Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope tells the remarkable story of Colonel Ilan Ramon, a fighter pilot and son of Holocaust survivors who became Israel’s first and only astronaut – a payload specialist aboard space shuttle Columbia. The award-winning documentary focuses on Col. Ramon’s “mission within the mission,” detailing the space shuttle’s connection to the Holocaust through a miniature Torah scroll, initially hidden in a concentration camp. To symbolize the possibility of rising from the depths of hell to the heights of space, Col. Ramon brought the Torah with him on the shuttle – inspiring a nation in the process.
Shortly before the film’s debut on PBS, the director and film team realized they needed to bring in extra resources to expand Mission of Hope’s digital footprint through social media and online news sites. In just three weeks, Geben developed and executed a highly targeted social activation plan to drive viewership and discussion during Mission of Hope’s premiere. The plan focused first on educating our audience about the story behind the film, plus building relationships with online influencers and bloggers who would ultimately help share our story. Once we had begun building the network, we shifted gears and began driving the audience to watch the premiere of Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope on their local PBS station, while also sharing their thoughts, reactions and reflections to the film during a Virtual Viewing Party hosted on Twitter.
We posted the full case study, including very specific outcomes, on Slideshare, which you can see here or read below.