Marketing Innovations: Flowers and Jewel
Robert L. Doerschuk
July 06, 2009
Mother's Day brought a special prize to two lucky women: a bouquet of European tulips, Peruvian lilies, deep pink petite spray roses and traditional white and lavender daisies; an autographed copy of Jewel's Lullaby, the first album to be released in the Fisher-Price music series; and a personal call from the artist.
But this outreach was a gift to Jewel as well. Thanks to her partnerships with Fisher-Price and FTD, her fan base promises to stretch beyond its already formidable range while also giving her loyal followers some extra music to savor between her most recent and upcoming Country albums.
"I've known for about 10 years that I was going to make a somewhat non-commercial album in terms of how I could promote it," Jewel explained.
Lullaby fits that niche as a 15-track mix of original and traditional material, recorded by Jewel at her Texas ranch, with simple instrumentation and a soothing sound designed to appeal to kids and parents. To avoid the conflict of positioning it alongside her record label product in CD outlets, Jewel and her manager, Virginia Davis of Azoff Music, arranged for Fisher- Price to present the album as the first of its Fisher-Price Music Series and to display it within children's sections of Babies "R" Us, Sears, Wal-Mart, and Toys "R" Us, as well as in the infant sections and music departments of Target and in Kroger stores. "That's a great distribution tool for a fan base I don't necessarily have," Jewel noted. (Lullaby sells online as well.)
But why not reach even further toward the maternal consumer? That was the question Davis brought to her meeting with echo, Jewel's digital marketing agency. An answer presented itself quickly, thanks in part to the job history of Laura Hutfless, Director of Brand Integration, echo. "All during high school and college, I worked in a flower shop," she said, laughing. "So as soon as I heard 'Mother's Day,' I knew that we could work with companies that are trying to market during that time period. That means flowers and chocolate - and flowers don't melt in the mail."
Though they had never worked with an artist, FTD jumped onboard. Jewel taped three tracks live from Lullaby, with the video posted on livedaily.com near banners announcing the album's May 5 release and launching the Mother's Day Lullaby Memories Sweepstakes. A link led to Jewel's Web site, jeweljk.com, where anyone could nominate someone they considered to be an especially deserving mother. The two grand prize winners were picked at random, as were 10 runners-up who received autographed CDs and the FTD Jewel Lullaby Bouquet.
It took only two weeks to move from conceiving to implementing this campaign - yet its impact could linger for years, partly because FTD sold out of the bouquets by Mother's Day. "So many of my fans have been parents and Country Music fans as they've grown up," Jewel mused. "And my music has evolved, just as my fans have. This has been a great way to keep them engaged while reaching people who might have known my name but not necessarily bought my albums before."
On the Web: www.jeweljk.com
2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
But this outreach was a gift to Jewel as well. Thanks to her partnerships with Fisher-Price and FTD, her fan base promises to stretch beyond its already formidable range while also giving her loyal followers some extra music to savor between her most recent and upcoming Country albums.
"I've known for about 10 years that I was going to make a somewhat non-commercial album in terms of how I could promote it," Jewel explained.
Lullaby fits that niche as a 15-track mix of original and traditional material, recorded by Jewel at her Texas ranch, with simple instrumentation and a soothing sound designed to appeal to kids and parents. To avoid the conflict of positioning it alongside her record label product in CD outlets, Jewel and her manager, Virginia Davis of Azoff Music, arranged for Fisher- Price to present the album as the first of its Fisher-Price Music Series and to display it within children's sections of Babies "R" Us, Sears, Wal-Mart, and Toys "R" Us, as well as in the infant sections and music departments of Target and in Kroger stores. "That's a great distribution tool for a fan base I don't necessarily have," Jewel noted. (Lullaby sells online as well.)
But why not reach even further toward the maternal consumer? That was the question Davis brought to her meeting with echo, Jewel's digital marketing agency. An answer presented itself quickly, thanks in part to the job history of Laura Hutfless, Director of Brand Integration, echo. "All during high school and college, I worked in a flower shop," she said, laughing. "So as soon as I heard 'Mother's Day,' I knew that we could work with companies that are trying to market during that time period. That means flowers and chocolate - and flowers don't melt in the mail."
Though they had never worked with an artist, FTD jumped onboard. Jewel taped three tracks live from Lullaby, with the video posted on livedaily.com near banners announcing the album's May 5 release and launching the Mother's Day Lullaby Memories Sweepstakes. A link led to Jewel's Web site, jeweljk.com, where anyone could nominate someone they considered to be an especially deserving mother. The two grand prize winners were picked at random, as were 10 runners-up who received autographed CDs and the FTD Jewel Lullaby Bouquet.
It took only two weeks to move from conceiving to implementing this campaign - yet its impact could linger for years, partly because FTD sold out of the bouquets by Mother's Day. "So many of my fans have been parents and Country Music fans as they've grown up," Jewel mused. "And my music has evolved, just as my fans have. This has been a great way to keep them engaged while reaching people who might have known my name but not necessarily bought my albums before."
On the Web: www.jeweljk.com
2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.