West Midlands Combined Authority – Goodnight Ozzy

The challenge

The solution

After hearing the news, the social team at WMCA leapt into action. In record time, they planned and executed a campaign that would both honour Ozzy and highlight Birmingham’s cultural legacy.

Firstly, the team ensured that staff members were on hand to ensure full campaign resourcing. They set the campaign’s dates and scope to cover the days around Ozzy’s funeral, including the procession of his hearse through the streets of Birmingham.

The WMCA comms team then selected the campaign’s social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin. They agreed on a platform-first approach, prioritising reels and short-form video for viral potential. Social posts were carefully crafted to evoke emotion while balancing respect, authenticity, and cultural resonance.

On the day of the funeral, the team selected a balanced mix of content to share including emotional tributes (such as Ozzy’s wife Sharon shown standing by the hearse – see below) alongside posts showing fans, the wider local community, and the electric atmosphere in Birmingham.

The results

Over the three days, WMCA’s social content reached an impressive 15.8 million people. It generated more than one million interactions and received global attention from major accounts such as Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, and Slash. Ozzy’s official account chose only one Instagram account to interact with – WMCA’s – which boosted the campaign’s reach and credibility.

Total campaign results (across all platforms):

• 15,865,013 views
• 1,093,289 interactions
• +2,163 new followers
• 6.77% average engagement rate
• 95-97% of reach from non-followers, an indication of exceptional organic growth

Specific content highlights:

• WMCA’s funeral procession Instagram post received 11.1m views and 911,585 interactions. It was WMCA’s most-viewed post ever, achieving nearly 20x higher engagement than its previous ‘best performing post’.
• The campaign’s Facebook reel attracted 2.1m views and 1,007 new Facebook followers.
• On LinkedIn, the campaign video had 9,741 video views, 52+ hours of watch time and a 9.1% engagement rate.

More than “just” a social campaign

“Goodnight Ozzy” achieved record-breaking engagement, unprecedented awareness for WMCA, and shared a cultural moment that put Birmingham and its people on the global stage. They also led a fitting farewell tribute to a true local icon.

As the Orlo Spotlight Awards judging panel put it, “We were blown away by a campaign that turned a culturally significant moment into an opportunity to connect with the community. By using emotion-led storytelling, short-form video, and collaboration with Ozzy Osbourne’s official account, this campaign reached millions of people and truly connected with the people of the West Midlands’.

On winning the award, the team said “We feel amazing…it’s a bit surreal. It’s been a journey from conceptualising to planning to now, here we are…It’s not every day that Slash steals your content, so we’ll take it’.

Congratulations, WMCA, on your well-deserved Spotlight Award.