The Partner
BMG is the world's largest independent publisher and the world's fourth-largest music company, with a mission to support artists and songwriters in maximizing the potential of their songs and recordings in the digital age.
BMG has invested heavily in fan engagement and digital to connect their artists more directly with the fans who love them.
To explore how BMG uses digital engagement, we’ll focus on one stand-out campaign - recognized as the Best Engagement Campaign for Artists & Labels in our 2024 Fan Marketing Awards - their Corey Taylor Mixtape activation.
Read on to see how artists can execute a unique digital x physical engagement that prompts fans to not only “sign up for the fan club” but also visit physical retail stores.
The Strategy
BMG understands the importance of owned first & zero-party data when it comes to growing their artists. To this end, they’ve been adding data-specific elements to their broader marketing initiatives to:
Curate data about fans and use this data to push fans towards specific actions.
This campaign was no different.
The Campaign
As part of a country-wide marketing initiative for Corey Taylor’s #CMF2 release day, the team proposed launching a “limited edition” free mixtape to hardcore fans. Their goal was to use release-day hype to drive street-level engagement, encouraging fans to visit retail stores.
To add a layer of data sophistication to this marketing initiative, the team used a Tradable Bits campaign to:
- Track all entries and marketable contacts
- Earn location data on all fans participating
- Track additional fan behaviour on-site
How it worked:
- The TBits campaign prompted fans to fill in an entry form where they explicitly chose a location (so that they could be directed to the nearest record store carrying the fire mixtape).
- Fans were sent an email with instructions on where to find their nearest record stores.
- Fans visited the record store to get their free cassette.
- Because these mixtapes were limited edition and in quantity, fans who arrived after all the inventory was gone still got access to an exclusive experience—including never-before-heard content from the album available through a QR code (with metrics tracked by TBits).
The BMG team also ensured that all participating record stores were well-stocked with Corey Taylor CDs and merchandise to increase auxiliary revenue from fans around release day. (i.e. fans already physically in store are highly likely to take the time to purchase merch - especially if they’ve received a free item)
The Results
- A unique release-day marketing initiative that excited and engaged Corey Taylor’s online fans
- Foot traffic to 15 indie record stores across 12 markets
- Support for physical retail partners
- Thousands of marketable contacts, all of whom are Corey Taylor’s highest-intent fans, with specific location data on fans
The Conclusion
Using the Tradable Bits Platform, BMG successfully launched a highly effective release-day campaign that not only boosted traffic to physical retail stores but also captured the type of fan data that will be relevant to future initiatives for Corey Taylor.
Happy fan marketing!