2022 Debut Tour PR Plan
Emma Baxter, Mary DeFranco, Claire Kantz, Jade Lieu, Guadalupe Rodriguez 2
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 2
Introduction 3
Background 5
SWOT Analysis 6
Goal Statement 7
Key Audiences 8
Goals and Objectives 7
Media Relations Press Release 10 Media Distribution List 12 Story Angle Pitches 13
Strategies, Tactics and Tools 14
Evaluation 18
Appendix 19
Resources 21 3
Introduction
Olivia Rodrigo released her debut single drivers license at the beginning of 2021 and it quickly took the internet by storm. Rodrigo is brand new to the music industry but has already proven her music’s relevance by breaking multiple records in the first week with drivers license alone. Rodrigo recently released her new single, deja vu, and simultaneously announced a debut album set to be released May 21st. Planning the tour for the prospective year, we believe that
Rodrigo’s first tour will be a great opportunity to expand her career as an artist. This debut tour most of GenZ interested in her music. With her debut singles’ success on TikTok and her role on
High School Musical The Musical: The Series, there is a large opportunity to utilize social media as a part of the marketing strategy for this upcoming tour.
Following the music PR cycle, Rodrigo has successfully developed, produced and dropped two singles prior to the release of her album on May 21, 2021. On her personal social media accounts, she revealed the track list for her upcoming album, Sour, and strategically implemented easter eggs throughout multiple platforms. Prior to her album release, the 18 year-old will make an appearance and perform her singles, drivers license and deja vu, at the
BRIT Awards. Rodrigo’s 2022 debut tour will begin promotion in January of 2022 with an official announcement of dates and venues. The main communication opportunities our team will be taking advantage of surrounds the use of social media, radio, digital publications and TV.
Tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster Verified Fan on February 4th and open to the general public on Rodrigo’s birthday, February 20th. In the months between tickets going on sale and the tour opening, Rodrigo will make appearances on various late night shows, radio shows, and digital platforms to promote the shows. The PR plan also includes various marketing stunts that feature brand tie-ins with Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Wildflower Cases. 4
Background
Oliva Rodrigo is an 18-year-old singer and actress who is currently signed to Geffen
Records, who is owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). UMG is one of the biggest music labels who has also signed the world's biggest singers such as Billie Ellish, Kendrick Lamar and
Lady Gaga. Each of these artists have won multiple Grammys, performed at major festivals like
Coachella, and brought major success to the label. UMG has had more artists on the International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s top ten global artist list in 2019 than any other music company, bringing in revenue and good press for the label as well as the artists. While they are one of the biggest music labels in the world, other competitors in the industry are other music labels like Warner Music Group, Hollywood Records and Atlantic Records, who have signed artists like Bruno Mars, Olivia Holt and Charlie Puth. Almost every music label is taking a hit right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is limiting festivals, tours and other live performances. Some of the loss is being made up with the increase in music streaming, however
UMG has faced an overall 4.5% financial loss in 2020 and a greater loss in physical sales and merch sales (Ingham, 2020).
Rodrigo released her first single, drivers license in January of 2021 and recently has released her second single deja vu in April of 2021. Both of these songs were instant successes with both currently being in the billboard hot 100 since their release. This makes Rodrigo the first artist ever to have both of their first two debut singles enter in the top five of the Billboard
Top 100 (Rutherford, 2021). She signed with UMG in 2020 and has joined a class of artists like
Blackpink, Lana Del Rey, and Ellie Goulding in her music journey. Soon after she came out with her second single, deja vu, she announced the date of her debut album Sour set to be released on
May 21st, 2021. 5
SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses ● Strong social media presence ● Appeals to a niche audience ○ TikTok challenges and most used sound ● Less experience in the music industry ● Gen Z audience ● Association with Disney to remain family ● Established in her acting career with Disney, friendly and be an appropriate role model which led to her expanding into her music career ● First two singles, drivers license & deja vu, broke multiple records within the first week of the release
Opportunities Threats ● Teases for her new album release ● Conflict with her ex-boyfriend and current ● Teases for tour dates and locations co-star, Joshua Bassett, in the press ● Teases for ticket sales and tier lists ● Conflict with Sabrina Carpenter, who recently ○ General Admission wrote a song in response to her single, drivers ○ Meet & Greet ○ VIP Packages license ● Easter eggs for music videos on her upcoming ● COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of how album, Sour long it will last ● Early merchandise launches ● COVID-19 large gathering restrictions ● Limited edition merchandise that can be sold during her tour ● Exclusive content ● Influencer collaborations ○ PR packages ● Press interviews for promotion ● Contests/Giveaways ○ Merchandise ○ Tickets to the tour 6
Goal Statement and Objectives
GOAL
To generate awareness for Olivia Rodrigo's new album, Sour, drive traffic to Olivia Rodrigo’s
2022 debut tour website, and sell 90% of tickets at each venue by July, 2022.
