05-06 Tools Pandora AMP 07-08 Campaigns The Offspring, Lil Nas X, Maroon 5, Lewis Capaldi 09–14 Behind The Campaign- Oasis

OCTOBER 02 2019 sandboxMUSIC MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL ERA ISSUE 237

VIewTUBE WHEN MUSIC VIDEO PLAYS GET JUICED COVERFEATURE light onto a previously little-discussed industry practice: that of paying to run music videos as pre- and mid-roll TrueView ads on YouTube, with this counting towards the videos’ view-counts. This, we should stress, was totally legal. According to YouTube, paid advertising counts as a ‘view’ when someone watches a complete advert that is 11-30 seconds long; when someone watches at least 30 seconds of an ad that is more than 30 seconds long; and when someone interacts with the ad. In this case the ‘ad’ was a clip of the song. It’s also a widespread practice, particularly in Asia and Latin America, where TrueView ads are significantly cheaper than in other parts of the world. “The whole fucking industry does paid views,” Times Music COO Mandar Thakur told the All About Music conference in Mumbai in August. An investigation by Rolling Stone suggested the same was WHEN MUSIC VIDEO true in Latin America, where labels might pay up to $100k for up to 12m additional VIewTUBE PLAYS GET JUICED YouTube views. When Indian star Badshah claimed to have broken the opening-day record for views of a new music video on YouTube, people started asking questions. Some suggested that, by boosting plays with TrueView ads, it wasn’t a record he had broken – it was the platform itself. YouTube was quick to respond and put new rules in place. In the wake of this, we ask what the controversy could mean for music marketing, how music charts are reacting to being juiced and why an obsession with breaking records can sometimes do more harm than good. “The practice of bolstering views via ads is as common as drinking water or breathing,” ith the music industry having Badshah had broken YouTube’s 24-hour in a press release (as it has done in the past Thakur tells music:)ally now. “Everyone arranged its week around charts for viewing record was still something to behold. for these records) nor in response to direct who can afford to in this part of Wthe best part of the last century, it To briefly recap: Sony Music India enquiries from journalists. the world does it, make no mistake should come as no surprise that a chart- announced that the video for Badshah’s new Quickly, it emerged that Sony Music about it. To an extent some of this topping feat can create considerable global track ‘Paagal’ had been watched 75m times India had used YouTube advertising to bolstering serves a real purpose, whether attention. And yet the interest - or for BTS’ in its first 24 hours on YouTube “dethroning boost views of the ‘Paagal’ video – Badshah it’s promotional or whether it’s to stand superfans in particular, fury - that greeted BTS and Taylor Swift”. Yet YouTube pointedly himself announced this in an Instagram out in the sheer amount of material there is the news in July that Sony Music India artist did not confirm the new milestone, neither story responding to critics. The affair threw out there.”

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Thakur thinks that it’s only when this advertising: forcing a video as an ad, where it practice becomes “misleading and harmful” is obviously not a true play.” that it becomes a problem. “In many cases This is not to say that such ads have no bolstered views help break a track but what role to play in music-marketing campaigns. we see is an inflated bubble of mostly ‘dry’ YouTube has made it clear that it sees views,” he explains. legitimate reasons for labels to be using them. The main gripe within the music industry “ TrueView , within the industry, is an this summer, then, was not so much that important part of many labels’ and artists’ Sony Music India had paid for views of promotional plans,” Bryan told music:)ally. Badshah’s video , but rather that it had “We believe it continues to be something used the strategy to break a high-profile that the industry should use to connect YouTube record, and then bragged about it. in a very targeted way with their most By September, YouTube was announcing metrics into line with the policies of official critical ways we recognise and celebrate the important fans… Those fans can often some changes to its chart and milestone charts companies like Billboard and Nielsen. success of artists on our platform,” he said. become influencers on the platform for that regulations. It would no longer count paid Speaking to music:)ally when YouTube “ We’re very focused on making content... so those targeted, early-stage advertising views on YouTube towards its announced the change, the company’s sure that we maintain consistency campaigns, we believe, are really healthy for own charts, nor would it count them towards global head of label relations Stephen Bryan and credibility in our records and in the industry.” 24-hour-debut totals. explained the move as a way of ensuring the our charts, because we want our focus Darren Hemmings, managing director of “Artists will now be ranked based on credibility of its charts. to be completely on the success of our artist marketing agency Motive Unknown, hopes view counts from organic plays,” announced “Our 24-hour records and our charts partners and their labels and management the move will change music marketing YouTube, stressing that this brought its own have always been, and increasingly are, teams.” plans. “It isn’t something we’ve engaged with When YouTube changes its policies, it can for years now as we went there and learned be controversial: witness the recent protests our lessons. But I live in hope!” he says. (and subsequent u-turn by YouTube) when Hemmings thinks that labels should it changed the way its channel-verification move towards using YouTube ads to market system worked. But in the case of paid views a release or artist in the broader sense, of music videos, the industry response has rather than simply trying to boost a chart been warm. ranking. Thakur describes it as “a very welcome “Which, frankly, is what it should have move from YouTube”, although he adds that been used for all along. We are in this job “time will tell if the result of this is a deep to build meaningful connections; to grow crackdown or not”. In his opinion: “Fake audiences for artists. That takes time, views end up killing the creative industry and thought, strategy and effort. TrueView ads to being more harmful in the long run to artists game video views never did much to move - all around. It’s not real business, it’s sheer the needle in that regard,” he says. vanity for the people, businesses and talent “I don’t think it makes ads less who crave it.” worthwhile; I mean this is a platform at the music:)ally’s head of digital strategy end of the day. It’s what the ads you show Patrick Ross agrees. “This is definitely a comprise, irrespective of whether said ad positive change because it was just silly is on YouTube, Instagram or a massive ad that people were able to game the charts,” hoarding in the middle of London.” he says. “Especially with that kind of Patrick Ross says that one of the main

