04 Tools Stationhead 05–06 Campaigns Action Bronson, YouTube/Smokin’ Chains, Depeche Mode, Hot Sugar 07-10 Behind The Campaign The Weeknd

MARCH 29 2017 sandboxMUSIC MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL ERA ISSUE 176

ALL OR NOTHING WHY MARKETING JUST WON’T QUIT WHY MARKETING JUST WON’T QUIT

When does one marketing campaign end and another begin? In 2017, no one is quite sure. The gap between albums is getting shorter and the turnover time faster. Add into that the demand to feed multiple social media channels plus the fact that anything can be a single now – and worked simultaneously – and the end result is an always-on creative, promotion and marketing culture. How do you stand out amid all this chatter and make what you are doing feel fresh rather than rehashed? And what is the consequence for artists and their teams having to continually pick up the pace?

usic marketing schedules were once retreat back to the studio and get on with at the same time and a molecules- You can work several records at the planned around physical goods: you making the next batch of music. thin line divides one album same time and it’s an always-on M worked the record that was soon to But in the world of streaming – where campaign from the next. strategy.” appear in record stores, tying this carefully records are in the virtual shop front forever, “We’re working records for a lot Clearly, the impact of these into a series of live dates, with the cycle Ed Sheeran can claim 16 of the UK’s top longer,” Luke Ferrar, head of digital extended marketing cycles on label ending either when a new release came 20 singles (see next page) on the back of a at Polydor Records, told a panel plans has been profound. Where into view or when little more impact could new album, continued engagement is king at the by:Larm festival in Norway once marketers would be able to realistically be made with the present and big songs hang around the charts for earlier this year. “Now it’s a longer concentrate on a single song at a release. Typically, an album campaign would greater lengths of time – this cycle has been game, and we’re working records time, typically dictated by the six- last somewhere between a year and 18 disrupted, extended to the point where an on a global basis. Dua Lipa has week cycles of radio, they now have months, at which point the band would act can, effectively, have several “singles” out got six singles out at the moment! to keep several plates spinning at the

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album is going out the window”. “This pre-release phase is now becoming a lot longer and a lot more significant, where artists can release tracks over a much longer period of time before even getting to an album release, which suits the more track-focused world of streaming ; but it also works in terms of the revenue that can generate for the artist to keep their business flowing,” he explains. “We’ve seen a great example of that with a great new artist Kobalt Music Recordings is working with in the US called VÉRITÉ , who hasn’t even announced her debut album without the big expectation of the formal, yet but has already done almost 100m physical single release. “It doesn’t have to streams across a series of tracks and EPs.” be a headline event when you are pitching On a practical level, Emery says the your next track; it can be a bit more out of the change in the marketing cycle is beneficial public’s reach, so you are continuing putting for artists, in that it is now a more natural a track in front of the public without having representation of how they continually to do an all bells and whistles, this is a brand write, record and tour. Marketers, however, new single, here’s a new video,” she explains. face a period of adaptation. “The downsides “If you have already done that three times in of this are how the mechanisms that we the campaign, there is only so much of that all work within need to adapt to this step the listening public will tolerate.” same time, with each of these demanding to three impact dates: one targeting the change; budgets need to be reworked to Perhaps the biggest plus for marketers, their fair share of attention. big new-music playlists at services such last longer, advertising plans need to switch however, is that changes to the marketing “I can’t say personally that I have as Spotify; a second focusing on flagship to being less sales focused and publicity cycle, with old norms being increasingly experienced six singles at the same time,” playlists for its genre; then a third targeting campaigns need to be revised,” Emery says. questioned, allows them to be more creative says Lucy Blair, director of international the context- and mood-based playlists for “And at the same time all of the traditional in their work. “Because there are no rules, it sales and marketing at The Orchard. “That longer-term listening. elements haven’t disappeared – people frees your mind a little bit. You have to have is probably something that applies more to still buy CDs! – so you have to balance a completely open mind about how to work major label, mainstream, young pop artists PRE-PRE-RELEASE: WHY the old with the new, and maximise the something,” Overton explains. “The people I where it makes sense to have out a lot of THE RUN-UPS ARE GETTING opportunities across both sides.” work with at our London office – our product singles at the same time that are appealing LONGER AND LONGER management team, our head of digital, our to their very young female demographic. But QUIET IS THE NEW LOUD? marketing team – we are constantly asking it does tend to be the case that you might be David Emery, VP of global marketing ourselves questions, constantly looking to working a couple of singles at the same time, strategy for Kobalt Music Recordings, says Hannah Overton, general manager at see what other people are doing, constantly for sure, and one is probably at a different that the biggest change he has seen in Secretly Group, says that one of the most coming up with new ideas because there stage in the life cycle than the other.” marketing schedules comes pre-album important changes the extended marketing is no set formula and people are trying To complicate things further, Blair release “where the previous plan to put a cycle has brought is that it allows marketers different things.” explains, one single may now have up couple of singles out and then release an to work individual tracks “in a quiet way”, Blair adds, “There are lots of opportunities

