UMe, Rocket Entertainment, Bravado, Modern English, Google Maps

Elton John's Interactive Map of LA

Innovative, Collaborative, Celebratory, Fan-First, Fun

Music / Nominee

UMe, Rocket Entertainment, Bravado, Modern English, Google Maps

Music

Nominee

Two features made this campaign unique: cloud-based maps styling and Rocket View (drone-like videos) Rory Newton Dunn, Head of Digital Rocket Entertainment

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Q: Can you briefly describe your project and the concept behind it?

A: To celebrate the last U.S. stop of Elton John’s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour, an LA-driven campaign was launched in collaboration with Google Maps Platform. We wanted to focus on storytelling to share the history and love Elton has for L.A. and to find a way to bring together all the ways that L.A. was celebrating his final North American tour shows in an accessible way. And we needed a framework to bring all the events together.

Q: Once you settled on your idea, what influenced your decision on the chosen technical approach? How did it differ or go beyond approaches you’ve taken in the past?

A: Google Maps had the exact customization abilities we needed & was able to scale alongside the enormous demand of Elton. With WebGL-powered map features in the Maps JavaScript API, we incorporated Google’s 3D synthetic oblique building models, in addition to depth & perspective by using tilt & rotation. Combined with custom styling & markers, fans could explore all of the places Elton wanted to share as more than just points on the map.

Q: What were some of your biggest learning and takeaways from this project?

A: We were delighted to see the ways that different fans engaged in the site. Across LA, residents and visitors for the shows used the LA map to come together at featured locations and celebrate the fan community. Then, web visitors from the UK, Australia and elsewhere were able to feel part of the cultural moment of Elton’s final tour shows. It showed us that Elton’s fans really are the best!

Q: What web technologies, approaches, tools, or resources did you use to develop this experience (WordPress, headless, AI, Sublime Text, HTML5, Adobe XD, etc)?

A: Google Maps Platform enabled us to create a memorable immersive experience that we call Rocket View–an experience built with a pre-release Google Maps Platform feature that adds photo-realistic 3D videos of all of the locations on the map. It leverages Google Earth, rendering APIs, & several Google Cloud products to generate drone-like videos. We were able to customize the time of day, & add our markers & branding.

Q: How did the final product meet or exceed your expectations? What results did you see?

A: The campaign was a resounding success. The response from the fans, the partners, and everyone we worked with was overwhelmingly positive.

Q: Why is this an exciting time to create new digital experiences? How does your team fit into this?

A: For this project, we wanted more than just a map. We wanted to create an immersive experience that shared Elton’s connection to LA with his fans & help them discover what we planned in connection with the tour. This included the Disney+ Live & Elton’s 1st metaverse concert on Roblox. The opportunity for Rocket Entertainment & UMe to work with Modern English & product teams across Google made this project a truly exciting digital collaboration.

Q: How did you reach a good balance of your own creative ideas and technical capabilities with a fair representation of the client’s brand?

A: We created an experience that matched the energy, showmanship, & style Elton brought to Dodger Stadium. To make this happen, we leveraged Google’s knowledge of the real world & the latest features of the Maps JavaScript API. Featuring creative inspiration from the iconic Dodger Stadium, the result is one we knew Elton’s fans would love, whether they could attend the show in person or wanted to explore L.A. from afar.