Love Him or Hate Him...What You Can Learn from The Bieber

When you think of Justin Bieber, more than likely the first thing that transpires is an almost instantaneous love or hate reaction. You like the kid, or you are shaking your head wondering what's up with all the hype surrounding the teenybopper. The next thing that comes to mind is probably music. After all he is a musical superstar...regardless of what any of us think. The real bass behind the ballad known as Bieber, however, is really about the other M-word, marketing.

Put your reactions aside and forget about the young crooner all together. The real story is in the strategic communications and marketing baritone behind the boy wonder. From the very beginning, his team did what we as communications and marketing professionals strive to do every day; they mastered the media and played it like a fiddle.

When the heartthrob was only 12, the Biebster's team (mainly his mom at that point) rejected the traditional route of promoting him simply by sending demo tapes to record label big wigs. Sound like the old, traditional PR pitch to print editors?  Instead of targeting a few recording execs, they targeted and engaged the world by marketing the Biebmeister on YouTube. Guess what?  Not only did he go viral, but in a twist of irony, instead of Biebs pitching to recording label hot shots, they came to him. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, Justin Bieber is the guy to beat in terms of trending on social media.  He has over 29 million followers on Twitter. Yes, I said 29 million. That is more than the entire population of the state of Texas.  And, he consistently grows his...well..."followship" by engaging them with the most original of material.  Just recently he pulled off an elaborate PR stunt – managed through Twitter – designed to keep his followers engaged and at the same time promote his upcoming single.  The antics surrounded Master Bieber tweeting about a supposedly stolen laptop that supposedly had compromising pictures of him on its hard drive.  Can you say, “Female fan frenzy” as fast as you can three times?  Because his team was so marketing savvy, sales of his latest single have skyrocketed.  No wonder the Biebernator is smiling all the way to the bank.

The take away from this is that to succeed in this bustling communications, media and marketing ecosystem, you must be original, produce original content, and continuously invent the next creative vehicle to engage your audience.  This brand of marketing is not just for Hollywood stars.  You can do the exact same thing with Dallas as your stage. 



Contact Concierge PA.  We've been known to be able to carry a tune or two.

 

For more information on Justin Bieber's marketing visit Ad Age Digital.