2 | sandbox | ISSUE 237 | 02.10.2019 COVERFEATURE positives of YouTube’s rule change is that it may encourage people to look at YouTube views with new eyes. “We have done things with potential clients who have 100,000 views of one of their tracks on YouTube and the next one has 50,” he says. “We ask them: ‘What’s going on?’ ‘Oh I put money behind that one.’ If it is a quality view then they [viewers] should be coming back. But you can tell very quickly from looking at a channel which ones they put ads behind and the ones they haven’t.” As such, YouTube’s move can be seen as part of a wider discussion about what aggressively to boost the views on new were totally shallow; in YouTube’s he says. “Anecdotally, and really, it’s hard genuinely constitutes success for a song or videos”. But the report also notes that the analytics you can see retention on to quantify if this works, but when we have artist online, at a time when buying YouTube cost per view of these ads in the US may a video clip and this method was an exciting new asset to share (like a music views, Spotify streams and Instagram be “five to ten times as much” as in Latin inevitably the worst in that regard, video) we’ll run targeted TrueView ads followers (for example) is an option – America, which would make it uneconomical suggesting that it never drove meaningful to rake in as much traffic to the asset as however unwise – for marketers. for US labels. connections at all.” possible within the first week.” “We are in an era now when we look at A report on Badshah’s success in the The question that Hemmings raises of Byrne explains that if the video is Spotify and we don’t talk about streams Economic Times, meanwhile, claimed that whether this kind of advertising works is properly optimised - “cross-linked, tagged, so much as followers and listeners,” says for five millions rupees (around $75,000) a tricky one to answer, one that depends great thumbnail” - the label often sees Ross. “For YouTube, even, their main metric you can generate almost 67 million video ad largely on what you want to achieve with “strong ongoing numbers” from YouTube’s is watch time. And yet you still get a fixation impressions in India, something that would your money. Using TrueView ads in this way on views without having any qualitative idea cost around $1.5m in the US or UK. certainly drives views. But are they just dry of what these views are. it points to a bigger, Understandably, perhaps, Delgado says views, with little or no engagement? Ross wider question: is this actually working?” that this practice is not common in Europe. believes so. Fernando Delgado , marketing “In the digital world there are certainly ways “YouTube advertising of this kind – it’s director, Ibero América, for PIAS, is less to increase or rotate views, followers and not real,” he says. “It doesn’t work. We have convinced that YouTube’s decision will make the lot. But it’s not a common thing,” he run YouTube ads for a number of artists, a difference to marketing plans. “I don’t says. “Usually these sorts of technological including Ruben Dawnson , and you get expect a dramatic change in the game as ‘shortcuts’ come mainly from new artists or 4k to 5k views for a small amount of money my understanding is 99% of the players use massive majors, when seeing an increased but there is no commenting, no engaging, marketing in the best way possible and number of plays. Its not the normal way we no liking. In the end it is just numbers on a react to good numbers of plays / streams,” spend money. Why? Because at the end of screen. It really begs the question: what is he says. the day, you need to know real figures, not this even doing?” This, in turn, raises the question of how ghost plays.” Duncan Byrne , marketing director of widespread the practice of buying views is Hemmings , meanwhile, says that this Anjunabeats, offers an alternative take on anyway. Rolling Stone’s investigation into type of practice “was fairly commonplace” the matter. “We run TrueView ads with the matter claimed that labels operating and that “it did work, yes, in that it drove the intention of kickstarting the YouTube in Latin America “have been spending views in a rather lazy manner, but the views recommendation algorithm, not for optics,”

