarian crises.
International brands have sponsored words they believe the world could use more of - such as inclusion, love and education - and every time someone tweets the word and the hashtag #THEWORLDNEEDSMORE, $1 is donated by the particular brand.
David Guetta was announced as a campaign partner in September, with parts of his video being unlocked as people tweeted. Friday marked the first full showing of the music video, not only shown on the UN building but also streamed across the globe.
"This was a huge task, with the projection area spanning 280ft across and 130ft high," says Pod Bluman, managing director of Bluman Associates. "We had 16 projectors in total with a very short load in time of just 48 hours.
"We designed and collated all content including David Guetta's video and supporting material from the UN, plus graphics such as live streaming of '#THEWORLDNEEDSMORE' tweets.
"This experiential approach worked incredibly well, turning the UN building into a giant premiere screen and really bringing the social aspect of the campaign to life."
JD O'Lone, board director at Mission, explains: "As the UN building is such an iconic monolith on the New York skyline it seemed madness not to use this canvas to relay the important message behind the event. Whilst we knew it was going to be a challenge, it is things like this that make our jobs interesting.
"We had a very short lead time to turn this project around, so it was essential to engage event partners such as Bluman Associates that we have worked with before and knew of their capabilities."
Whilst the projection took place outside, Mission hosted a VIP reception inside the UN library where they live relayed the projection feed and guests were welcomed by David Guetta and the Secretary General who were able to further express the importance of the campaign.
(Jim Evans)