2 | sandbox | ISSUE 176 | 29.03.17 COVERFEATURE now to get creative with your storytelling struggles with stress and depression. and audience development. You have got There is a creative cost, too, to to be able to engage your audience on an this always-on culture. Some artists ongoing basis without turning them off or may struggle to write music while boring them. You have got to keep them constantly on the promotional interested and engaged, giving them a treadmill, while marketers may reason to keep coming back to the record find it impossible to create original and to the artist.” campaign ideas if they have no time to decompress between projects. NEVER-ENDING Dealing with this tension is both hugely STORYTELLING important and very difficult for labels. For artists, this may mean labels resisting This, of course, is not easy, given the average with the most recent Bon Iver album, the temptation to overload them with 2017 attention span, but Blair believes that where Secretly went with ‘33 “GOD”’ as promotional duties, however beneficial this marketers can do this by telling stories the focus track but, shortly before the There is at the moment an unhealthy might feel in the short term. “It is tough for around the artist. “You have got to be able album was released, Radio 1 playlisted tension between artists, labels and their the artists to keep on top of getting to all to tell – and this is such a cliché, but it is true another track, ‘8(circle)’, partly because audience, fuelled by both streaming and those major territories, keeping the creativity – stories,” Blair says. “It is super-important, they got an exclusive on its debut. social media, whereby fans seem unwilling to coming, keeping those ideas coming, talking one of the key ways as a music marketer Blair believes that marketers should let artists have any time off, while artists and to their label and marketing teams about that you try and engage the audience now embrace this loosening of control and listen labels are terrified that two weeks out of the what they can do next and keeping on top and you try and keep them interested. You to what audiences are telling them. “It can limelight will be enough for fans to get bored of their social media,” says Overton, who can start out with one facet of the story, but help you to refine your marketing moving and move on. stresses that Strictly is an “artist-first you can hold quite a lot back to keep the forward,” she says. “But for the most part Clearly, there are human costs to this company”. campaign going.” it still is the label going, ‘We are going to inability to turn off, with the possibility of Labels, meanwhile, may need to Of course, the flip side to this is that the release this, at this point.’ And it is totally physical and emotional burn-out running outsource more of their digital marketing new possibilities opened up by streaming tied in with radio and quite mainstream high. Without wanting to name names, a to specialist agencies, like playlist pluggers, also imply a certain loss of control for labels, marketing cycles.” Run The Jewels , she number of high-profile artists seem to have freeing up key marketing staff to plan with DSPs and consumers alike sometimes adds, are an extreme example of an act that suffered from the always-on tensions of campaigns away from the constant hum of coming to very different conclusions about releases music when it is culturally relevant, stardom recently, resulting in some very emails. what the lead single for an album should be. rather than when marketing cycles demand. public meltdowns. “I think working in a creative industry, This might be disconcerting to some people Marketers may not face the same in order to be truly creative you need to working the records, but it can create new ALWAYS-ON VERSUS pressures to write, record and perform step away from your computer,” Overton avenues. HITTING THE OFF SWITCH music as artists. But we should not concludes. “You can’t be creative looking at a “It is true that the label has less underestimate the health problems that screen and replying to people. One thing that control,” Overton says. “And sometimes It seems likely that, as the music can be caused by the 24/7, always-on I encourage my staff to do is step away from that can make a campaign unfocused. consumption moves forward and the role of culture of the music industry, a culture that their computer and emails. It is a difficult But also it can be a good thing because streaming becomes ever more pronounced, has only been exacerbated by the demands balance, but I think that the fewer emails we it means that DSPs as well as radio the music industry will learn to adapt to of the streaming cycle. The fact that this all send the fewer emails we reply to. I prefer sometimes picks up on a different track this loss of control. Equally, it will have to issue, once only spoken of behind closed people to talk on the phone. Or in person. and because they feel like they are learn how, exactly, to deal with the increased doors, is now being openly discussed is You get a lot more done and you get a lot choosing that track, they might go hell for demands on marketers and artists that a step forward, with several marketers more back, you get a lot more creative spark leather with it.” Such, in fact, was the case changing marketing cycles have brought. recently coming forward about their in that way.” :)

