NPR x Save the Music: Tiniest Desk
For the 2025 Young Lions Digital brief, Save the Music challenged us to create a digital activation that could cut through the crowded holiday giving season and drive donations for the public school music education nonprofit.
Our idea came from a simple insight: before a musician makes it big, they have to learn somewhere small.
So we brought one of music’s biggest stars back to where their journey began to reimagine one of music’s biggest platforms: NPR’s Tiny Desk.
Since artists waive appearance fees when performing on Tiny Desk, we could devote all budget towards promotion and production.
First, we’ll promote the Tiniest Desk concert organically on NPR Music and Lady Gaga’s socials, as well as paid ads, ensuring a massive reach.
To gain access to the show, donations will come in the form of a virtual “ticket”—utilizing Youtube’s new Pay-Per-View Live Event Feature.
During the concert from Lady Gaga’s childhood music classroom, further opportunities to raise money will come from Youtube’s native Super Chat feature. Viewers can give small donations to interact with Lady Gaga and the STM students, as well as request songs and shoutouts.
After the concert, NPR Music will begin post snippets of the performance that will link scrollers to the published video of the show. Additional donations will then be procured from ad revenue from the long form video, as well as the option to give directly.
Art Director: Morgan Garces