Chart toppers have 3 things in common – nice melody that you can hum again and again, emotional connect with people, and a smart marketing strategy. Over here we have rounded the 5 smartest marketing campaigns in the field of music for the year 2013:
1. Beyonce’s Surprise Album:
The new self-titled album came totally unannounced, without any teasers, interviews or previews. Her admirers came to know of the release via Instagram at midnight on Dec 13. In spite of that,the kind of sales her album generated speaks only of her tremendous popularity worldwide.
2. Eminem’s alliance with brands:
His partnership with Beats led to the premiere of the first single “Berzerk” in a headphone advertisement. The commercial that was aired during the MTV Video Music Awards, was also used to declare the name of the imminent album. The rapper was also named 'Artist Of The Year' in the first ever 2013 YouTube Music Awards.
3. Justin Timberlake sets up his target right:
In early January last year, Justin Timberlake teamed up with the major retail brand Target as a part of his new marketing strategy. The partnership proved to be useful for both of them and Target had the right for selling exclusive content of the “20/20 Experience”.
Image: Waly1039.com
Later, in August, he tweeted, “Join me & @Target tonight for just one song. Let's 'Take Back the Night.' First 150 get in. See you there!"
4.Arcade Fire turns to guerrilla techniques:
Image: Mostix.com.au
Arcade Fire found itself experimenting with guerrilla techniques of marketing in 2013, in order to publicize their fourth studio album. What started as a chalk and graffiti tags for spelling out Reflektor, the album title, spread across various social media. It was also followed by the release of posters in the major cities where the tags were launched. The group even witnessed a controversy welling up against them charging them against environmental pollution. Journalists raised eyebrows saying that this vandalism was negatively affecting the environment.
Arcade Fire further played it cool by going in for small shows as Reflektors where they asked the audience to opt for fancy costumes.
5. Jay Z teams up with Samsung:
Jay Z played it smart when he joined hands with Samsung to release Magna Carta Holy Grail in 2013. The multi-million dollar deal saw the company buy 1 million copies of the album and also allowed listeners to download it free of charge. The 16-track album features collaborations with the likes of Rick Ross, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean, Beyonce, Swizz Beats, Pharrell, Nas, and Timbaland. Here’s an insight into the listeners’ take on Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail.
