THE RISE OF EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING FOR MUSIC

So… you are standing outside a venue, when you see there’s a branded pop-up next to you, a merch stand, and someone handing out freebies with the artist's face on them.

Experiential Marketing has been here long before it became the standard for marketing. With the rise of social media, immersive experiences became so important for the user, It is no longer about only getting a product/service, but the experience that comes within. In the last year, I have noticed how important pop-ups and activations have become in the entertainment industry. This is not only happening for the music industry, but ALL media has been integrating it much more lately.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH LISTENING PARTIES

me @ Niall Horan's listening party (Dinner Party)

As a fangirl, I have had the opportunity to join multiple events for album releases in the past. Safe to say, this is such a unique experience, seeing so many fans join in excitement to listen to an album that has not been released yet is so special. Listening parties are events made by record labels to promote an album that is close to be released. It can take place in record stores, label buildings, bars, etc.

I distinctively remember the first time I was invited to one, it was for Zayn’s 4^th studio album, “Room Under The Stairs”. I had bought the signed vinyl from the Universal Music Mexico official website, and won a ticket to go to their building and listen to the album alongside other fans, days previous to the official release. I was unfortunately, not able to attend, but I remember watching the clips and everyone seemed so excited and happy #fomo.

Merch given at KATTDO's Listening Party - Dublin

As for listening parties I have attended, I have always had such positive experiences. Seeing so many fans, getting to know their stories, and connecting through music for the first time, is such a valuable moment. You may know where I’m heading towards, but I’ve attended to listening parties across Dublin: Louis Tomlinson’s “How Did I Get Here?”, Harry Styles’ “Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally”, and Niall Horan’s “Dinner Party”. Yes, I’m a Directioner, even after 15 years.

CONCERT POP-UPS

I adore the concept of attending a concert, the preparation, attending with friends or alone, seeing so many fans gathered together, the merch, everything. I recently attended the Together Together Tour (Harry Styles’ residency tour) in London, and the amount of pop-ups I saw around Wembley were amazing. They had an American Express pop up that was playing Harry’s songs and had multiple photo sets so you could take pics with your friends for social media.

It's a win-win situation, fans get an experience and take pics for the memories; both the artist and whichever brand owns the pop-up, get free promo. Branding is everywhere, and it’s impossible to escape, but it somehow merges into the experience flawlessly. I didn’t even go directly into all the pop-ups cause the lines were huge, everyone wanted to participate.

I’ve seen this pop-ups, not only at Harry’s tour, but pretty much every big venue and festival I have attended to. Brand activations are how you catch people’s attention and get them to interact with the brand… why? Cause they get something in return, it may be a souvenir, samples, pics, or even just the experience. Fans like to feel like they can be part of the experience, feel closer to the artist somehow.

Like Harry’s there’s so many examples of artists doing very similar techniques and experiences for fans. Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS World Tour took had branded pop-up spaces inside the arenas themselves. Sabrina Carpenter's “Short n' Sweet” era café pop-ups are another example. They were pretty on brand for her aesthetic, especially after her multi award winning single “Espresso”. Brand activations are how you catch people's attention and get them to interact with the brand. It is not just the major labels doing this anymore. Smaller and indie artists are starting to figure out that you do not need a much to create an experience. Record store events, zine drops, intimate venue activations, etc.

MERCH BRANDS COLLABS

As mentioned previously, experiential marketing has something to give not only to the brand, but to the consumer. I have seen multiple artists collaborate with brand that fit their own personal brand or their aesthetic, yes, their aesthetic.

Have you ever seen K-pop idols becoming brand ambassadors for luxury and makeup brands? Well, they take that even further by creating collabs with them. Gentle Monster, a Korean  luxury sunglass brand, is one of the first to come to mind. They have insane Experiential Marketing strategies. Recently, they have been opening temporary stores across Asia and the USA, where fans and influencers are invited for an evening with them. The store gets made into a capsule of the brand, decor everywhere, unique PR gifts, themed drinks and food, etc. My favourite one was with Karina from the group aespa, a couple months ago, where they took her and the doll “BRATZ”, and made one that for all of their branding. Pop ups included gigantic displays of the doll and Karina, as well as limited edition dolls and sunglasses as star products.

Like this one, many artists implement it to bring more traffic towards their craft and possibly gain new fans. Same thing happens to the brand, where fans of the artist, will start consuming the brand’s products, because they relate them to each other.

WHY EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING CAME TO STAY

If I didn’t state it enough by now, experiential marketing is the best way to approach and audience. It makes it seem discrete but in your face at the same time. The brand may have their logo pasted all over, and the artist will too, but somehow, even when explicitly saying “this is marketing”, people cherish it.

The reason it works so well, in music specifically, is because fans have, somehow, a relation with the artists. Experiential marketing does not create that connection or build much, it basically just gives fans something tangible they can experience.

Major labels have seen how profitable this has become, which is why the budgets for

these activations keep growing. Experiential marketing is not a trend that suddenly sparked, it’s been there for way longer than you might think, but it’s n

ow that we can see a rise on it. I think this type of entertainment marketing is something that we will see become a staple soon, everyone wants a slice of it, and it’s very profitable.