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PAAGAL: WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? The current controversy was ignited by Badshah’s ‘Paagal’ video, published on Sony Music India’s YouTube channel on 10 July. It reached 75m views in its first 24 hours, but what happened next? At the time of writing this article (1 October) the video had 171.3m views: a daily average of 1.2m views since that first 24-hour period. Figures aren’t available for Indian audio-streaming platforms, but on Spotify globally, the track has a mere 4.4m streams so far.

of thumb. As such, Hemmings recommends but if not, it makes it hard to know the size getting creative with your advertising. of your audience. “Understand that original, creative, brilliant The whole affair has reminded some recommendation tools. “At the end of the that this is something a lot of people are ads grab attention, invite interest and drive people of the days, a few years ago, when day, what’s the point in making a really nice watching at that point,” she says. “People connection,” he says. buying YouTube views was all the rage, and video if no one sees it?” he asks. “TrueView want to watch the video because they don’t “There’s no secret sauce here: create also when view-counts for YouTube videos allows us to broadcast the content we’re want to miss out on something. So it’s not things that will connect with audiences. were frozen at “301+” for the first day. A most proud of to millions of people very, very important that it broke the record. More that There’s no shortcuts.” He also recommends process that (in YouTube’s words at the time) cheaply.” there is some noise about it.” focusing on sequencing ads, which address “assures that the video views are quality Perhaps one of the most intriguing This ties into a wider point about online short-term attention spans by building views and discards the low quality playbacks”. questions to come out of the Badshah buzz and virality. Was the Badshah a narrative over successive advertising The policy was ended in August 2015. furore is what this will do with the music video the 24-hour viral success that campaigns. “When YouTube counts used to freeze industry’s mania for records. For YouTube, Sony Music India implied it was? Ross, meanwhile, suggests using after 301 views on day one, they were these kind of records are clearly important Probably not, as genuine virality is remarketing lists for YouTube ads. “That fighting fake views,” says Ross. “Fast in its PR drive. Superfans, too, care a lot – nigh-on impossible to buy. Did it then seems to be the one type of ad that does forward to 2015, when they took that the mobilisation of the BTS Army following become a viral sensation, when news of actually show to your actual audience,” he [freeze] away, and people have gone back to Sony’s Badshah announcement offered the record and the subsequent controversy says. “The others drive views but they aren’t using that same thing to game the system.” visible proof of that. broke? Possibly – but not in a way that quality.” With YouTube having taken action, good music:)ally marketing executive Marlen reflected well on the artist. That’s another problem with using marketers will continue using tools like Hüllbrock suggests that the record in itself Delgado says that the golden rule of video TrueView ads to drive ‘dry’ video views: it can TrueView responsibly. Don’t be too surprised is less important than the buzz this kind of advertising is to tell the truth. “Don’t lie,” he give you issues with your remarketing list, if people find other loopholes to exploit until news can create. says, “Don’t pretend to create a buzz you because you’ll have people on that list who they’re fixed, though: this cat-and-mouse game is “If it’s a viral moment, most consumers don’t have.” watched your video as an ad, and who aren’t a familiar cycle for any platform whose metrics don’t know it until they get the feeling Quality over brute quantity is another rule true fans. You can extract them from the list, carry weight in an industry – music included. :)

4 | sandbox | ISSUE 237 | 02.10.2019 TOOLS PANDORA AMP

Even with 64.9m Monthly Active Users (MAUs) in Q2 2019 and a host of free on-platform marketing tools available to artists, Pandora sometimes feels overlooked when compared to Spotify or Apple Music (especially as it is only available in the US).

