Spread the love

Great Big Story in partnership with AccorHotels takes its viewers on a cinematic journey exploring exquisite architecture, art, traditions and music. In this four-part mini-series Great Big Story journeys through Singapore, Chengdu and Shanghai to meet passionate architects, musicians and discover traditions that are making a comeback including contemporary Shanghai jazz inspired by the city’s 1930s jazz scene.

Through the series, AccorHotels aims to inspire premium audiences and affluent travelers through the exquisite content to go and discover new destinations.  The new video series will run across Great Big Story’s multiple platforms and social accounts reaching over 10 million followers and travelers around the world. Spearheaded by CNN International Commercial (CNNIC), this partnership also includes branded content produced by CNNIC’s global brand studio Create which will showcase Singapore’s famous Raffles Hotel in an immersive 360-degree video, which will launch in 2019.

“AccorHotels is a long-standing partner of CNN’s, and we are delighted to build on this relationship through this cinematic journey with Great Big Story,” said Sunita Rajan, SVP, APAC, CNN International Commercial. “The power of this campaign lies in rich storytelling, passion projects and the engagement that Great Big Story has with its audience. This is a great alignment of brands, bringing AccorHotels for the first time together with Great Big Story in a campaign to engage audiences across the world through the power of storytelling.”

“We are delighted to work with CNN to inspire people to travel to three of the world’s most exciting destinations and discover our wonderful hotels there,” said Graham Wilson, Chief Marketing & Distribution Officer, AccorHotels Asia Pacific. “At AccorHotels we are always looking for new ways to engage with our guests through storytelling and Great Big Story is the perfect platform for us to provide rich content to a broad audience.”

Check out the first story of the video series:

Shanghai Jazz Gets an Electronica Twist

Influenced by the spirit of the cosmopolitan 1930s jazz scene in Shanghai, the Shanghai Restoration Project is a Brooklyn-based electronica band. Adopting a unique approach, the band uses everyday sounds from around the world for their musical productions. Be it the sound of leaves underfoot or a busy street corner, these quirky found sounds create a form of music that transcends borders and shows that world is a small, interconnected place.

Coming up next!

Legendary Theatres of Shanghai

Shanghai is perhaps known best as a city of ancient history, or a city of thriving tech hubs and start-ups. But few in the west are familiar with Shanghai’s global cultural significance in the early 20th century, particularly as the center for China’s first Golden Age of Cinema. This Great Big Story will celebrate the glamour and luxury of Shanghai, both in its historic legacy as the center of cinema and how these legendary and beautiful theatres are still operating today.

Butler Academy in Chengdu

They clutch hefty porcelain plates in quivering white-gloved hands, praying the metal warming covers don’t betray a percussion rumble that will incur the instructor’s wrath. Upon the order advance, the eight aspiring butlers glide around a long dining table, positioning each plate between the polished silver cutlery. Synchronizing with a hawk-like peripheral gaze! We take an exciting journey through the International Butler Academy in China’s Central city of Chengdu – where over 100 graduates have been trained in the art of domestic service.

Restoring Singapore’s History

Maintaining a heritage building is a lot harder than just slapping plaster on the walls. Singapore is home to 71 national monuments and we take a journey with Dr. Yeo Kang Shua to witness his love for architecture and historic buildings and how the conservation of these monuments in Singapore is a much tougher task than what meets the eye. His dedication to historic architecture has bagged him three UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.