3 | sandbox | ISSUE 176 | 29.03.17 TOOLS STATIONHEAD

There was a small window in early 2011 Spotify Premium account via the service’s when Turntable.fm was the most-hyped and API and turns them into a radio station (with most-exciting new service out there. It was the option to just play tracks or add in live hailed as everything from a “radio killer” to commentary via your iPhone). Star, with a a “Pandora killer,” where users could create keen eye on the headlines, calls it “flat-out profiles, set up in rooms, invite friends and pirate radio, but with some modern twists to subject them to their finely tuned (or seat- it” (sitting outside of the FCC in the US), and of-the-pants) DJ sets and have mixes and suggests it can start to have scalable impact (even if Spotify is technically paying royalties) something enticing for marketers and fans, tracks voted on. for artists and other social influencers. and applies pressure on Spotify to cut off alike, here. Artists could debut new tracks “I truly believe this can be a great thing access – then Stationhead could find itself or albums on Stationhead, offering a live Then copycat services (Plug.dj, Cred. for music and musicians,” he argues. “I’m quickly suffocated. commentary on the songs and their creation fm, PicoTube) and reality (i.e. licensing not going to pretend I know what the fuck Stationhead is selling itself as a boon to as they occasionally do on “behind the album” negotiations) started to knock and the we’re doing: I don’t know about the rules of acts to drive up their cumulative streams. commentaries on both Spotify and traditional company tried to pivot at the end of 2013 by startups or what works. We’ve been figuring “Say Taylor Swift is on this, and she has a radio. It doesn’t have to be huge acts doing moving into live concerts with a social thrust. it out ourselves, from raising money to million listeners,” said Star. “That’s a big this. In fact, it would probably be more Turntable.fm ran out of road quickly. buying a fucking shredder! But we think it’s number. If she plays a song, that means compelling if it was emerging acts and those Some in the industry will roll their eyes at hitting a sweet spot.” a million streams are instantly generated just about to swing into the mainstream. the notion of another “turn-anyone-into-a- It already has $1.3m in seed funding (so on Spotify. A million listeners is a million It would also need to work across multiple DJ” platform coming along hoping to shake must be doing something right) and the app streams.” (Of course, Swift has pulled all her music services (and be on Android) if it wants up a business that has traditionally not has been in stealth mode for a while before albums from Spotify, so that’s not an ideal to truly have a shot at the mainstream. responded well to being shaken up. publicly launching earlier this month. Star hypothetical.) For generating revenues, Staionhead is, Stationhead comes into the market talks about the power of artistic-centric This puts us in mind of Vulfpeck and for now, ruling out serving ads in the middle with a lot to prove and the failure of others shows on SiriusXM and this is where it could their attempt a few years ago to get fans (which would probably be a massive red to clamber over. music:)ally recently spoke start to take on a marketing role for artists. to stream their “silent album” Sleepify to rag to Spotify and labels/publishers unless to its founder, Ryan Star, to ask him what Spotify already has AM/PM and Apple fund their tour. That all went swimmingly they were given a share and/or sizeable he was going to do differently. Of course, has big acts like Elton John doing shows until Spotify pointed out it violated its advances), so monetising the platform could all startups come with a large dose of on Beats 1, but there could be a space for content policies and that was that. Could be a serious problem. That seed funding will braggadocio and Stationhead had plenty something more regular and for acts who Stationhead suffer the same fate if it’s only go so far. of that. The quixotically named Star is aren’t necessarily megastars but who still triggering millions of multiple streams of the Of course, Spotify could launch its own a musician and is keenly aware of the have sizeable followings. same song that Spotify will have to pay out version of this and lock Stationhead out preconceptions that a musician-turned- Of course, any service that clings so on? Star says Spotify will also win here as the of its API. For now, however, the proof will tech-entrepreneur can trigger. tightly to another’s API is totally at the app will drive up its userbase; but that might be in how, or if, it is used. If Stationhead “I know it’s a cliché – a musician doing mercy of that service changing the T&Cs not necessarily wash with the service. starts to gather momentum, Spotify a tech thing,” he told us. “I hate fitting into around using its API. So if Spotify sees it as Also, does Spotify even want a bank of could look at how it responds – either in a mould.” something it doesn’t want to support – or if curators that sit outside its own carefully partnership or by knocking up a me- So how does it all work? It’s a smartphone rightsholders start to raise questions about handpicked ones? If Stationhead can sweet too version. This is, it seems, a gamble app (just iOS for now) that plugs into a user’s a third-party making money via their rights talk both artists and Spotify, there could be Stationhead is happy to take. :)