OBJECTIVES
1. Increase monthly listeners on music platforms such as Spotify & Apple Music by 50% by
January 31, 2022.
2. Increase social media presence and engagement by 60% by May 15th, 2022.
3. Secure 10 press coverage interviews on Late Night shows and digital media companies
by April, 2022.
4. Secure 10 featured stories on 10 digital publications by January 1st, 2022.
5. Obtain at least one-cross promotion or brand tie-in by March 1st, 2022.
6. Execute at least one PR stunt by April 1, 2022. 7
Key Audiences
PRIMARY:
We believe the primary key publics to be ages 13 - 26.
SECONDARY:
We believe the secondary key public to be influencers within the age range 13-26.
● Indie Music Artists
● Media companies
BUYER PERSONAS:
Kristina is a single, 17-year-old female high school student who lives in the suburbs in
Massachusetts. She works at her local coffee shop on the weekends to save money for when her favorite pop artists go on tour. She uses all social media platforms on a regular basis, especially
Youtube and TikTok. She has almost all streaming services including Disney+, where she started watching High School Musical The Musical: The Series and discovered Olivia Rodrigo. From there, she listened to all of her music and even found out about the Olivia and Joshua Bassett situation from a drama Youtube channel. She has Olivia’s post notifications on for all platforms so she never misses a new release.
Jordan is a 20-year-old queer male college student who lives in Los Angeles, California and attends UCLA as a Business major. He uses Instagram and TikTok as his main social media platform and is very up to date with all trends and recreates them himself and for his 60k TikTok followers. He loves music and posts lots of covers or cute moments with him and his new 8 boyfriend. While scrolling through his TikTok “for you” page, he heard drivers license as a sound on a video and immediately fell in love with the song and made his own cover on TikTok.
He also follows a lot of indie/alternative artists and loves both big and small venue concerts.
Claudia is a 23-year-old female recent college-grad who lives in Portland, Oregon. She mainly uses Instagram and does not really use TikTok, but she is very familiar with media because of her job in Influencer Marketing for a media company.Her first impression of Olivia was when she saw that lots of people were posting about drama between Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter, so she did her research and decided to take Olivia’s side. She explains the drama story to her long-term boyfriend, but he doesn’t really understand. She loves Olivia Rodrigo’s music and is also a fan of Taylor Swift. She does not go to many concerts, but when it is for her favorite artist she will stand in line for hours to get tickets. 9
Press Release
Olivia Rodrigo Sour Tour Announced
Drivers license singer and actress releases dates for 2022
Los Angeles, CA: Singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo has announced the North American tour for her debut album Sour, which will kick off in July of 2022 in California. Rodrigo, who broke multiple records with her debut single drivers license back in January, is set to release Sour on
May 21st, 2021.
Rodrigo has found unprecedented success with her music, breaking streaming records previously held by artists such as Cardi B, Zayn Malik and Ariana Grande with her debut single. She was quoted as saying, “I had no expectations for it. I definitely didn’t expect for it to chart like it has and break all of these records. It’s surreal.” When asked for her thoughts about debuting on tour,
Roridgo said, “Performing has always been a huge part of who I am and going on tour is something I’ve dreamt about for so long! I think Sour has such a great story to tell, I can’t wait for people to experience the album live.”
