Marketing Innovations: Taylor Swift and Verizon Wireless
Robert L. Doerschuk
July 06, 2009
Most kids can't wait to get out of high school, but Taylor Swift seemed even more excited about going back.
Her visit lasted just one day in April, though for many who crowded into the Garwood Whaley Auditorium at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va., it would be a day to always remember.
For an hour, the 19-year-old phenomenon treated them to a private concert as their reward for winning a contest sponsored by Verizon Wireless. Specifically, by sending more than 19,000 text messages and online entries to a number set up for the competition, Bishop Ireton's 804 students bested the efforts of every other school in the United States.
This was just one of many synchronicities achieved in a partnership that goes back to when Verizon used the cover of Swift's first album in an ad campaign several years ago. From that humble start, their arrangement has blossomed in ways that manifest not just at Ireton but at every stop of her ongoing "Fearless Tour" - her first as a headliner.
Verizon is omnipresent at these shows. They provided her with a mobile studio bus as a writing and demo resource on the road, in exchange for Swift's agreement to create content, whether music or video, exclusively for download via their V Cast Music with Rhapsody service. They ran a text-to-win contest, by which subscribers who have purchased Swift music or ringtones via the Verizon store can receive free bar-coded mobile tickets to her show in their market. A "green-screen" setup at each show allowed fans to record themselves singing along with Swift and her band on "Love Story" and "Picture to Burn," which would be forwarded as MP3 files directly to the phones of Verizon users and to e-mail for everyone else.
The gains from this campaign have been significant for both sides. Swift, for example, benefits from fan pre-show Text2Screen and Pix2Screen messages, which trigger responses to buy her music directly from the sender's phone. "And Verizon's print advertising was substantial," noted Scott Borchetta, President and CEO, Big Machine Records and The Valory Music Co. "It put us into a lot of places where we would not necessarily be - The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times. There have been huge marketing benefits."
"It always starts with, 'How do we create the best win/win relationship?'" added Ed Ruth, Director, Digital Content and Programming, Verizon Wireless. "We're a music retailer, so when her music does well, we do well. For the artist, it's about connecting and interacting with fans in new and innovative ways."
And that includes, literally, going back to high school - while whipping up a messaging frenzy for the honor of hosting her next gig, with results updated every other day online to push the competition even more. "But even at the schools that didn't win, her fans got to engage in something they knew Taylor was paying attention to," Ruth added. "So it was a great opportunity for everybody. At the end of the day, Taylor wins, the fans win and everyone goes home happy."
On the Web: www.taylorswift.com
2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
Her visit lasted just one day in April, though for many who crowded into the Garwood Whaley Auditorium at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va., it would be a day to always remember.
For an hour, the 19-year-old phenomenon treated them to a private concert as their reward for winning a contest sponsored by Verizon Wireless. Specifically, by sending more than 19,000 text messages and online entries to a number set up for the competition, Bishop Ireton's 804 students bested the efforts of every other school in the United States.
This was just one of many synchronicities achieved in a partnership that goes back to when Verizon used the cover of Swift's first album in an ad campaign several years ago. From that humble start, their arrangement has blossomed in ways that manifest not just at Ireton but at every stop of her ongoing "Fearless Tour" - her first as a headliner.
Verizon is omnipresent at these shows. They provided her with a mobile studio bus as a writing and demo resource on the road, in exchange for Swift's agreement to create content, whether music or video, exclusively for download via their V Cast Music with Rhapsody service. They ran a text-to-win contest, by which subscribers who have purchased Swift music or ringtones via the Verizon store can receive free bar-coded mobile tickets to her show in their market. A "green-screen" setup at each show allowed fans to record themselves singing along with Swift and her band on "Love Story" and "Picture to Burn," which would be forwarded as MP3 files directly to the phones of Verizon users and to e-mail for everyone else.
The gains from this campaign have been significant for both sides. Swift, for example, benefits from fan pre-show Text2Screen and Pix2Screen messages, which trigger responses to buy her music directly from the sender's phone. "And Verizon's print advertising was substantial," noted Scott Borchetta, President and CEO, Big Machine Records and The Valory Music Co. "It put us into a lot of places where we would not necessarily be - The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times. There have been huge marketing benefits."
"It always starts with, 'How do we create the best win/win relationship?'" added Ed Ruth, Director, Digital Content and Programming, Verizon Wireless. "We're a music retailer, so when her music does well, we do well. For the artist, it's about connecting and interacting with fans in new and innovative ways."
And that includes, literally, going back to high school - while whipping up a messaging frenzy for the honor of hosting her next gig, with results updated every other day online to push the competition even more. "But even at the schools that didn't win, her fans got to engage in something they knew Taylor was paying attention to," Ruth added. "So it was a great opportunity for everybody. At the end of the day, Taylor wins, the fans win and everyone goes home happy."
On the Web: www.taylorswift.com
2009 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
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