4 | sandbox | ISSUE 176 | 29.03.17 CAMPAIGNS The latest projects from the digital marketing arena BRONSON (HEART) BURNER YOUTUBE STRIKES ‘OIL’

On the one side, there are the copyright owners/lawyers trying to clamp down on safe harbour exemptions and get YouTube to address the value gap more directly (trans: pay them more for video plays).

On the other side, there are the artists themselves and their marketing teams seeing YouTube not only as the best Digital music services long ago saw the was seen in some corners as a place where way to reach a mass audience quickly, benefits of being the third wheel in the online men (it’s always men) would just send but also a creative medium in its own dating market – a sector that, in the US alone, (often unsolicited) photos of their, ahem, right. was worth $2.5bn last year according to “downstairs” to all and sundry. It’s also an UK act Smokin’ Chains are the latest MarketResearch figures. extension of the Vice partnership in 2015 to spot huge artistic and promotional whereby it serves up news and programming potential here beyond the generic Back in 2012, Tastebuds.fm built an app within from musicians and other creators under the uploads of promo videos or “behind- Spotify for dating around shared musical tastes Snapchat Discover umbrella. the-scenes” snore-marathons. For (but they have now “consciously uncoupled”). This will be the third Bronson show for their debut single, ‘Midnight Oil’, they This was followed last year by Spotify Vice after Traveling The Stars: Action Bronson are undertaking an “experiment in integrating with both Bumble and Tinder to use & Friends Watch ‘Ancient Aliens’ and the algorithmic filmmaking” based on a frivolous or eroticized) and algorithmically music as the bait for romantic aspirants. delightfully named Fuck, That’s Delicious rolling set of keyword searches (set by the cut them into a new context.” Now rapper Action Bronson is partnering (which was not, as far as we know, the working band). It is a very grand description of what, The band apparently started with 500 with Snapchat to make a reality show about title for the dating show). in reality, means a (potentially infinite) new keywords but eventually boiled this down dating, with the show itself being produced by This all comes, of course, after the Snapchat visual twist on the video every time it is to 100. They will spider out into YouTube Vice as part of a broader content partnership IPO last month where it closed its first day of watched. and pull in short clips based on the assigned with the photo-sharing app. trading with a valuation of $28.3bn. Rather There is some academic window dressing keywords for each play of the video, running The show is planned for later in the year than try and jump in to steal the lunch of around the video – presented as slotting them in a series of quick edits that call to and has an initial run of eight episodes. The well-established players in the dating market, into a long tradition of art that embraces mind accelerated channel hopping. gist is that Bronson will send couples off on it instead seems to be playing on that weird chance/serendipity as well as a comment on This can, of course, be dressed up as a a date, give an analysis of how the date went mix of optimism and schadenfreude that the algorithmic dominance within our online critique of media saturation in an age of and then predict if they will want to go on a has drawn viewers to lives. “I was looking to create something voracious digital consumption. It can also be second date. traditional TV shows like visual and emotive, even poetic, yet seen as a deft way to get people to play the This may be partly to help Snapchat Blind Date, First Dates, connected to the songs,” drummer/singer same song over and over again to compare clean up its reputation – a miasma that still Perfect Match and The Jack Hardiker told Vice. “I sought to obliquely the results rather than, as is the fear with a hangs around it from its early days when it Batchelor over the years. reframe the stuff we subject ourselves to new act, playing the song once, shrugging (whether beautiful, distressing, mundane, and moving on to the next thing.