It’s true that the service has seen a decline in its userbase, but according to recent MusicWatch data, 17% of weekly music listening in the US happens on Pandora – far ahead of Apple and Amazon, which each have a 6% share. Moreover, its recent $3.5bn acquisition by satellite radio They can also use this feature to schedule giant SiriusXM could bring exciting new a series of messages supporting different opportunities to the DSP. goals throughout their release cycle. For It’s therefore key for any artist team instance, this series could start with the to get to grips with Pandora’s Artist artist introducing the first new single with a Marketing Platform (AMP) in order to be message straight out of the studio to provide able to effectively engage the platform’s part is getting that first Pandora account; their songs to Pandora’s team. Pandora’s context around the song. A second message huge listenership and to grow an artist’s so if they have a friend in the US, or can find data science team will listen to the could announce the pre-order of the album own audience. another way to access the Pandora signup submissions and put them in the Music and a third one might drive traffic to the It also has to be mentioned that page, then they’re set to be able to access Genome Project, analysing the track and music video premiere. Pandora has evolved a lot since its AMP after that’s done.” informing where it might be placed. By default, these messages are targeting inception as a radio streaming service. It Unlike on Spotify for Artists, these all markets in the US, but you can also now offers two additional tiers besides Independent Artist submissions only happen after a song choose to only target specific markets (with its ad-supported one: a subscription radio Submissions has been released rather than from up to five per message). When it comes to offering called Pandora Plus; and the new pitching in advance. touring, this means it is possible to create interactive subscription service called Pandora’s latest feature within its self- messages for individual tour dates geo- Pandora Premium. serve suite is its Independent Artist Artist Audio Messaging targeted to each city. In order to access Pandora’s AMP, Submission tool. One difference between In this context, AMPcast is very you first need a regular and free Pandora Pandora and other DSPs is that, by dint of it With Artist Audio Messaging, acts can interesting for those artists who are keen account and then you can sign into AMP. predominantly being a non-interactive radio provide messages to be played before or to enrich their music with spontaneous There’s also a workaround for artists and streaming service, it is a curated listening after one of their songs of choice – with messages while on the go. Artists can use managers outside the US. experience on its main tier. a clear call to action promoting various their phone to upload 15-second messages Alan Poyer, product manager for The new Independent Artists campaign elements like releases, tickets or in what feels like an audio-only Story version Pandora’s AMP, tells music:)ally, “The tricky Submissions tool helps any artists to pitch merchandise. for the streaming realm.

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it as this will help its data science team Next Big Sound understand where it could fit. You can also connect your Pandora AMP Ranasinghe say, “It’s all about taking account with the Next Big Sound platform, an artist’s new single and it’s the same which the company acquired a few years algorithms that deliver radio programming. back and now serves to deliver social and We use those algorithms in reverse. For this streaming analytics. new single: who are the fans that are most This is data you don’t get on multi- likely to be interested in the new single? platform analytic websites like Chartmetric, So, we use that same technology and data which therefore makes it important to sign science to help artists find their next true up and see what’s happening for your artist fan. We’re able to find people and find fans on Pandora. while they’re listening to it.” Pandora only integrates Facebook and Twitter data, with public Instagram Campaigns data obviously missing – which feels like something of an oversight. However, it is When creating an audio message, you the only DSP that has integrated social and automatically launch a campaign which you event data to contextualise with streaming The photo displayed alongside the can then enrich with more audio messages engagement. message is the artist’s picture on Pandora, and feature tracks. Within your campaign There is a lot to unpack on Pandora AMP, but you can also customise this for each you’ll be able to combine and view metrics with many great and free features to help message like with a behind-the-scenes from each tool side-by-side. artists grow and engage their audience. Plus photo from your camera roll. If you’re also using Pandora AMP’s app, there are lots of very useful guides to help music:)ally believes that this can be a its activity feed notifies artists when the you get started. great way for artists to send authentic and campaign reaches meaningful milestones In other news, Pandora is also reportedly personal (rather than sales-y) messages to and lets them know when time to make an planning to test interactive voice ads later potential new fans, thereby enabling users Over the course of eight weeks, Pandora adjustment or add an element. this year; so we’re not far off a scenario to connect with them. will introduce the track to new listeners and where you might hear an ad for an artist’s Shamal Ranasinghe, Pandora’s VP of on more stations than it would typically Pandora Stories new album (or just for their concert tour) and product management, catalog & creators, reach. Pandora highlights how this can be be able to talk back to it to reserve tickets or says, “[Pandora AMP] allows for artists to useful to test out the response to a song – In early 2019, the DSP introduced a new get alerted when they go on sale. :) promote anything they want to their fans i.e. before deciding if this should be the next feature called Pandora Stories that when they’re listening to their music, which focus single or whether or not to invest in a allows artists and other creators to add is when fans are most likely to be receptive music video. commentary to their playlists. Acts like 2 to their messages. This is unlike anything This might not be the most impactful Chainz have already started to leverage the that exists [out there].” when it comes to direct streaming revenues, feature, giving them the chance to share the considering that this concerns the ad- meaning and inspiration behind their songs. Featured Track supported tier on Pandora, but it certainly is Ranasinghe says, “We have seen data a very powerful tool to help drive discovery that shows that listeners listening to these Artists can spotlight a Featured Track if it on-platform without the need to spend. stories come back and listen more than they receives at least 10 spins per week, has been Pandora recommends waiting for around would otherwise. It promotes more listening. released within the last year and hasn’t been three or four weeks after a track has started It’s not substitutional; it makes listeners featured before. spinning on the platform before featuring listen to more music.”

