Written By: Jim MarkunasI'm not a fan of Michael Jackson... for several reasons (sorry). However... I LOVE Mr. Jackson's sales record for "Thriller." This landmark release sold 40 million copies worldwide, and is hailed as the best-selling album of all time.
I assume the album after "Thriller" didn't do as well because I'm not sure what the follow-up album was called. In my humble opinion, this phenomenon highlights the importance of analytics and direct marketing. I say this because the decade surrounding "Thriller" was a hot time period for Michael Jackson musically. I'm pretty sure the follow-up album for "Thriller" was just as good musically as its predecessor.
Now... Imagine if we had had the internet back in those days. What if Sony had utilized a collected database of Michael Jackson's 40 million fans to promote the next record?
Labels have the tendency to over-emphasize mass marketing when direct marketing could be our ticket out of our industry-wide slump. I'll tell you why:
1. Highly-Targeted Demographic Information is Worth a lot of $$$!
There are firms out there that will pay top dollar for the right detailed demographic information everyone from Proctor & Gamble to Live Nation.
That's a bold new revenue stream right there.
2. Direct Marketing Puts Fish in Barrel For Us To Shoot.
Why isn't Live Nation hurting for cash in these tough economic times? They're not suffering because they pay close attention to their analytics and demographic information. They control the world's largest database of music fans and they know how to use it.
Live Nation can tell who should receive direct marketing based on demographic information, plus they can tell how receptive people are to their direct marketing efforts based on back-end analytics. We could all learn a thing or two from Live Nation in this regard.
3. Spend Less Money, Get More Results.
"Where's my budget?!?!?!" Good question! Budgets are shrinking nowadays, as we all know too well. That means that we no longer have the luxury of spending a million dollars on an ad campaign for an artist. That's perfectly fine with me, as mass marketing is not easy to measure.
I say this with 90% certainty, as my college text-book in Advertising 101, said "Market research on a mass level is ineffective, and the numbers shouldn't be relied upon as gospel. Market research on a mass level should only be conducted to help sway your clients to your advertising plan."
That's a bold statement for a text book!!!! Furthermore, it proves the importance of direct marketing, which can easily be measured, targeted and custom-tailored.
Think about it, direct marketing is approximately 1/8 the price of mass marketing, and yields measurable results, as it makes the consumer feel less anonymous in an ad-cluttered world.
As an industry, I highly recommend that we pay attention and show respect for our digital analytics and demographics.
OBLIGATORY PLUG: I talk about this extensively in my New Media plan. E-mail me to set up an interview.
0 Response to "3 Reasons Why Analytics Are Important For The Music Biz"