Tickets for the tour will go on sale to the general public in February of 2022. General ticketing and on-sale information will be available at OliviaRodrigo.com.
TOUR DATES
- July 01 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
- July 04 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
- July 06 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
- July 08 - Portland, OR @ Holocene
- July 11 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile, Back Bar 10
- July 13 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
- July 15 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake
- July 18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
- July 20 - Cambridge, MA @ Sonia
- July 22 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live, Upstairs
- July 25 - Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
About Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo is an American singer and actress who is best known for her debut single drivers license and her role as Nini Salazar-Roberts on the Disney+ show High School Musical The
Musical: The Series. Drivers license broke multiple streaming records within the first week of its release, quickly becoming critically acclaimed and named by Rolling Stone Magazine as an early contender for song of the year. Rodrigo is signed to Interscope Records and Geffen Records, subsidiaries of Universal Music Group.
About UMG
Universal Music Group is the world’s leading company in music entertainment. The company has been named the most innovative music corporation and has signed licensing agreements with more than 400 platforms worldwide. Their operational headquarters, as well as the majority of their subsidiaries’ headquarters, are located in Santa Monica, CA. 11
Media List 12
Story Angles
1. How Olivia Rodrigo’s singles led to record breaking success
a. Print
b. Rodrigo would discuss the inspiration and timeline of both her singles, drivers
license and deja vu. She would detail the songwriting process and which artists
inspired her while making each single. Rodrigo would discuss her songwriting
history and where her love of music began that ultimately blossomed into her
career with Disney.
2. Meanings behind certain tracks of the album / what inspired the album
a. Radio
b. Rodrigo would talk about the top 3 tracks on the album and delve into the process
of writing each one. From the first lyric she wrote to the final layers of
production, the interview would give fans and new indie artists an idea of what
Rodrigo’s process is like. She would also give exclusive information about some
of the stories, memories, and experiences that inspired the songs and the name of
the album.
3. Behind the scenes of making Sour
a. Digital
b. Olivia Rodrigo would talk about the songwriting process and production of her
new album, Sour. She would discuss what each song meant to her, how she
thought of each track title and what inspired her to create the album. Rodrigo
would also provide exclusive video clips from behind the scenes of producing the
album and shooting the artwork. 13
Strategies, Tactics, and Tools
Objective 1
● Objective: Increase monthly listeners on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and
YouTube by 50% by June 30, 2022.
○ Strategy: Promote Olivia Rodrigo’s music through social media and media
outlets in ways that incentivizes fans.
■ Tactic: Discount codes for fans who follow her on Spotify
■ Tactic: Utilize the TicketMaster Verified Fan presale system, encouraging
fans to stream songs/watch music videos in order to move forward in the
presale line
■ Tactic: Hosting streaming parties on Spotify and YouTube live
■ Tactic: Incentivize fans to post a photo of themselves on streaming the
music on Twitter for the chance to win prizes (ex: sticker pack, T-shirt,
etc.)
■ Tactic: Upload album chapters (see Taylor Swift’s folklore chapters) with
clusters of her music or her music and other artists’ work on Spotify to
increase her streams.
● Tools: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter 14
Objective 2:
● Objective: Increase online presence and engagement by 60% by June 30, 2022.
○ Strategy: Utilize social media platforms and influencers to drive online traffic.
■ Tactic: Instagram live concert that gives a taste of what tour will be like
■ Tactic: Curate a Snapchat filter in correspondence with her debut tour,
Sour
■ Tactic: Contest for VIP tickets/meet and greet using her TikTok sound
(possibility to have Olivia duet some)
■ Tactic: Instagram live, TikTok live, and stream for album release party
■ Tactic: Curate influencer contact list
■ Tactic: Send PR packages and collaboration requests to influencers
■ Tactic: Early merchandise launch to drive website traffic
● Tools: Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, SnapChat, Influencers
Objective 3:
● Objective: Secure 10 press coverage interviews on Late Night shows and digital media
companies by April 30 , 2022.