6 | sandbox | ISSUE 237 | 02.10.2019 CAMPAIGNS The latest projects from the digital marketing arena OFF-SPRING WATCH: BAND PLAY VIRTUAL GIG IN WORLD OF TANKS GAME SANDWICH FILLING: LIL NAS X PLANS REMIX PLATTER FOR ‘PANINI’

Marshmello has quite a lot to Road’; but it all shows how answer for. After playing a DJ set tracks today have to be inside Fortnite back in February, herded through carefully just showing up and playing a plotted marketing spikes football game on Twitch was no that can stretch over many longer enough for pop stars. months. The fact it has also just got a new (proper) video It is clearly good that musicians is proof of how everyone all have broader ambitions here, involved is taking a second but they also have to accept that swing at it. whatever they do will always be In an age of endless compared to what has passed distractions on DSPs (not before and come with a “following TikTok absolutely helped make Lil just songs, but also podcasts), acts and in the steps of Marshmello with Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’, but it was a labels have to find a series of new ways to his DJ set in Fortnite” caveat in there (seemingly endless) series of remixes and draw consumers back to songs. We can only somewhere. So without further ado… collaborations (seeing the song morph into presume the other 24 remixes will stretch Following in the steps of Marshmello multiple iterations like a mogwai fed after into next year. with his DJ set in Fortnite, US skate- midnight and then thrown in a swimming If dressing a song in new (remixed) cloaks punk band The Offspring have played a pool) that kept it in the charts and all over worked once, then we can be sure it will be virtual concert within World Of Tanks. DSPs for the majority of the year. tried again and again (and again). Until it (It is a massively multiplayer game stops working. In the next issue of Sandbox, based around military combat that has Following the “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” we will look in greater detail at how multiple been going since 2011 and not, we are lessons learned here – and with a keen eye remixes are being used to not only keep saddened to report, a massive shop just on ensuring he does not go down in history tracks in the public consciousness but also selling fishtanks.) as a one-hit wonder – he is planning a lot to break acts in whole new markets and It was part of a bigger push by the game’s The band played five songs during their (and we mean a LOT) of remixes for his work on multiple platforms. developer called Tank Festival, made up of virtual set – yes, they did play ‘Pretty Fly (For ‘Panini’ single (the one with an interpolation a variety of sub-events, which runs until A White Guy)’ – and their sound does, for the of Nirvana’s ‘In Bloom’). 7th October. The band’s virtual show will be most part, work as the audio backdrop to “PANINI REMIX 1 OF 25 TONIGHT!” he accessible by the game’s players until then. computer-generated tanks smashing things. tweeted to announce the beginning of this “When the World of Tanks guys approached None of this is going to turn the world Content Avalanche, the first fruits following us with the idea of an in-game concert, we on its head, but it does a good job of being soon after with the arrival of a version of the thought, ‘Hell yeah, let’s do it!’,” said Dexter that part of the Venn diagram where track featuring rap star DaBaby. Holland of the band in a press statement. “interest in a particular genre of game” and The song itself is not actually new, first “Video games are cool but video games where “interest in a particular genre of music” coming out at the end of June, having been you can blow stuff up are even cooler.” overlap quite nicely. lost somewhat in the viral dust of ‘Old Town

7 | sandbox | ISSUE 237 | 02.10.2019 CAMPAIGNS The latest projects from the digital marketing arena

MAROON WITH A VIEW: MAROON 5 GET SYNC IN APPLE PHOTOS APP TIKTO-KING: LEWIS CAPALDI AIMS TO BECOME SOCIAL MEDIA SOVEREIGN

