There are so many avenues you can go to promote and market yourself. This is especially true in the digital realm. In another post, we talked about Product and Artist Management. The key is developing your identity and getting that across to your fans/consumers.
There is a band that takes digital marketing to the next level, and it makes for an interesting result. The England native alternative band Gorillaz has almost eliminated the physical presence of humans by itself being a virtual band. Gorillaz has made itself known to the world with its four band members, Stu “2D” Pot, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, and Japanese guitarist, Noodle.
The band, which was created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, is tangibly made up of the music and various contributions from different musicians over the years. The main contributor has been Albarn, the voice of 2D in the band, and Hewlett, who is the illustrator. The outlandish cartoon band members have been perfect for digital marketing as it is easy to feature them almost anywhere in visual media, and the music speaks for itself.
In promoting their 3rd album, Plastic Beach, Gorillaz released several cartoon shorts as well as playing out the story in their music videos about Murdoc kidnapping 2D and taking him to this island called Plastic Beach, to record for this new album. The story continues to play out piquing fans’ interest in what is going on with the band members. The way Gorillaz tells their story has led to them gain fans and album sales.
Gorillaz has since put out iTunes exclusive music, iPad apps, had their songs featured in commercials (Icebreakers) and video games (Guitar Hero 5, Rock Band). The Gorillaz website features a game based around the Plastic Beach album called “Escape to Plastic Beach”, which was also the name of their first world tour. Gorillaz is also working with a new technology for their tour using holograms, giving them a realistic and life-like appearance while on stage. This technology was used at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards and also at the 2006 Grammy Awards, featuring Madonna.
Gorillaz has used digital marketing to their advantage by making themselves a virtual band. This is digital marketing at its finest. What will you use to brand yourself and put yourself out to the masses? In marketing there are four people: Creators, Innovators, Imitators, and Spectators. Creators use their own ideas to their advantage. Innovators take someone else's idea and build on it, or make it special in their own way. Imitators obviously take a proven formula someone else created and stick to it. Spectators take it all in, yet put nothing out.
Which “-ator” are you? Stay Tuned.
For more on Gorillaz, check out their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wiki, or their own website.
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