○ Strategy: Reach out to Late Night show publicity teams and digital media
companies for a featured interview/performance on their platform to promote
ticket sales for her upcoming tour.
■ Tactic: Curate Late Night show and digital media company contact list 15
■ Tactic: Contact and send press releases to Late Night show publicity
teams and digital media companies
● Vanity Fair - Olivia Rodrigo takes a Lie Detector Test
● James Corden - Carpool Karaoke
● NPR Tiny Desk Concerts
● 73 Questions with Olivia Rodrigo
○ Tools: Email, Press Releases, News Releases
Objective 4:
● Objective: Secure 10 featured stories on 10 digital publications by January 1st, 2022.
○ Strategy: Reach out to digital news publications and journalists for a featured
story on their website.
■ Tactic: Curate media and contact lists of digital publications and
journalists
■ Tactic: Contact and send press releases to digital news publications and
journalists
● Tools: Email, Press Releases, News Releases 16
Objective 5:
● Objective: Obtain at least one-cross promotion or brand tie-in by March 1st, 2022.
○ Strategy: Reach out to applicable companies that are on brand with Olivia
Rodrigo.
■ Tactic: Contact Ben & Jerry’s for a featured flavor and ice cream truck
● “Strawberry ice cream, in Malibu”
○ Direct lyrics from deja vu
■ Tactic: Contact Wildflower cases / Casetify for a phone case collaboration
● Could correspond with Sour album tracklist
● Tools: Email, Press Releases, News Releases
Objective 6:
● Objective: Execute at least one PR stunt by April 1, 2022.
○ Strategy: Utilize media outlets, paparazzi, and social media platforms to amplify
publicity stunts.
■ Tactic: Get Olivia Rodrigo spotted with co-star and now ex-boyfriend,
Joshua Bassett, outside of their filming studio
■ Tactic: Contact paparazzi and media outlets to take pictures and draw
buzz
● Tools: Paparazzi, media outlets, social media platforms 17
Evaluation
The success of Oliva Rodrigo’s debut tour can be measured in ways both in-person and virtually. Many objectives in this plan are focused on increasing engagement on social media platforms which will lead to increase in streams, as well as the more exposure Rodrigo will have on late night talk shows will increase her music streams. This will be measured by tracking analytics on music and social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Spotify. This build-up before, during, and after the release of her album will help increase excitement for the tour. Then when the tour dates, venues and tickets are released sales will be successful due to the prior exposure Rodrigo has had.
Objective 1 is to increase monthly listeners on music platforms such as Spotify & Apple
Music by 50% by January 31, 2022. This will be achieved by earned promotions which will drive our audiences to platforms where Rodrigo’s music is available. Currently Rodrigo has about 36.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and this being her first album there is no set precedent on song or album streams to increase on (Olivia Rodrigo). We hope to receive 54.3 million monthly listeners after her album has been released for a little less than a year. Hosting virtual events on Spotify, Youtube and participation in the Ticketmaster verified fan system. The combination of Rodrigo’s exposure, her album being released for a while and also announcing a tour will increase these streams and help us meet our goal.
Objective 2 is to increase online presence and engagement by 60% by June 30, 2022. By doing this it will drive traffic to from her social media pages to her tour and in return drive up ticket sales. For this being her debut tour, we want to increase these sales as much as possible.
Rodrigo being more active on all platforms will increase engagement tremendously. Especially increasing engagement on Tik Tok, where her single drivers license was in different trends. 18
Interacting with fans is a huge part of being a celebrity and one as her team takes very seriously.
Even as much as dueting different videos that include her song on the Tik Tok platform will excite many fans. As her team, we want to create and keep strong relationships with her fans. It will not only be a boost to Rodrigo's big fan base, but to her as well. To drive more traffic and sales to her tour and platforms, Rodrigo will not only be going live on Instagram and giving the fans a taste of how the concert will feel, but also for debuting her album. We also wanted to launch her tour merchandise early and send out PR packages to influencers so we are able to reach different audiences. Engagement on different forms of media is a huge part of Olivias’ brand, so connecting and staying relevant can be a big part in her tour being a success. The tactics to increase her engagement by 60% will in the end help her increase sales for her tour and album.
