Breaking the internet
Once the new “R”Us brand identity was conceived (previous story), a more collaborative culture grew among Babies“R”Us and Toys“R”Us colleagues, inspiring new ideas for cobranded activations. I took the lead in launching an inhouse content studio with a social editorial team covering both brands. So when New York’s Animal Adventure Park announced that April the Giraffe was expecting a baby, our team was ready.
Babies“R”Us started the conversation by commenting on a Today Show post with a tip: “Hi, April! May we suggest adding the Chicco Urban Stroller to your baby registry? Two words. Telescoping handles."
That quickly developed into sponsorship of the park’s live cam and months of posting to entertain a growing global audience. Fans went wild when we joined April’s checkup with veterinarian Dr. Tim, captured at the park in this explicit 2:20 video.
In a pretty savvy move the day the baby giraffe was born, the sponsorship logo switched to Toys“R”Us.
The impact
The campaign delivered one of YouTube’s top 5 most-watched live moments with 1.2M views, and 7.6B minutes of accumulated live watch time worldwide. Time and Fortune tweeted, “April the Giraffe is helping Toys“R”Us break the internet.” Fast Company said, “April the Giraffe is the biggest YouTube star of the moment, but Toys“R” Us is pretty savvy too.”
