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World Gold CouncilThe Golden Thread

Insight

The impact of gold on humanity’s past, present and future is a story that extends far beyond economics and embellishment.

As a store of value, gold is a historically proven asset with unique benefits of diversification and liquidity – as well as long-term returns.

More than 200,000 tonnes of gold have been mined throughout human history, with every nanoparticle capable of elevating our way of life. Its permeation into almost every facet of our civilisation is an untold story, and one that demonstrates gold’s investable worth far beyond bars, coins and digital ownership.

Idea

Craft and share unexpected and enlightening stories that trace gold’s impact.

In a five-part documentary series presented by Professor and Mathematician Dr Hannah Fry, The Golden Thread features ten world-renowned experts across medicine, art, culture, space science and performance motorsport. The films explore how gold is the element that will help turn some of our most exciting visions for the future into reality.

A woman with long red hair and a green blazer rests her chin on her hands, surrounded by three glass containers: two beakers with clear liquid and a worm, and a flask with a red liquid, on a reflective surface.

Global stories.

Each episode focuses on two expert’s application and research of gold in their respective discipline. In the premiere episode, gold’s cosmic abilities are detailed by “Saturn’s Weatherman” along with the scientist creating oxygen on Mars. In the second episode, the veil is lifted on the omnipresence of gold across electronics and promising potential for renewable energy.

The third episode shows how gold expresses significance in art and culture and is unexpectedly significant to quantum computing. The fourth part dives into the nanoscale, unveiling the impact of gold nanoparticles in medicine and wearable technology.

The final episode reflects on how the precious metal has sparked major parts of our modern world, and is full of surprising abilities that will help shape our future. As these stories are told, a consistent message emerges and clean-tech entrepreneur Phil De Luna, a series contributor, puts it plainly:

Gold is one of the most historically important metals to humanity and it’s used everywhere.
- Phil De Luna, Ph.D, Cleantech innovator and Chair, Carbon Management Canada
A woman with reddish-brown hair, wearing a green blazer and white shirt, looks thoughtfully at a gold-colored vinyl record that she is holding in her hands.

Virtual Remote.

The series was made possible by a co-ordinated production of 10 interviews across multiple countries. To connect each of the stories together and deliver the narrative arc of each episode, Dr Hannah Fry was filmed in a Virtual Production set. Using LED screens, Unreal Engine technology and motion-tracked cameras, the virtual environment was generated in real-time allowing for the documentary’s presenter to inhabit a truly unique space.

A woman in a green suit stands at a desk under studio lights, while a camera operator films her and another crew member stands nearby, both wearing face masks. The background features a curved, textured wall.
A person wearing a VR headset and holding a controller stands on a stage with colorful, abstract lighting. A computer screen with software is visible in the foreground, and another person stands off to the right.
A camera operator films a woman with red hair, seated at a desk with a lamp and laptop, against a warmly lit, curved background on a set. The woman smiles and gestures with gloved hands.

All episodes available now.

The Golden Thread episodes are released weekly on YouTube, as well as collectively in a single release on a dedicated website. Built as an online exhibition of gold, the interactive experience begins within a central lobby, a replication of the Virtual Production set from the documentary itself.

Two smartphones display a website titled “Making Meaning” with artistic images and text, including a gold patterned background and illuminated architecture. Both screens show thegoldenthread.gold.org.

3D WebGL technology brings an optimised virtual environment to both desktop and mobile devices, as the wider website experience seamlessly integrates film into an online exhibition of gold.

Follow the Golden Thread.

In addition to the five episodes, the website provides extended interviews, interactive 360° galleries and audio interviews as part of a suite of additional storytelling. Viewers are given the ability to go deeper on subjects that capture their imagination, with further insights from experts around the world.

A collage of digital screens displays various film and photography scenes, including a woman with a film reel, an astronaut on the moon, and close-up shots of photographic equipment, set against a space-themed background.

The non-linear viewing experience opens each episode into a network of stories. In turn, each detailed story acts as a gateway to the broader topic of the documentary – that gold is far more than a story of value for investors. It is a material that has driven innovation and societal advancement for millennia, with no suggestion that all of its secrets have been told.

We couldn’t be more proud of this series, which is one of the most ambitious bodies of content our organisation has ever created.
- James Spake, Global Director of Digital Marketing, World Gold Council

Impact

Brand-first storytelling

With a target of raising the volume of gold around the world, The Golden Thread reveals unexpected stories of gold’s impact on our modern world. Far beyond an inert store of value, gold’s true value is revealed as a catalyst, initiator and accelerator of human advancement. The documentary series aims to elevate the relevance of gold in the minds of institutional investors and consumers alike.

A man with dark hair and a patterned shirt holds up and examines a laboratory flask filled with red liquid in a lab setting.
A woman in a yellow shirt and blue overalls with paint stains stands next to a portrait of a young girl with curly hair in a colorful robe. The woman is smiling and holding the edge of the portrait.
The World Gold Council trusted our studio to deliver a brand-first in storytelling, and in doing so have created a fascinating insight into the versatility and potential of one of the most recognisable materials in the world.
- Paul Ostryzniuk, Group Creative Director, AKQA

The series accrued over 17.2 million views across YouTube alone, with more across social channels and the dedicated documentary website. Such was the success of the Golden Thread and its website, the traffic it drove to gold.org accounted for over 92% of all page views. The World Gold Council gained three YouTube subscribers every five seconds for the duration of the series, increasing followers by 10x.

The Golden Thread ↘

  • Over

    17.2m

    episode views on YouTube alone

  • Greater than

    20.2%

    audience rate engagement

  • Responsible for

    92%

    of traffic to gold.org by microsite referral

  • An increase of

    10.8x

    in YouTube channel subscribers

A poster for The Golden Thread shows a silhouette of a person against a gold background, with the film title and tagline: For millennia weve searched for gold. Now, were discovering its potential.
  • EconsultancyThe World Gold Council boosts awareness and engagement via storytelling documentary series ↘
  • Daily ExcelsiorA landmark immersive documentary on gold ↘
  • Buzz in contentWorld Gold Council launches documentary The Golden Thread ↘
  • MINING.comWGC tells story of gold with launch of docuseries ↘

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