Justin Timberlake is a very smart and very savvy entertainer, entrepreneur, and social media phenomenon. Just check out his Web site.
Nonetheless, the recent Timberlake story in Forbes by Steve Olenski (“What Justin Timberlake Can Teach B2B Marketers”) only adds to the Timberlake mystique.
Here are excerpts from Olinski’s interview with Anthony Kennada, the head of marketing at Gainsight, a customer success management platform provider:
“Olenski: How would you say Justin set new rules for B2B marketing?”
“Kennada: Justin and his team have executed a new marketing playbook that has changed the way brands are developed and products are released in the connected and digital age. (1) Progressive leaking of new content. (2) Leveraging partners for launch programs. (3) Taking the message on the road early.”
“Olenski: What did he do specifically that B2B marketers can learn from and apply?”
“Kennada: There’s a lesson here for B2B marketers who are looking to launch new products or services in a big way. (1) Drive feature ‘micro-launches’ prior to full product announcement. (2) Make partner marketing core to each launch. (3) Think beyond Silicon Valley.”
Click the image to read more about the points raised in the Forbes interview.
Photo from Wikipedia
This post made me think of a commercial I recently saw for Justin’s new album and not only was it a very effective commercial, when I went online to Target’s YouTube, there was a behind the scenes video that was even better. It had so many hits already and all I could think of was how smart Justin was for taking on this great commercial. He promotes his album so well in the commercial, while keeping it enjoyable to the audience and target also gets a good name out of it. I’m an average fan of Justin Timberlake. I’m not a crazy fan, but I have noticed that he is very smart when it comes to promoting his stuff!
It’s weird because sometimes with artists I think that we believe they aren’t smart or lack the knowledge necessary to market successfully. JT is just the perfect example of how to be king of the world and be successful at it. Even since the time that he was a member of Nsync commercials were filled with him and ever since he has built this brand where he is absolutely gigantic. Whether he wants to be in a movie, do comedy, perform on SNL, or just go back and make music he succeeds. It’s ingenious his strategy of progressively leaking new content. It helps build this buzz over the new music and new stuff and ultimately is just a successful strategy for anything that he does. the man has marketing skills
I have always been a huge fan of Justin Timberlake, ever since he was a member of NSYNC. Clearly him and his team do a great job marketing since he is still around making great music. He markets himself to to a large audience because and he is still around so well known by people of all ages. Justin is always appearing on commercials, GMA, late night TV shows, SNL skits, etc if he is promoting an album or just simply just getting his name out there. I thought it was so clever of them to release new single every month, weeks prior to his album release. He used his large and ever growing social media following to his advantage, distributing music content to his masses of fans. Timberlake has mastered getting his fans pumped up and anxiously waiting his new music. He builds up the suspense by slowly releasing tracks and then soon later the final product. Him and his team are smart; people get so excited by hearing just a few songs and they immediately want to go out and purchase the entire album when it is released at a later date.
Justin Timberlake has had one of the most successful years of any other celebrity thanks to his genius self-marketing and innovative style. With the release of his new album this year, he would tease fans through his social media accounts by releasing little clips of his new single or tweet out the titles to his new songs one by one. He really does an excellent job of engaging his fans, which is something many companies can work on. Timberlake also posted a picture to Instagram of a location at a nightclub in New Jersey to meet for a surprise performance. He only let in 150 fans, and it ended up being a shoot for a Target commercial to promote his album. Also on his tour, Timberlake would post a collage of pictures describing a location in the city he was where he left an autographed pair of shoes he wore while performing. The first fans to find them got to keep them! I love how he wants the fans’ involvement and support. Timberlake is a master at reinventing himself and becoming a master of all entertainment trades.
When you think of Justin Timberlake normally peoples first thought isn’t wow, he is great at marketing and promoting himself. Well maybe we should think about it because he in fact is good at doing so. When it comes to marketing he makes sure he is thinking two steps ahead of everyone he allows leaks of his albums and such in a strategic manner. He knows it will catch peoples attention and excite them for more to come. B2B should make sure they stay thinking ahead to appeal to their consumers.
Justin Timberlake is one of the hottest artists today. Not having him market a product would just be a mistake. He adds a positive attitude to the company such as the Target commercials he did. He not only promoted Target but also his own album. He thinks about the benefits of what he helps market and does so in a creative way.