By, Wendy Day from Rap Coalition (www.WendyDay.com) 1/07
Dictionary.com defines marketing as the “activities of a company associated with buying and selling a product or service. It includes advertising, selling and delivering products to people. People who work in marketing departments of companies try to get the attention of target audiences by using slogans, packaging design, celebrity endorsements and general media exposure. The four ‘Ps’ of marketing are product, placement, price and promotion.”
Many people believe that marketing is just about advertising or sales. However, marketing is everything a company does to acquire customers and maintain a relationship with them. Even the small tasks like writing thank-you letters, playing golf with a prospective client, returning calls promptly and meeting with a past client for coffee can be thought of as marketing. The ultimate goal of marketing is to match a company’s products and services to the people who need and want them, thereby ensuring profitability for the company.
In the music business, labels figure out who will buy their CDs (target market) and the best way to reach that market. With the increase of downloading and P2P music swapping, figuring out who will actually buy CDs grows harder everyday. Once a label figures out who will buy the CDs, they then focus on the areas where those people live. Independent labels focus on small regional areas and target them a few at a time, while larger major labels focus on key markets nationally and blitz them simultaneously. This is why first week sales are so important to major labels—it gives them a gauge of how much more effort to make for a project. For example, if Young Jeezy comes out and sells 352,000 CDs in his first week, it tells Def Jam that there is demand for his project. If a major label releases another artist and the project only sells 30,000 CDs, this tells the label that demand for that project is not very high. The label, being interested in focusing attention where the bulk of profits are, would shift their focus from a project that only sold 30,000 CDs to one that had the ability to sell more, often bringing that less successful project to a grinding halt. An indie label, on the other hand, would see sales of 30,000 CDs as a success because they spent less money and have lower overhead, so they’d continue working that project as long as the sales kept rolling in.
Once a label focuses on the areas where the potential target market are, they then figure out the best way to reach that market so they can get their advertising, publicity, street team, and promotional efforts directly in front of those potential consumers. For example, a label would market and promote an Eminem CD much differently than they would a Young Jeezy CD, because it is a different core audience. Sometimes labels look at similar projects and what they’ve done in the past to market a newer project. For example, a fan of Mos Def or Common, would also be a potential fan of Talib Kweli, so a label may pull up the sales track record for Mos Def and Common when plotting the areas to attack for a Talib project. Labels often look at similar projects to see what they’ve done and where their success has been.
Once a label has found whom to reach and where to reach them, they then figure out “how.” The most essential part of marketing is figuring out how to best reach the consumer. If a Young Jeezy fan isn’t sitting at home watching PBS’ The Lehrer Report, then advertising a Jeezy release during that news show would be a waste of marketing dollars. But if a Jeezy fan is watching Rap City on BET, then it makes perfect sense to spend money on commercials during Rap City, three weeks prior to the CD’s release, and a few weeks after (if the budget for that exists).
All this to say, that marketing is the ability to reach the key audience in a way they will understand and relate to, and in an environment that will catch their attention. The problem with advertising during Rap City on BET is that every other rap record label with similar music is trying to reach those same viewers, all at the same time. When a viewer is bombarded by the same shit day in and day out, they begin to tune out, reducing the effectiveness of that advertising. This doesn’t mean that a label can skip BET ads during Rap City, because sometimes the absence of something creates a negative association (for example, if Jeezy ads weren’t seen on BET prior to his release, a fan may wonder if he’s fallen off or if the label isn’t behind the project very soundly, leading to the wrong assumption that the project may not be good).
Label employees spend weeks and months developing plans to reach the consumer in new and exciting ways that cause the artist to stand out. Nelly’s team rented huge road signs that lit up with his message “Sweat AND Suit in stores now” when his CDs dropped last year. This was effective because most people were used to seeing those signs flashing with messages such as “Road Work Ahead,” or “Reduce Speed; Construction Ahead,” so a message about Nelly was eye catching because it was out of the norm. This was also effective because the signs were placed at the entry ways to large events that attracted the rap fan target market (like Spring Bling in FL). David Banner’s team chose to give away three scholarships inside of his CDs, so 3 lucky fans would buy a CD that allowed them to collect $10,000 towards going to college. This was done at a time when other artists were giving away rims, chains, and other material possessions, so the scholarships not only stood out, but it got the press talking about how it stood out (free publicity). I could also mention the good karma involved in giving out scholarships, but this isn’t that kind of article.
Independent labels, because their financial resources are smaller, have to target smaller areas (perhaps 5 cities or 3 states in a region to begin with) and spread their messages a bit slower than a major. Since independent labels don’t care about first week sales (they only care about how many CDs have sold in total before they put out the next release), they can work a project region by region over a period of, say, 9 months to a year and a half—time doesn’t matter because the project is seen as new in each new territory they move into. Independent labels also have to make certain their marketing dollars are well spent because there are less of them to spend than a major label spends. Since indie labels are smaller and closer to the streets, they often make better decisions on where to spend their dollars. Major labels are so large, and have so much bureaucracy involved in the decision-making process, that if they start to go in a certain direction, and it isn’t working, they have difficulty stopping and re-focusing. An indie label can stop on a dime if a certain plan isn’t working, and change their focus within a few days time.
By working a region at a time, a smart indie label has to remember that national magazine ads and national commercial spots on BET aren’t as helpful to them. They can focus on regional magazines and regional or local ad buys on BET. This allows them to expand their ad messages slowly region by region. This way, if a project like Lil Keke is selling well in Texas, by the time the label expands to Atlanta, it’s not seen as an old project because the ads have been running for months. The ads can also be targeted towards the market they are reaching. Once Lil Keke solidifies his fan base (as he did years ago), it becomes time to expand his project nationally. By the time the new Keke project drops in 2007 through Swisha House, everyone across the US knows who he is and is aware of him from his regional independent projects over the past ten years. This also is more financially feasible for the artist because it allowed him to collect independent money over the years before coming through a major label and taking that kind of pay cut. What is does allow the artist to do, is to expand his career into larger arenas, such as: touring (on a major tour), TV and film, endorsement deals, etc. As his image expands, so too, will his bank account.
Image is everything in urban music, especially rap. If an artist is not seen as legitimate and authentic, he or she doesn’t have a chance at success. This is why so many outsiders who come into the music business fail. They don’t understand that sales come from fans who find the artists believable and real. This is why basketball players who become rappers don’t succeed, and why the American Idol type rap stars never become real stars. A key part of marketing is spreading the word of the rapper, but also within the confines of his or her image. Keeping a consistent message surrounding that image is key. Marketing Jeezy the way someone more commercial is marketed would never work because it would dilute his strong street image. Marketing an artist like Nelly the way Jeezy is marketed would never work because Nelly isn’t seen as a hard street figure—he’s more commercial. Remaining true to the artists’ character while expanding the reach of the message is key!
People ask me all the time why some labels have more success than others (it’s not rocket science to see that Def Jam and Interscope are better labels for rap music than some others), and my opinion is that they understand the marketing of rappers better. In some cases certain labels spend more money to achieve success, but spending in the right places is really where the value is in marketing any product, especially something as intangible as an artist. Sadly, a label can move onto the next project if they drop the ball (as they often do). An artist only has one career. The stakes are very high!!