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Having their comeback that Twitter acquired in temporarily derailed by the 2015) as one of their default far right was not an ideal live-streaming platforms start for Depeche Mode’s while Twitter’s long history first new album in four here can be traced back It’s all a back reference to Koenig’s years. (In brief, neo-Nazi to when a reunited Blur working style where he samples sounds Richard Spencer claimed in debuted two new songs HOT SUG-VR from everyday objects and uses that as February that they were “the (‘Under The Westway’ the basis of his songs. “It’s like the first VR official band of the alt-right”, and ‘The Puritan’) on the It’s been a while (well, a few weeks) since music album,” David Liu, Viacom NEXT’s a repulsive and ridiculous platform in 2012. we covered anything to do with VR here. creative director, told Variety. It’s a grand claim that the band were It is also, one presumes, But that’s not to say artists have stopped claim, of course, but the underlying concept swift to shoot down.) a statement deal to draw using it. is that this is the main place where you attention away from hear the album – it is baked into the VR Thankfully things were Facebook Live as the rival They have, but for the most part, have not experience – rather than something half- quickly back on an even keel social networks seek to bed been using it that well or interestingly. So heartedly bolted on. The VR becomes, in a and, for the release of Spirit in deeper with music as we are making an exception here for Hot way, the format. on 17th March, the focus was a point of differentiation. Sugar who has approached the technology It calls to mind the more erudite again on the music. Here, however, Twitter was as an aesthetic starting point rather than interactive albums of recent years – like On the day of release, the not acting as the host of a gimmicky and shiny object designed to Björk’s iPad-based Biophilia, Gwilym Gold’s band were in Berlin to play the stream but rather as detract from a dearth of ideas underscoring Tender Metal/BRONZE album, Christian a show and it was streamed a marketing amplifier for a campaign. Scott’s Stretch Music app, Brian Eno’s tie-in live in 360 in association with another brand. Nick Koenig – for he is Hot Sugar – interactive website for his The Ship album – Twitter. The use of the #StreetGigs hashtag There are, as yet, no official figures on how has created The Melody Of Dust in a and applies it all to VR. was used to promote it and also drop clues many people watched the stream live (which co-production with Viacom NEXT (which “I’m looking at it as a new music to link it back to Deutsche Telekom, whose took place at 8pm in Germany on a Friday has already worked on the truly bizarre listening experience,” Koenig told T-Mobile subsidiary has been running ‘Street evening, no doubt with one eye on catching ‘Chocolate’ VR music video by Tyler Hurd) and Engadget. “It’s like jumping into a new Gigs’ since the mid-2000s. US viewers on the pre- or post-lunchtime showcased it at SXSW. The basic premise is venue for listening to the music […] As this Presented as a “world premiere” of the dodging of work as the weekend approached). users enter a room where a mini-tornado [technology] continues developing, the band’s new album, this was clearly something The show was made available on the German is gathering momentum (stick with us) and future of most media will be some iteration of a coup for Twitter and it was dropping heavy telco’s YouTube channel from 22nd March, they then choose different objects around of this sort of thing […] That’s why we’re ad messages on user’s timelines in the run up but by the following week had gathered the room and chuck them into the micro- not afraid of jumping the gun and doing an to the show to drive as much traffic as possible just over 83,000 views. This could be read twister where they all make a particular album on a platform most music fans don’t to the stream. as underwhelming, perhaps; but really the sound. Through the deft addition of objects, even own. I have faith in a few years it’ll be It is not a new thing by any stretch of success or otherwise should be measured on users can create distinct melodies and just as relevant, or at least unique.” the imagination. Acts are increasingly using the live stream numbers – but no one is saying rhythms. So, in effect, you become a one- Grand ideas, sure. But he manages to Periscope (the live video-streaming platform (for now) what they were. man-tornado-band. back them up here.

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BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN THE WEEKND BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNTHE WEEKND

