“This year I decided not to freeze my eggs. I’m going to put that money toward the thing I love most in the world, which is Taylor Swift.”
– Nikki Glaser, Comedian, Actress, Egg Freezer
27 shows, 20 cities, 9 months and a once in a lifetime opportunity, Taylor Swift kicked off her ERAS Tour in March and solidified herself as one of history’s greatest musicians… actually, scratch that… one of history’s greatest marketing minds.
How do you measure success in marketing? Repeat business. And what TayTay has managed to achieve more effectively than almost any musician in history, is convince literally millions of people (mostly 14 year old girls and their oddly enthusiastic fathers) to pay a literal shit-ton of money for light-up friendship bracelets and nostalgia. That is successful marketing.
The extraordinarily intimate relationship Taylor Swift has created with her fans makes a hug from your bestie seem like a night in a Honduran prison cell. The connection is so special it makes your grandmother’s secret, oatmeal cookie recipe want to rebrand itself just to compete. If the bond between Swift and her fans could be measured it would be atomic. They love her like Bill Nighy loves science, like the boys love Kelis’ milkshake, like that one YouTube guy loved that double rainbow, like your creepy uncle loves FootFinder.com.
The point is they’re close. And there is a term for how the relationship between a fan base and an artist, or enterprise evolves into an unbreakable interdependency… Brilliant Marketing.
So, let’s take a look at how Tay-Tay The Queen of Marketing rose to power and managed to pull off this Christ Like status and devotion from her Disciples… Nay, her Decibels, if you will. Don’t worry, you don’t have to.
Social Media Sorcery:
T-Swain doesn’t just post a few cat pics or go heart a couple fan selfies and then call it a day. No, no, no you silly bitch. She engages with her fans like she’s planning to ask them for a kidney; she interacts like she needs bail money; she praises her people like she’s vying for the last vile of antidote. She develops an emotional connections deeper than the deepest lyrics of the deepest Taylor Swift song, and for all you Swifties out there you know that’s fucking deep.
Taylor’s team has understood for decades now, the importance of connecting with fans on a personal level. They use social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram, to interact directly with fans and make them feel heard. They also collect data (slightly sketchy Swifty) on fan preferences to create personalized experiences, such as pre-sale access to concert tickets or exclusive merchandise. [1][2]
Storytelling:
Taylor Swift writes songs for people who love reading other people’s diaries. Her songs are quite literally diary entries with a melody. Years from now, her farewell tour will feature just TayTay the All Day Slay reading the transcripts from her own therapy sessions and the recordings her Alexa Echo made of Swift mumbling through the nights she took one too many Ambien sleeping pills.
And not to be outdone by — literally — her own brilliance, leading up to the ERAS tour, Taylor gave her fans the behind-the-scenes stories, in essences creating her own version of VH1’s “Behind the Music.” Narrative-driven marketing campaigns, you doth say? Taylor Swift wrote the fucking book, or at least the Billboard chart-topping album, on the subject. [2]
Strategic Collaborations:
Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, Snow Patrol, ZAYN and HAIM, what do these artists all have in common? That’s right, they were all born in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Don’t Google that.
Additionally, these are all strategic, cross-promotional, collaborations and partnerships T-Swiddy’s marketing team set up along the tour and throughout many of her music videos and online performances.
These collaborations, as well as the cumulative brand exposure that is produced directly by them, extend beyond just work with fellow musicians. Swift’s team has also partnered with some of the largest companies in the world, working with brands such as Keds, Diet Coke, and Apple to create marketing campaigns that align with Taylor’s values and persona.
It’s also important to note that those business juggernauts, those corporate titans, those companies, some of whom are valued in the trillions, yeah, those guys went to her, not the other way around. That’s not just good marketing, that’s the acknowledgement of genuine cultural devotion. That’s Cleopatra. That’s Madonna… The holy one, not the one with the cone shaped bustier. [1][2]
Techlor Swift:
Move the fuck over Elon. Kick rocks, Zuckerberg. Billy Gates you’re cool, but get to steppin’ every other tech guy in the game. TayTay and her cray cray tech savvy marketing team — a team made up of what I can only assume are a bunch of genetically engineered, uber-intelligent lab animals like Rocket the Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy — have embraced the power of emerging technologies to remain relevant while gaining an edge on the competition.
Taylor Swift stands up for fan-focused issues she cares about while creating exceptional experiences for her fans — the kind that inspire lifelong fan loyalty, I ♥️ Taylor tramp stamps as far as the eye can see, and of course unparalleled brand recognition.
The star, for instance, often equips fans with LED wristbands while implementing facial recognition software during her shows to assist with stalker prevention. Swift’s team also uses dynamic pricing when selling concert tickets to prompt consistent sales while moving with ever-shifting market demands and she has spoken out about Ticketmaster’s monopoly of the ticketing business.
Her commitment to emerging technologies has even resulted in droves of Swifties using online tutorials to create visual and audio-based AI clones of Swift. It also appears that Barbie-mania has merged with Taylor Swift’s personal brand, with Swifties creating video content likening the pop icon to the classic children’s toy in wake of the recent movie launch. [2]
Brand Control: Shake it off, again.
Like the richest fucking phoenix you’ve ever seen, rising from the ashes of her past record contracts and ex-boyfriends, Taylor the Money Trailer, is re-recording her old albums. The message? “It puts this rerecorded lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again!”
By getting personally involved in the shape and direction of her personal brand, Taylor Swift has taken charge of her commercial destiny.
In addition to the savvy, consistent, and forward-thinking approaches to digital marketing — Swift’s genius stems from the fact that she takes full ownership of her personal brand. By recently re-recording her first six albums to re-claim ownership of her work, Swift proves that she’s a motivated powerhouse who always takes measures to control her brand narrative. [2]
Conclusions:
With the storytelling finesse of the Marquis de Sade, a dedication to her fans that rivals a that trainspotter guy with the head-mounted camera for the British Rail Class 37 diesel-electric locomotive, and more strategic partnerships than an orgy at The World Economic Forum, Swift’s fame has exploded over the last 20 years. She’s solidified in her status one of the most successful musicians in history, and crowned herself queen of brand development and marketing in the 21st centch.
Take notes from this marketing monarch. Learn from her achievements you peasants. Wear her clothes, use her perfume, make papier-mâché masks of her face and look in the mirror and cry words of encouragement to yourself. Do these things and you too will be climbing your way to success in this digital jungle, where likes, shares and Swifties reign supreme.
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SOURCES
1. https://oatuu.org/the-marketing-magic-behind-taylor-swift-an-inside-look-at-her-genius-team/