TIKTOK ACCOUNT
Our Purpose
When people think of Cirque du Soleil, they think gymnastics, aerials or heart-racing physical feats.
Rather than the polished performances you see on stage, our team focused on telling the story of the countless hours of practice that happen behind the scenes, the motivational journeys that cast and crew have overcome, the wholesome relationships they share, and fun facts surrounding the mysteries of the largest contemporary circus producer in the world, Cirque du Soleil.
We highlighted the humans behind the characters and the bodies behind the skills to reach new and younger audiences to captivate them with a side of Cirque du Soleil that was not traditionally shown before.
Our team leveraged TikTok’s in-app features and creator tools with duets, trending sounds, text-to-speech, video comment replies, as well as 25 livestreams that brought these “super humans” down to earth by communicating directly with fans in real-time. Not only did our brand account see an increase in followers but so did our cast and crew on their personal accounts.
KPI’s & Content
Throughout a year of testing and learning what resonated with the community and our fans, all the hard work of our team, cast and crew paid off significantly. Here are some highlights and wins we celebrated:
Gained +1 Million Followers in 2022
The account officially kicked off in October 2021 with 88.1K followers and quickly grew to 400K followers by the end of 2021 (+354% increase). The account now stands at 1.5M followers (+1,600% increase).
Garnered 341M video views and 30.2M total engagements (likes, shares, comments) in 2022
Our average engagement per view was 11%. According to this case study, accounts with more than 1 million followers reach an engagement per view of 9%, making our brand account +2% above average.
Top Series
We experimented with a variety of content styles and themes that put our cast and crew in different environments off-stage. However, the one thing that always stayed true throughout every piece of content was showing these “superhumans” in an authentic and relatable light, that inspired anyone watching.
Top Performing Videos
- When it Feels Scary to Jump... 61.2M views, 7.4M likes, 15K comments
- Slow Motion Skywalking 17M views, 2M likes, 6K comments
- Trampoline Tricks 19.2M views, 798K views, 1.4K comments
How our Cast & Crew benefitted
Our cast and crew felt recognized as humans, beyond the character they play on the show, and saw follower growth on their own personal social channels ranging from +200–10K followers within 72 hours of being featured on Cirque du Soleil TikTok. They developed a deeper connection with online audiences and peers across the globe as their content was shared by multi-million follower accounts: ESPN, Sportscenter, Memezar, House of Highlights, EarthPix.
TIKTOK LIVESTREAMS
Our Purpose
Reward fans and intrigue new viewers by connecting them and answering questions in real-time. Our performers, cast, and crew took viewers along a day in their life for:
- Backstage Tours
- Behind the Scenes during Training
- Run-Throughs of Show Acts
- Costume Fittings
- Makeup Applications
- Tech Rigging Tests
- New Act Creations
- Educational How-To’s
KPI’s & Content
Results
- Total of 25 livestreams in 2022
- Average of 50K-200K viewers per livestream
- 12 of these livestreams were selected by TikTok to be promoted worldwide on their Discover page and pushed through notifications
- Our team was acknowledged in TikTok’s newsletter and in two TikTok summit presentations by TikTok’s Entertainment leads for being innovators in livestream through our casual, friendly approach in bringing viewers into the mysterious world of Cirque du Soleil
Featured Livestream Series
Las Vegas Cirque Week
The first Cirque du Soleil TikTok livestreams kicked off in March 2022 where our two content producers visited all 6 shows in Las Vegas and spontaneously went live during training, rehearsals, and run-throughs. Viewers expressed their love for how they felt they were in the space with us while cast and crew felt appreciation for answering fan questions in real-time while they were doing what they love. The Entertainment team at TikTok took notice and promoted the last livestream of the week on its ‘Discover’ tab and sent push notifications to users. Total views: +125K (See an episode from the series below)
Cirque Month: Live Training Under the Big Top
KOOZA made its grand comeback under the Big Top last year, so we launched a weekly live series of 4 episodes in July 2022 to bring fans behind the scenes of what cast and crew do on show days. From musicians, to contortionists, acrobats and riggers, our content producers brought viewers along for the ride, with a POV from the Wheel of Death being the highlight of this series. Total views: +500K (See an episode from the series below)
Cirque Week in Mexico: Dinner Experience, VIP Lounge, Live Training & More
JOYÀ is our first resident show that combines culinary and performing arts in the middle of the Riviera Maya Jungle in Mexico. What is it like experiencing this dreamy vacation destination? Our content producers brought fans along for the ride and went live an hour a day for 5 days. While viewers spoke to our cast and crew in real-time, they also virtually experienced its VIP lounge, dinner details, stage manager secrets, new choreography, wardrobe department hacks, jumped and flipped around with acrobats, and got up-close and personal with performers mid-training. Total views: +650K (See an episode from the series below)
Cirque Holiday: Learn with Cirque & Holiday Party Tricks
After listening to our viewers from over 20 livestreams, we received so many requests on how-to’s so we answered their questions by gathering the cast and crew of our holiday show, ‘Twas the Night Before... to share their knowledge on circus arts as well as party tricks they can show off to friends and family. This type of content also aligned with TikTok’s priority on educational style content. Total views: +175K (See an episode from the series below)
RECOGNITIONS
Brand to Follow in TikTok North America Newsletter
Cirque du Soleil was recognized as a brand to follow for its best practices featuring “resources that can help [brands] replicate it's success”.
Most link clicks in TikTok x Ticketmaster beta test
After 1 month of being one of the first 100 companies to beta test the Ticketmaster in-app link on TikTok videos, our brand account scored the most link clicks by far (beating The Weeknd, Michael Bublé, Usher). Cirque du Soleil garnered a total of +34K link clicks amounting to more than 50% of Ticketmaster’s link clicks from all 100 companies combined.
Featured in TikTok Canada Summer ‘22 Campaign
Cirque du Soleil was selected by TikTok Canada to be highlighted among 8 public figures and brands who have embraced TikTok as a platform to create bold and authentic content. The campaign had a video run every day throughout the summer across media channels, digital displays, and OOH banners in the city.
Highlighted at TikTok Canada Summit
In the Entertainment & Music panel alongside major Canadian names like TIFF, Bell, Toronto Blue Jays and Raptors, Cirque du Soleil was praised as cultural innovators for utilizing the LIVE feature in a way that has never been done by a brand where hosts spontaneously brought viewers on an unscripted adventure behind-the-scenes and interacted with fans and performers in a casual, approachable manner – in line with TikTok’s community standards.
Highlighted at TikTok Disney Summit
Cirque du Soleil was presented by TikTok North America Entertainment as noteworthy for brand strategy and livestream best practices on the platform.
And finally, to the judges reading this; thank you for your time and consideration. After facing two years of uncertainty, to come back stronger than before and provide our fans with inspiration and entertainment through an accessible medium, is why we do the things we do every day.
About Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group
Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is a world leader in live entertainment. On top of producing world-renowned circus arts shows, the Canadian organization brings its creative approach to a large variety of entertainment forms such as multimedia productions, immersive experiences, theme parks and special events. Going beyond its various creations, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group aims to make a positive impact on people, communities and the planet with its most important tools: creativity and art. For more information about Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, please visit CDSentertainmentgroup.com.