movies, and the Photos app may suggest the Scottish singer Lewis and what I love the band’s latest single as the soundtrack to your Capaldi has taken James most is the fact that visual keepsakes,” explains Apple in a press Blunt’s self-effacing people don’t take statement. According to the company, Maroon approach towards themselves seriously; 5 will be the background music to the feature social media and really you can be yourself for “a limited time”. run with it. His Twitter and people will love Apple also gets something extra out of the and Instagram feeds you for that. ” band in the shape of the video for the band’s are full of images of In a video own photo collection – with the ‘Made With himself that are far from message on the app Time was when getting a sync for an Apple Memories’ video being exclusive to Apple airbrushed and contain he says, “Here are product advert was the making of an act. Music, showing images of the band in their posts like “I’M MY OWN some reasons that I Just ask Feist, CSS, Jet, Wolfmother, The Ting earliest days. FAVOURITE ONE HIT should be named the Tings and more. One does have to wonder if the name of WONDER” which fly in King Of TikTok: 1) I am the single was pure serendipity or if it was the face of how a pop star is supposed to the King Of TikTok; 2) devilishly handsome; With the might of Apple behind them, new built to order. And, if it was named to fit, one present themselves online. 3) have I said I was handsome?; 4) I can do careers could get a serious kickstart or existing also has to wonder how David Guetta, Shawn a lot in 15 seconds – trust me, ask my ex.” careers could get a serious boost. Let’s skim Mendes, Weezer, Four Tet and Petit Biscuit are Tongue firmly in cheek, his latest wheeze is He already did the #FindingLewis over, however, certain acts putting an entire all feeling knowing their own ‘Memories’ songs to try to become King Of TikTok, urging fans challenge on the platform where he got album in everyone’s iTunes collection without were overlooked in favour of Adam Levine and to make him the most-followed pop star fans to submit videos of him showing up them asking… his bandmates. on there. Naturally the related hashtag is in photo form in unusual places such as a Times change and so does technology. The #kingoftiktok. hotel room and a toilet. statement ads for iPods long dried up as Apple “I’m quite new to TikTok , but it’s one of So will this new push make him King shifted its focus to iPhones, but music is still the best apps I’ve come across,” he said Of TikTok? Absolutely not, especially given a big part of its advertising, even if what it is in a statement. “I find TikTok hilarious that he currently has 558.8k fans on the advertising is strictly not music-related. Ahead app after a few months while BTS just of the release of a new album, Maroon 5 are opened their channel and got over 2.2m the latest act hoping for that Apple halo effect. followers in the first day. Yet that’s not They have a single called ‘Memories’ and really the point. He knows he’s never going Apple has a feature in its Photos app called to be King Of TikTok, but he will have a lot Memories (which collates and curates images of loyal subjects there. in the camera roll on a user’s iPhone or iPad), This is all about a pop star who revels so it was a marketing open goal to have in the inherent ridiculousness of pop Maroon 5’s song soundtrack the slideshow. stardom and social media bragging finding “You can easily edit the photos in the his rhythm on a new platform and making Memories feature and select the song as the it bend to him rather than the other way soundtrack for any of your existing Memories around.

8 | sandbox | ISSUE 237 | 02.10.2019 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN OASIS Photo: James Fry BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNOASIS

Oasis’s debut album, Definitely Maybe, had an immediate and enormous impact on both music and culture when it was released in August 1994. To mark its 25th anniversary, a fan-centric campaign was created to trumpet its influence and its continued relevance. The marketing was run by management company Ignition whose Big Brother label arm has the Oasis catalogue. CLARE BYRNE, marketing manager at Ignition, and GABRIELLE NICOT-BÉRENGER, digital manager at Ignition, explain how fans were the primary consideration at every stage, where key lyrics were used because of their cultural resonance, why a special podcast about the album was created and how a well- maintained archive really came into its own.

Planning the 25th anniversary as well as creating new assets. CB: We had re-released the first We released two limited-edition three Oasis albums – Definitely vinyl formats – a picture disc as a D2C Maybe, (What’s The Story) Morning exclusive and a silver-coloured vinyl Glory? and Be Here Now – for that was available at retail. Although the Chasing The Sun catalogue there was no new music, we wanted campaign staggered over a two- to make special collectible formats for and-a-half-year period from the anniversary. We also made a new 2014. They were all remastered classic merchandise range available and reissued with bonus and rare on the band’s online store. content. We announced it on 8th August, With the 25-year anniversary of which was the 25-year anniversary of Definitely Maybe being such a landmark, the release of ‘Live Forever’, one of the we were keen to have activity around iconic singles from the album. This felt like the date. However, having released the the natural point to start the campaign reissues five years ago, we wanted to and it meant that we had a three-week focus this predominantly on being a period before the actual anniversary [29th celebration of the album. August] to roll out the content we had We also wanted to be creative about planned to keep the fans engaged. how we presented it, as this wasn’t about This obviously wasn’t a traditional releasing new music, and to do something album marketing campaign with a special and quite different to what had been done before.