Starboy is The Weeknd’s third studio album and comes off a Puma partnership and so on. From the the back of his breakthrough album, 2015’s Beauty Behind last album, it is much more mainstream. We The Madness. Released in November 2016, Starboy was much have a bigger audience to work with and we anticipated and with major collaborations – Daft Punk, Lana have got hits. He is played on radio a lot; he’s A-list on Radio 1 and Capital Radio on every Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar – it was about a major leap into single. the mainstream. HAYLEY MARCHANT, marketing manager for Island UK, explains how to launch an event album when Working around limited access to the artist is limited, why playlists were a key focus access to the artist this time round and how they were joining the dots between He is domestically signed in the US, but singles buyers/streamers and album buyers/streaming. we work very closely with the US office and management. The Weeknd is very set in the brand and the look. That is really good for us as they really know what they want in terms of the overview of everything. I work closely with them and show them what we have done. They make all the videos and artwork, but I would take that and transform it into whatever we would like to do in the UK marketing campaign. That can go into mailers, social ideas, outdoor – everything. Our only battle is that we don’t really have much time with him. He doesn’t really do promo. We don’t have [many assets] to work with other than Planning the leap forward on this album the videos and the music. The last album, Beauty Behind The Madness, [Most big acts coming into the UK have was a tipping point for The Weeknd where limited time] but it is even more so with him he became really mainstream. as he doesn’t really do interviews. Tracks like ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ and He did one Guardian piece and ‘The Hills’ [were huge hits]. There that was it. He did the X Factor were quite a lot of big singles from but that was just a performance that album. and he didn’t talk. He was one of the top three You are not playing on his most streamed artists [on Spotify personality – you are playing on in 2016]. Everything is about the the strength of the music. music with him. He isn’t in the limelight, although now on this Joining the dots between single campaign he is a bit more. He has buyers and album buyers a H&M campaign, he has done This time around, it was a step

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up from the last album. Let’s go bold and We had some spend build up to release 18 racks on this album and it’s a lot more let’s go big. We know our audience. It’s weekend but we only had one song out – diverse than the previous album. There are that mainstream youth audience. There ‘Starboy’ [featuring Daft Punk]. That was some really big pop tracks and then there are the key fans there, but they are already massive and when we found out there are traditional Weeknd-sounding darker invested – they’re streaming it and they’re was another Daft Punk song, ‘I Feel It tracks. Kendrick Lamar is on one track buying the vinyl. Coming’, we used that as well. [‘Sidewalk’] and that song did really well in We discovered from the last album that The Daft Punk audience isn’t The the playlists. Lana Del Rey is on another of the people who were buying all those singles Weeknd audience – so it was about the songs [‘Stargirl Interlude’, so that helps weren’t necessarily buying the album. So tapping into the Daft Punk audience and spread it]. it was about trying to join the dots there trying to use that a bit for the campaign. [Reaching the audiences of the guest between the single-buying audience and the That was a nice touch having them on it. acts] is in your targeting and in your album-buying audience. Then there is the ‘Starboy’ has sold almost 1m copies now creative – making sure you can join the non-traditional audience – people who aren’t so that song was massive in itself. dots. If you’re a Lana fan, you might watching TV. How do we get to them? Before the album, we dropped another discover the song and then you discover We got supermarket support for the CD, song – ‘False Alarm’ – in mid-October, but the rest of the album. With Kendrick, there but his fans are more about the T-shirt and we didn’t really have that much to play is definitely some crossover and there are the vinyl. But the vinyl edition didn’t come with before the album. Then he announced associations with it. It is about targeting out until February. They were focused on the his tour just before the album, so we did a that audience with the right creative and streaming side and wanted to break all the tour pre-sale push to pre-order the album. not being too Weeknd-heavy. It is all records [there]. subtle targeting. It was building the fanbase from the Streaming as the heart of the campaign, last album and playing on all the digital piggybacking off collaborations strengths we knew from the last album. We had big support [from the streaming It was also about using the radio audience services] anyway because he’s such a big with the big hits. It was having music at the artist. We were focusing on making sure core and building it from tastemakers into people were adding his music to their the mainstream. playlists and doing Spotify ad inventory. It was the first time where, if you went Making the album launch an event on your phone on Friday, it came up with We did a bit of traditional TV like E4 for the his album on Spotify – and that was for youth audience. We did learn that he’s not free and paid users. at the ‘housewives’ stage yet. So it was We got support from Apple Music and Experimenting with new about making sure we knew our audience. Spotify because we didn’t do exclusives. video formats on Facebook We did a lot of digital spend and big outdoor We went everywhere with it. All the New We partnered with Facebook on part of statements. Music Fridays plus his songs are in all the the campaign. They wanted to test out London is his biggest city [in the UK] so big hip-hop, R&B and pop playlists. new video formats. We sent them the TV we branded up taxis and buses as well as [He can sit across multiple genre-based ad and they put together [mobile-centric projections [on iconic London buildings] on playlists] as some of them are mellow, ads]. We ran half the ad with our creative release weekend. All the pictures were put some are dance-y. The coverage of the and half the spend with the more adapted on the socials to share. These are big album in playlists has been amazing. Facebook ads. It works well on mobile as statement things and when you put It was really a handful of tracks from most of his audience is on mobile scrolling them on socials, it makes it bigger. the album across these playlists. There are through – so it was about simple videos

