Marketing campaign for an artist or band
Analyse and discuss a marketing campaign for an artist or band. Discuss the images that are used. What do they suggest about the artist, how effective do you believe them to be?
Analyse and discuss a marketing campaign for an artist or band. Discuss the images that are used. What do they suggest about the artist, how effective do you believe them to be?
Curtis Jackson, otherwise known as 50 Cent has become an overnight sensation. He is now the undisputed heavyweight champion of gangster rap, a version of hip-hop that glorifies guns, violence and confrontation. His latest CD, “get rich or die trying” has sold more than 5 million copies.
However, there are many explanations of 50’s extraordinary success. Firstly, people have become frustrated with the lack of new hip-hop artists and want to hear a new voice. ‘Artists such as Jay-z, Ja rule and Busta Rhymes have been in the charts for a while’ says Elizabeth Mendez Berry, a music editor of Vibe magazine. Another possible answer to 50’s success is his relationship with Eminem, an artist who has had a huge impact on the hip-hop culture. Eminem and 50 are both associated with Dr, Dre, who is one of the most significant producers in the hip-hop industry.
50 Cent’s association with Eminem and Dr, Dre has earned him a lot of respect. In addition, to benefiting from the publicity, reputation and an increase in record sales, he has been able to attract a huge audience of Eminem fans almost instantly.
The biggest reason for 50’s emergence has been a successful guerrilla campaign. Berry has commented that “the suburbs follow the streets 100%. Look at the history of hip-hop marketing; it’s always about how the ghetto communities react to the music-50 cent is a gangster rapper who’s become a pop phenomenon”
50 Cent’s most powerful marketing tool is his rap culture experiences. As a product of urban America he is able to sell himself on his own insight into the life that hip-hop recognises and validates. He was raised without a Father and his mother who was mysteriously killed, was a drug dealer. Taken in at the age of 12, he went into the streets to sell crack.
On the morning of May 24, 2000, he was seriously wounded in a shooting outside his grandmother’s house in Queens. He was treated for 9-millimeter gunshot wounds after being hit nine times. This created successful publicity within the hip-hop community and has been an angle from which he has been able to market himself on, extensively. He has become a symbol of survival in a rap culture and has emerged as an indestructible individual as well as artist.
The incident marked a turning point in more ways than one. He was dropped from his label, Columbia records and began marketing his music on his own and other DJ’s mix tapes. His own marketing led to a street buzz over his music and he created himself an underground image. 50 then began to gain an interest amongst the mainstream consumers.
50 signed with Eminem’s Shady record label, which is aligned with Universal Music Group’s Interscope label. 50 gained an enormous amount of attention when his single ‘Wanksta’ appeared on the soundtrack of ‘8 mile’. Again, his connections with other famous artists brought him recognition and credibility. The single was reported to be aimed at Ja Rule, keeping alive their continual grumble, which is another aspect that has gained a lot of publicity.
After ‘Wanksta’, ‘In Da Club’ was 50’s big single and it came with a big video. When looking at the cover of the album ‘get rich or die trying’ it is clear to see that 50 is marketing himself in a particular way, that appeals to a young audience both white and black. This audience is particularly impressed by the violent world connected with hip-hop, a aspect 50 usually draws on. He is pictured with a naked torso, baring his muscles. This suggests 50 wants to be viewed as man of strength and power. His stare looks straight in the eye of fear which comes in the form of glass shattered by the impact of a bullet, hurtling its way towards his heart. This gives the impression he is a man who fears nothing, an indestructible symbol of the hip-hop industry. The red background has connotations of danger and threat. The parental guidance sign plays on the fact that his music is controversial. Altogether his image suggests he is a man of force and strength. I believe this image would be influential towards the audience 50 Cent aims his music at as he is portrayed as a survivor, who rules supreme over death.
The video was also a hit as it featured a host of hip-hop heavyweights, including Eminem, Dr. Dre and Xzibit, which proved to be a success. 50 Cent’s second video“21 questions” was set in a prison which again enhances 50’s image of violence, strength and power.
Recently, 50 Cent signed a long term deal with Reebok to distribute the artist’s collection of athletic footwear, the ‘G-unit Collection’. “Reebok’s Collection is the real thing when it comes to connecting street hip-hop culture, 50 Cent said.
50 Cent is expected to continue being a worldwide success and it’s through successful marketing, important connections and being a respected member of the “streets” he is able to do so.