The Love Collection was a Valentine’s Day web special created for National Geographic, conceptualized and brought to life by Riot of Colors. Our goal was to transform a seasonal content piece into a memorable, emotionally engaging digital experience while simultaneously testing new monetization and distribution strategies.
Objectives
- Deliver a visually rich and emotionally resonant storytelling experience aligned with the theme of love.
- Drive increased audience engagement through an immersive design approach.
- Expand National Geographic’s reach by piloting social media-first digital publishing.
- Introduce a fresh, user-centric approach to advertising integration within editorial content.
Approach
We developed the web special using a custom parallax scrolling framework to create an engaging and cinematic narrative flow. The layered animation added depth and movement, bringing the stories to life as users scrolled.
Recognizing the potential to amplify reach, we led the strategy to make The Love Collection the first National Geographic web special promoted via social media channels. This decision paid off immediately, driving over 10 million views within the first month—a record-breaking performance for Nat Geo’s digital content at the time.
In parallel, we introduced a first-of-its-kind ad integration strategy. Instead of placing ads in standard sidebar or banner positions, we embedded sponsored content organically within the narrative stream. This approach maintained editorial integrity while dramatically increasing ad visibility and engagement. The concept, pitched by our team to the Sales division, laid the groundwork for future cross-department collaborations between editorial and advertising teams.
Results
- 10M+ views within 30 days, largely driven by social media engagement.
- First National Geographic digital product to include native ad integration within content flow.
- Significant increase in ad click-through rates compared to traditional placements.
- Influenced the structure of future web specials and digital storytelling formats within the organization.
