Don’t Stop The Music

Classical pianist James Rhodes sitting at a grand piano

About:

Production Company: Fresh One Productions

Channel: Channel 4

Date: July to December 2014

tpr media was commissioned to design and implement a visible, dynamic six-month media campaign around the different elements of Don’t Stop The Music, the passionate campaign of internationally renowned pianist James Rhodes highlighting the decline of musical education in primary schools.

The aim of the campaign – which complemented a two-part Channel 4 TV series on James’s battle to improve music education in the UK – was to encourage the public to donate unused instrument to charity shops in a nationwide ‘instrument amnesty’. The instruments were then given a new lease of life before being distributed to selected primary schools in need.

Our brief was to support the drive for school registration and instrument donations as well as the wider political campaign engendered by the project, supported by celebrity ambassadors including Paul McCartney, Tinie Tempah, Tom Jones and Jessie J and Labrinth.

The campaign required a strong, national profile coupled with regional grassroots coverage in print, online and broadcast. We invested considerable resources liaising with 20 key primary schools, creating resource packs, which included a template release and clear instructions on how to place stories. Interest was enormous and helped influence mainstream audiences, galvinising political opinion and debate. Coverage encompassed broadcast, nationals and regionals, as well as specialist education and music press.