By: Zoe J
The Event
On Sunday (2/4/24) during the Grammys, MCA Records Nashville, Interscope, and Sandbox Entertainment, promoted a new Kacey Musgraves era via a :30 second spot on TV. This ad aired second in the pod of commercials, in the first half of the program. As someone who works in media, I feel that this is an incredibly smart move on the team responsible for album rollout and advertising. In a music market today that is so saturated by short form video promotion (Reels, T!k T0K, etc.), they are pulling the ultimate uno reverse against the rest of the music industry and I believe it will ultimately pay off.
Why It Matters
Recently we have seen this promotion strategy done before. Hollywood Records recently ran :30s Long Form Video Ads on Hulu to promote singles from their artists ALMOST MONDAY and Kensie. This method was definitely successful to some extent, reaching a large quantity of Hulu subscribers with a high frequency. They were also the first record label I have seen in the past year that capitalized on using this media channel.
However, creative wear out seemed to become apparent, so much so, that users made T!k T0ks discussing their mixed opinions on the ads:
The thing that makes the Kacey Musgraves ad stand out in contrast to the Hollywood records ads is, that it was surrounding a BIG moment in music. This year The Grammys obtained over 17 million viewers in total according to AP News/Nielsen. Additionally the team in charge for ad placement, chose to have it on linear TV which on a normal day wouldn’t be to their benefit but, in the case of big programs (think awards shows, superbowl) linear TV easily would reach a high percentage and more diverse profile of viewers in that timeframe (30s) - than perhaps a standard post to social channels. An extra boost in reach/views comes from platforms such as Youtube TV, and the social content that was posted afterwards.
Not only is this a smart move in terms of numbers of views, but also attention. MCA Records Nashville, Interscope, and Sandbox Entertainment know that obviously the main psychographic of the individuals watching the Grammys would be music lovers. So therefore, these people would be more likely to watch the ad in full and interact with the link at the end of the ad. The timing of the ad airing is strategic as well, appearing shortly after Kacey Musgraves announced the Grammy for best country album. The creative itself is striking and simple, using music and nature noises up until the last few seconds where she sings, “My Saturn Has Returned”, which again makes it stand out against the other dialogue heavy ads.
I look forward to seeing how the rest of the era/album rollout for Kacey Musgraves progresses. And I am interested to see if other labels will begin to adopt this strategy in the future.
Source:
Comments