International superstar Adele has recently come back into the spotlight in a big way. After a three-year hiatus, her new single “Hello” debuted at #1 on charts throughout the world and became the first song in the US to sell over one million downloads in one week, setting the record at 1.11 million. The first day the “Hello” video was online, it was viewed over 27.7 million times on YouTube in 24 hours.
But Adele isn’t exactly reveling in this fame. In fact, Adele has essentially sworn off traditional marketing and celebrity culture. She refuses to let her songs be used in advertisements, doesn’t perform in big festivals and rarely does TV interviews. She hasn’t used social media in years, even though other contemporary starlets have taken to posting their every move on Instagram (no offense to T-Swift, of course!)
Yet Adele is breaking records left and right with her new album 25. Let’s take a look at some of Adele’s unconventional marketing tactics. Even though you might not be able to sing like Adele, you can try to use her marketing style.
No Big Concerts
Adele doesn’t perform big arena shows (which is probably a good idea because no one wants to see an entire football stadium crying at once, unless the Colts just lost the Superbowl). Instead, she prefers intimate venues where she can be close to fans.
A business could take this advice: rather than trying to appeal to the masses and putting out a lesser product, try to win the affection of those who already love you. My mom often complains that a certain cell phone company that rhymes with Horizon only gives deals to new customers and ignores the complaints of their long-time users. “Horizon” is playing the stadium show, where the acoustics aren’t as good and the fans have a worse time. But maybe this company should try the Adele method and focus on making their fans having the best possible musical (or cellular) experience.
A Mysterious Hook
Adele announced her new album 25 via commercial … well, sort of. During the X-Factor, a 30-second commercial played featuring the beginning of “Hello.” The ad didn’t mention Adele or her new album, and her press team stayed silent for days before announcing details about the new record. Of course, by that time social media was already having a field day about the potential return of the reclusive singer.
A little bit of mystery spices up any marketing campaign. People were confused by the untraditional commercial, which just made them talk about it even more. Your marketing campaign should give viewers wanting more, so they think (and talk!) about your product for weeks to come.
Buzzworthy Stunts … and Commitment!
As part of her one-night concert special (a rare TV appearance for the singer) “Adele at the BCC,” Adele released a video of herself … well, sort of. It was a video of the singer in an Adele-costume, disguised an Adele impersonator for an impersonation contest. She hung out with other Adeles, until she took the stage. Once she started singing, it was obvious she was the real deal. This video has been circulating around the web since. It was such a bizarre stunt that everyone can’t stop talking about it.
Everyone dreams of going viral, but to get big shares sometimes you’ve got to be willing to commit to a big stunt. Just look at some of the things we’ve done at Media Shower. It’s not just about having a buzzworthy idea, but also about being able to execute it. Adele could have just done a typical talk show interview or magazine photo shoot to market the album, but instead she donned a fake nose and chin. If you want to pull off a big idea, you’ve got to be ready to wear some prosthetics and hang out with other fake Adeles … metaphorically, at least.
So, maybe Adele thinks she’s above marketing and in a way, she is; she’s certainly above traditional marketing at least! It’s time to add “Marketing SuperGenius” to her already hyphenated singer-songwriter-guitarist-bassist-piano player-superstar title.
So, we may all be sitting at home listening to “Hello” trying not to cry (and probably failing), but once you’ve dried our eyes, you can try to Adele-ify your own business plans and say “Hello” to new customers.
By the way, (sing this in your best Adele “Someone Like You” voice), we’re looking for clients like yoooooouuuu. Try out our free trial today.