Fans were at the heart of the campaign CB: To create a celebration, the ambition was to involve the fans as much as possible. We were leading the campaign by presenting assets, but we wanted fans to share their own memories and their stories about the album. We planned to utilise original content that hadn’t been seen for quite a long time

Photo: Paul Slattery 10 | sandbox | ISSUE 237 | 02.10.2019 BEHIND THE CAMPAIGNOASIS

so we pushed the hashtag across all CB: Having close access to the archive channels. We quickly started seeing fans and original assets is so important. We’re posting photos of their Definitely Maybe able to give fans something to talk about albums, their Live Forever tattoos, footage and it helped generate conversations. from live shows they’d been at, their first We created a schedule of assets to share concert tickets and that sort of thing, so every day from launch across the whole of the activity started to grow organically. August, including one key fan interaction There was an Oasis exhibition in at least once a week to keep fans engaged. London in 2014 and in Manchester in 2016, including a life-size recreation of the front GN-B: Each week we had a key moment room featured on the album’s cover, so for fans. In the first week, we shared lots of photos re-emerged from that as the sheet music for [album track] ‘Slide well. There was already lots of content out Away’ and invited people to record their there related to Definitely Maybe anyway the management team so were ready to own covers and share them using the and so people just got on board with this. use. Key people from the Definitely #SlideAwayChallenge hashtag. On the Facebook page , we created Maybe era got involved like a group called Definitely Maybe: Oasis Brian Cannon who did the album CB: We made a video of the sheet music Community. It is a closed group so artwork and who had amazing after obtaining permission from the people have to request access to become things to share; but it’s also publisher, so fans could follow it and play members, which gives it that extra been amazing to see how much along. The response was brilliant. community feel. It’s a space for super-fans memorabilia fans have also kept to connect and share. Each day we would through the years. GN-B: We created a dedicated Slide Away share original Definitely Maybe-related The fans have really enjoyed being Challenge playlist on the Oasis YouTube longer pre-order period and with the content. part of this community and we could see channel and added the best versions to it, artist undertaking promotional activities The catalogue assets had been archived conversations and constructive debates which we then shared across all channels. and so on. It was an intense window of for the reissues by Daisy Blackford from about the album happening naturally. On the website we have a page called activity about making content available. ‘Fans’ and, using the hashtags, it pulls There were weeks of planning before together all the different online content this and it evolved into a well-structured strategy and cohesive campaign across all platforms.

Ramping up the activity GN-B: We decided to go live on the ‘Live Forever’ anniversary and that’s when we launched the campaign trailer with the hashtag #DefMaybe25 . That was the hub for everyone to share their own memories. We run all the official Oasis accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and their website, plus the mailing list,

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from Twitter and Instagram. That means whenever people use #DefMaybe25 or #DefinitelyMaybe25 – we had a few different hashtags that people could use – it pulls everything onto that page. We also manually go through each platform so as to not miss some gems.

CB: In week two, we created a super- fan quiz – Definitely Or Maybe, based on True Or False questions. We worked with consultant Michael Mulligan who wrote the questions, ranging from easy to relatively difficult.

GN-B: We picked that song looking at what followed the same creative so that we had popular user-generated content using consistency with our aesthetic. Definitely Maybe tracks were on YouTube but for which we didn’t have our own Launching an album podcast videos. Based on that, we decided to do an CB: We created an Oasis podcast official lyric video for ‘Fade Away’ that was working with [podcast company] Cup & shared during the week of the anniversary. Nuzzle. It was called Listen Up and named after one of the B-sides to ‘Cigarettes & CB: We had assets including a trailer for Alcohol’ [the fourth single from the album]. launch and an unboxing video for the We felt that the story around the impact of the band and the album at the GN-B: It was interesting looking at the LP picture disc to show the fans what making of the album had been told many time. It was a seminal debut album that answers as there were no questions it looked like. The bulk of these were times before, so with the podcast we influenced the music scene and the youth where everyone got it right. Some of it created in-house by Sarah Mansfield and wanted to focus on the social and cultural culture around it. was very tricky. We wanted the people who were involved with the album at the time to tell CB: We did 25 questions, obviously, to that story. We worked on a wish list of mark 25 years. We hosted the quiz with people we wanted to interview – including Typeform. those involved with the making of the record, musicians, industry people and GN-B: It was also a way for us to identify media. We also wanted to talk to the fans. core fans and build up our re-marketing We had a really good response from audience. everybody we approached. When the interviews had been completed, Cup & CB: We also created a new lyric video for Nuzzle had over 18 hours of content to ‘Fade Away’ . edit down.