9 | sandbox | ISSUE 176 | 29.03.17 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNTHE WEEKND that grab your attention. They are just ‘Starboy’, ‘I Feel It Coming’, ‘Party Monster’ or ‘I Feel It Coming’ but they haven’t joined 30-second clips but they work so well. and so on. the dots with the album. Our job is really At the time, we didn’t have many assets If you look at the album, it’s not a to join the dots between the singles. [so repurposed parts of the videos in ads]. ‘body of work’ per se – it’s a Spotify They did some tests and found that if playlist. That is what these sorts of artists Always-on in an age of over-abundance songs have explicit lyrics people are more are starting to do. Drake is even doing a It’s an always-on campaign and we will likely to tap and listen [so an explicit notice playlist album [he released the More Life always try to have a song at radio. As with was put on the clip]. We tested it out and mixtape in March]. Drake, these acts are not going away for changed the copy up all the time. It’s all about streaming – two years. They are constantly putting out In terms of audience, you have the especially with these huge artists. music. Because you can. featured artists and their audiences, you But a lot of artists still want to With New Music Friday, there is so have the radio audience, then you have a make albums, though, because it much music every single week. Things get non-traditional TV audience. And with that helps give the campaign a lost. People get bored. Or some people we did Snapchat ads and ads on podcasts. structure. It’s just about changing that want more. When you are an established We did a bit of traditional TV, but for me mentality so that, if it is a playlist, you artist, people will be drawn to that and will that didn’t work so much – unless it’s on don’t worry so much about the physical go and listen to your music. E4, for example. and making a booklet and creating videos There is so much music out We were also geo-targeting people so – you can do something really cool around there all the time that it is they would also see the outdoor ads. We it and drop a few songs here and there overwhelming the consumer. As ran a lot of the outdoor ads around central into playlists. a consumer, you are going back to your London, to capture that. There is definitely some work to be old collections and artists that you love Think big statements and boldness done in terms of the thinking of where we already to stream that. within that. When audiences do see a big see albums [in the future]. There is still You are doing awareness [before a statement ad, [the perception among the a physical market – especially with vinyl. release] but it is not going to start until public] is that the artist is huge – which he On Instagram , we ran some ads as People want that ownership. People still it’s released and it’s on Spotify and in all is. But we wanted to make sure that that gifs. It was quick – just those colours and want to buy the T-shirt and they have an the playlists. Release dates are [not that came across. lights where it’s bold can grab those fans. incredible merch store. The XO brand in significant] anymore – they’re just the He wanted to relaunch himself as It’s all about repetitiveness [of the ads] but itself is huge. It’s selling the brand and day it’s out and that’s where you start a pop singer. But there are still some changing up the copy. the culture. from. You don’t need the whole pre-order tracks on there that the XO [his label and trail [now]. :) brand] fanbase would like. He has a lot of The playlist is the new album Markets moving at different speeds integrity with the visuals. The album came out in Q4. The first phase with the goal of total crossover was “Album out now” and then the next We are on our third single already but it’s An alternative approach to ads phase was the Christmas gifting market. moving at a different speed in the US. We WANT TO FEATURE IN We dove a lot into that youth audience but With streaming and NYE parties, it was are on ‘Party Monster’ here and they are BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN? more and more the concentration span about trying to get it in people’s minds to still on ‘I Feel It Coming’. Marketing people: do you have a campaign you are working of that audience is so, so short. You have add his track to their party playlists. He When you are deep in a project, you on that you would like to see featured in Behind The Campaign to catch them quick. So doing stuff like also did X Factor at that time. It was about might wonder how some people don’t in a future edition of sandbox? If so, send a brief synopsis of Snapchat with seven-second ads, [if fans] continuing the market and making him a know who The Weeknd is, but there is it to Eamonn Forde for consideration and your work (and your are on Snapchat and the ads come up, they prominent album artist. still lots of work to be done [to raise words) could appear here. are bold. It’s a strong creative saying “Starboy He’s all about the singles and there are awareness]. Email: [email protected] album – out now” and it is in your face. so many singles on that album. There was They might know ‘Can’t Feel My Face’

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