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Brand campaign · Facebook Live
Marketing campaign live streaming — the Playboy Fragrances finale on Facebook
A social-media contest that ended with a live broadcast on the brand’s own page. We produced both episodes — one with actress Marta Wierzbicka, one with Mister Poland Rafał Maślak — on four cameras, from our own flypack, in a studio with no broadcast infrastructure.
The challenge
A campaign finale that happens in front of the audience
Playboy Fragrances promoted a new line of scents with a contest called „A date with the stars”: fans of the brand competed for a date with their idol. The whole campaign lived in social media, so its resolution had to happen where the audience already was — live, on the brand’s Facebook page.
For the production crew that meant three things at once. First: this is not a conference with a speaker list, it is an entertainment format where the contestant’s reaction is the content — you have to be on it with a camera the moment it happens. Second: the feed went straight to viewers who were commenting in real time. Third: the studio we shot in was not built for broadcast — no control room, no dedicated line.
How we did it
Four cameras and a mobile control room inside the set
We built the production around our flypack — a mobile control room with the capability of an OB van that can be wheeled into the middle of a studio, a few metres from the set. On top of that, four XDCAM cameras: a wide of the stage, the host, the celebrity and the contestants — a separate angle for every reaction, which in this format is the actual content.
We streamed over two independent internet lines available in the building. For a broadcast that is the finale of a multi-week campaign, a second line is not a luxury — it is the only way to stop one provider’s outage from wiping out the payoff of the entire campaign.
Two episodes, one rig
The date with Marta Wierzbicka and the date with Rafał Maślak — two separate events shot with the same rig, with no set changeover in between.
Cutting for an entertainment format
We cut to the reaction, not to the script: the host’s question, the contestant’s answer, the celebrity’s look. That rhythm is what keeps a viewer on Facebook.
Audio straight off the desk
Radio mics on the host and contestants, mixed on site, with no camera microphones — in a format built on conversation, intelligibility matters more than the picture.
Two uplinks, one stream
Broadcasting over two independent venue lines, ready to switch to the backup without a break in picture. A broadcast like this has no second take.
Equipment
What we brought to this production
4× XDCAM camera
Four camera channels on the set: wide, host, celebrity and contestants. The same kit is available through our streaming equipment rental.
Production flypack
Vision mixer, intercom, audio monitoring and encoders in one case — the capability of an OB van in a place no van can reach.
Two uplinks + our own server
The stream ran through our streaming server to the Facebook gateway, with a second line ready to take over.
Watch the stream
The Marta Wierzbicka episode — a recording of the live stream
Nearly twenty minutes from one of the two episodes. It shows exactly what is described above: cuts driven by the contestants’ reactions rather than by a script, and audio clean enough to follow the conversation without effort.
The outcome
1,300,000 views of the stream and 265,000 unique viewers — all of it in under 50 minutes.Source: the „A date with the stars” case study published by John Pitcher, the agency that commissioned the broadcast.
FAQ
Marketing campaign live streaming — common questions
How much does streaming a campaign finale cost?
It depends on the number of cameras, the length of the event and whether a backup uplink is needed. A two-camera stream in a single room is a different budget from an entertainment format on four cameras with a mobile control room. Tell us your run-down and we will quote against it, not off a price list.
Can you broadcast from a studio that is not set up for it?
Yes — that is what the flypack is for. It is a mobile control room with the capability of an OB van that stands inside the set. No permanent gallery and no parking space required: room next to the set and an internet connection are enough.
How many cameras does an entertainment format need?
For a conversation with several people the minimum is three; four is comfortable: wide, host, protagonist and contestants. On two cameras the director has to choose between the question and the reaction — and in this format the reaction is the content.
What happens if the internet fails mid-broadcast?
That is why we run two independent uplinks. Here they were two venue lines; where a building has only one, we bring a backup built on bonded LTE modems. A broadcast that is the finale of a campaign does not get a second attempt.
Does the stream stay on the page afterwards?
Yes. The recording stays on Facebook as a video on the brand page and keeps working — a share of the views is collected after the broadcast ends. We can also hand over the high-quality master for editing and further campaign use.
Do you work with advertising agencies?
Yes — this production was commissioned by the John Pitcher agency, which ran the whole campaign. We come in as the production partner: the agency owns the messaging and the script, we take on picture, sound, connectivity and delivery to the platform.
How long does it take to prepare a broadcast like this?
On site, usually half a day of rigging and rehearsal before going live. Ahead of that we need a minute-by-minute run-down, information about the set, and credentials for the channel the stream is going to. For campaign finales we also run a test stream to a private link.
Ending a campaign with a live broadcast?
We will build the multi-camera production, put a mobile control room inside your venue and add the backup uplink — so the finale of the campaign does not depend on the building’s infrastructure.