To celebrate and amplify the season 4 premiere event of HBO’s We’re Here, Max set out to create a bold, unexpected experience for both talent and attendees that would resonate with online audiences – tapping into the unique vision and influence of a creative partner unlike any we had collaborated with before.
While the Human By Orientation community would be excited to see our traditional event coverage, we’d need more to break through and capture fans’ attention. This led us to engage TikTok content creator Harry Daniels, who had been popping up on red carpets, at stage doors, and in airports all over the country surprising celebrities with acapella renditions of their own songs. We aimed to leverage Harry to surprise the We’re Here queens in a way that felt personal and unplanned – and, yes, maybe even a little uncomfortable. We sought to amplify We’re Here's premiere event while showcasing its stars’ dynamic personal engagement and improv talents, capturing heartfelt and even wacky moments of joy and humor that are at the heart of the series itself.
This campaign would also serve as a linchpin in our launch strategy of Human By Orientation on TikTok, providing us with an influx of traffic and creative credibility on a new-to-us platform that we were excited to grow.
To bring this campaign to life, we sought to blend entertainment with spontaneity, delivering moments that felt raw and unfiltered while simultaneously being perfectly suited for social virality. The strategy was built around a multi-faceted approach that took advantage of both Harry’s distinct TikTok style and the personalities of the We’re Here queens.
The first key step was Harry’s presence at the We’re Here Season 4 premiere. Our goal was to catch the queens off guard with a surprise performance – Harry Daniels singing an original song inspired by We’re Here moments and themes. Along with the performance, we prepared Harry to serve as a red carpet interviewer with a series of Max-related questions that were intended to elicit unscripted reactions. The queens’ responses were integral to the campaign, as we anticipated a wide range of emotions, from Priyanka’s delight and recognition to Latrice’s bewilderment and bemused discomfort. These contrasting reactions were a key part of the creative success of videos, and would drive a deeper connection with the audience.
Harry’s role wasn’t limited to the surprise performance; for the first time, he played the unsuspecting subject of a serenade. We brought in Priyanka to turn the camera around and sing Harry an original song later in the evening, further elevating our content and creating a standout moment in Harry’s already signature TikTok format.
The execution was driven by strategic social media planning. We focused on maximizing the reach of the content across TikTok and Instagram through our approach to shooting and editing, opting for phone-shot footage and almost no cuts or embellishments. Harry’s posts were carefully timed and structured for maximum impact: 1 in-feed TikTok and Instagram post, 5 Instagram stories, and 2 additional TikTok videos reposted from Human By Orientation. His following was engaged with the surprise content immediately, but the ripple effect came when non-affiliated accounts picked up the content and shared it, amplifying it beyond just Harry’s audience. This collaboration between series talent and creator encouraged cross-platform sharing, creating a cycle of amplification that propelled the campaign’s success.
One challenge was ensuring that the spontaneity of the surprise did not compromise the quality of the content. We needed to balance capturing genuine reactions while maintaining a high level of visual and audio quality. By being adaptable on the ground and allowing the moments to unfold naturally, we overcame this challenge and created content that felt both authentic and polished.
By blending spontaneity with viral content, we exceeded engagement expectations and made a lasting impact on social media.
On TikTok, the campaign generated 2.3 million impressions and 195,000 engagements, showing a strong connection with both Harry’s followers and We’re Here fans. On Instagram, the project reached 1.4 million impressions and garnered 60,500 engagements. These numbers reflect the success of our content in both generating excitement around the show and connecting with viewers shareable moments.
The content continued to perform well after the premiere, as it was shared, remixed, and adapted by other accounts, expanding its reach far beyond the initial launch.
Ultimately, we found major success with a strategy that took a deep understanding of the We’re Here community, culture, and social landscape and combined it with an unconventional partnership, creating a pitch-perfect execution. The campaign deepened and expanded our engagement with our target audience and drove tune-in for a beloved queer-centerd HBO title.