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fascinating as it all happened so quickly. include the hashtag in small type We made it available across all underneath – the idea being that platforms simultaneously. A podcast was if you were familiar with Oasis something we’d never done before, so it’s and the tracks, you’d get it been a new experience for us. We’re really straight away; and if you weren’t, Having people telling their stories from pleased with the result and had a strong the copy would provide intrigue. the time was really evocative and very response to it. We had great early pickup in regional entertaining. [Each episode is between 36 press and online. And the fans were minutes and 49 minutes in length.] Lyrics proved a key asset getting excited and were sharing it. We included assets from the BBC throughout the campaign archive, covering original interviews CB: I was really keen to do some activity GN-B: Photos started popping up on and live recordings mixed in with the using the lyrics. As so many of the Instagram and because of the hashtag storytelling, which worked really well. tracks are classics, some of the lyrics people would be looking it up as well. We were also able to add music from are ubiquitous. We started this activity That was another way to discover the the album as we have the rights to with a regional outdoor poster campaign campaign. featured on the GIPHY homepage. the masters. It was a big jigsaw to put which ran the week before the actual On the day the posters went up, we together and was turned around in a anniversary. CB: On the day of the anniversary, we did also had digital stickers going live which relatively short timeframe. There were four creatives with four statement digital ads around London mirrored the poster creative so fans could The podcast evolved into a series of key lyrics. They included “You can have it – in Notting Hill, Bethnal Green, Clapham add them to their Instagram Stories. There four episodes and we launched the first all, but how much do you want it?” [from Junction and King’s Cross. We also wanted have been around 5m views of the GIFs one on the actual anniversary of the ‘Supersonic’], “Tonight I’m a rock ‘n’ roll to replicate this physical activity digitally. so far. album – 29th August – with the other star” [from ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’], “You and I episodes following at weekly intervals. are gonna live forever” [from ‘Live Forever’] Working with GIPHY and All On The Board CB: It was important for us to replicate the They were structured in a chronological and “Have I finally found something worth GN-B: On anniversary week, we launched physical activity digitally as well. order, so the first one introduced the band living for?” [from ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’]. an official Oasis GIPHY channel . They We also worked with All On The Board and when they got together. Then it went We put the posters up and we hadn’t had one before. We created GIFs who create original content for London into when the album was released, when deliberately excluded the Oasis based on each track on the album and Underground on whiteboards in stations. It they got really big and so on. The story is logo from them, although we did bundled them all into a story that got turns out they’re big Oasis fans. They wrote

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manager for Oasis and she always comes up with great content to put on their channels – such as throwbacks. We consistently promote the catalogue, more or less directly, so there is an ongoing campaign happening on the socials.

CB: We obviously want to keep the fans engaged, but it’s also important not to post too much. I think we’re quite careful when posting; it is mainly about having good content and key moments. fresh content, such as the podcast and We’re a small team, managed by John new assets that we were creating, to Leahy, and work closely together to ensure share with the fans, but also to get the that all content is of a consistent quality fans involved as much as possible as we – both relevant and engaging. did with the cover challenge and the quiz. We felt this was a very successful campaign. The album charted at number GN-B: The album hashtags also trended on 6 in a busy week of new releases and was Twitter in the UK on the anniversary. The fan number 1 in the vinyl album chart. reaction was incredible. We know the band’s The results of this campaign have given reach and expected there were going to be us lots to build on. For example, we saw lots of people engaging, but hearing all the a growth in our social following, we saw a stories of what this album meant to people significant increase in our streaming and was really heart-warming. we engaged with both a younger audience and a new audience. Wider media and retail support We achieved our objective to getting CB: While the initial focus was on making people to reappraise an album that has this about the fans, it was warmly received been out for 25 years and show how across all media. We had vast coverage relevant and iconic it still is today. :) for the album across national and regional radio as well as press and online. We had a lot of support from retail WANT TO FEATURE IN a brilliant Definitely Maybe-related poem, GN-B: On the day of the anniversary itself, and from the DSPs – and including for the BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN? incorporating the track titles. They placed we also released a Facebook frame podcast. This was a global campaign and Marketing people: do you have a campaign you are working that at North Greenwich station and they incorporating the artwork so fans could add Ray McCarville, who handles International, on that you would like to see featured in Behind The Campaign also did a version for online. The footfall in their faces to it. That proved really popular had a strong response ex-UK. in a future edition of sandbox? If so, send a brief synopsis of North Greenwich was over 80,000 that day. and had great reaction on their socials. it to Eamonn Forde for consideration and your work (and your It was an extension of what we’re doing Keeping their social channels words) could appear here. with the lyrics and it also helped people to CB: The campaign was spread across all active at all times Email: [email protected] embrace the anniversary celebration. the platforms. It was great to have this GN-B: Lucy Fortescue is the community

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