Objective 3 aimed to secure 10 press coverage interviews on Late Night shows and digital media companies by April 30, 2022. By doing this, Rodrigo would be able to generate more awareness for both her upcoming album, Sour, and her 2022 debut tour, driving ticket sales up across different venues. As an upcoming artist, the goal is to garner ample exposure for Olivia
Rodrigo as a performer and display her personality throughout these interviews. As her publicity team, we aim to schedule interview segments that would exhibit her musical talent, such as
Carpool Karaoke with James Corden and NPR Tiny Desk Concerts alongside a performance within a late night show. Our intention is to be able to showcase her personality as well, which
Rodrigo would be able to exemplify in interviews such as the Vanity Fair Lie Detector Test and
Vogue’s 73 Questions, or with traditional late night shows such as The Tonight Show with
Jimmy Fallon and The Late Late Show with James Corden. 19
Objective 4 is to secure 10 featured stories on 10 digital publications by January 1st,
2022. Doing this will allow her to promote her tour, her album Sour, and herself, and create a higher likelihood of success for her debut tour. The tactics we are using are to curate media and contact lists of digital publications and journalists as well sending press releases to these publications. We are picking publications that align with her brand, and in doing so will ensure that we hit her target audience that include current fans as well as future fans. Some of these publications include Vogue, Variety, and Rolling Stone. During these stories and features we will also be making sure that the questions and story that is being written is relevant to the campaign and will ensure the positive buzz we need to sell tickets and promote the album. These stories will also allow fans to talk more about Rodrigo, and thus helping to promote her tour, album, and create more buzz. One story angle for Rodrigo in digital publications is to discuss her songwriting process and what each song means to her. This will also involve exclusive behind the scenes looks into producing the album and the photoshoot for her album. In doing so we will give fans a closer look into who she is, and continue to grow that valuable relationship with the people who support her career.
Objective 5 aims to create a cross-promotional tie-in, mainly one related to Rodrigo’s second single, deja vu. Deja vu has a vintage and retro vibe that Rodrigo played into with the style of the music video. The video itself features strong imagery of strawberry ice cream, therefore a promotion with a popular ice cream brand, like Ben & Jerry’s, is a natural next step.
The promotion would feature a new flavor of strawberry ice cream named after either Rodrigo or the song. The promotion would also use a Sour-branded, vintage ice cream truck as a pop-up shop that drives all around LA and Malibu; fans would have to solve social media clues in order to find the next location and partake in the promotion. This would create buzz and get locals 20 involved who may not be fans of Rodrigo yet. Additionally, her y2k aesthetic and Sour’s sticker branding could also lead to a successful promotion with Wildflower Cases. Wildflower Cases is known for working with celebrities to design phone cases that fit their brand and, because
Rodrigo’s aesthetic is so defined, her case would be popular with fans. Overall, both promotions would create buzz surrounding Rodrigo, Sour, and her debut tour.
Objective 6 aims to execute at least one PR stunt by April 1, 2022. Because of the drama surrounding the ‘love triangle’ between Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter was a major source of buzz when drivers license was released, a stunt that involves Rodrigo and
Bassett together would do the same for her tour. We plan to collaborate with paparazzi in order to secure photos of the two together outside of a studio in LA. We also plan to work with various media outlets to leak the photos to the public. These photos will create conversation on social media surrounding the relationship between the two, leading to more general press for Rodrigo.
Overall, these objectives will help boost awareness and engagement for Rodrigo, which will result in successful ticket sales, create buzz around her new album Sour, and establish her vision as an artist. Measuring the success of these tactics will then help measure the success of this campaign, therefore resulting in a successful debut tour for Rodrigo. 21
Appendix
Olivia Rodrigo 2022 Debut Tour Dates Poster 22
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream collaboration with Oliva Rodrigo: Strawberry Ice Cream in Malibu 23
Olivia Rodrigo Tour Merchandise (Poster) 24
Wildflower’s collaboration with Olivia Rodrigo on a phone case for her upcoming tour: Sour 25
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