Having a great product isn’t enough. Find out how this artist leveled up his brand!
Let’s start the week with our “Marketing Marvels” where we talk about outstanding people in the fields of business, marketing, and for today, music. Every Monday, we highlight these people’s experiences, contributions, and insights in their respective fields. Today, we’ll talk about a musical duo that became known for their instant hits. Keep reading to know more about these “Marvels” and what they can teach us about marketing.
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Having a great product isn’t enough. Find out how this artist leveled up his brand! Silk Sonic: A Musical Duo Did you know that during the 64th annual Grammy Awards (GRAMMYs) in 2022, there was this musical duo that took home 4 trophies out of 86 award categories? Record of the year… Song of the year… Best R&B performance… Best R&B song… Winning these awards wasn't an easy feat for the duo, since they went up against many nominees. Despite that, they were able to overcome challenges in the nominations! Any ideas on who we’re referring to? Silk Sonic!
Silk Sonic is a musical collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. The partnership was formed in 2020, when everything was put on hold and everyone was forced to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The duo decided to work together and form Silk Sonic because they wanted to keep themselves occupied. In case you don’t know yet, the artists behind Silk Sonic came from diverse musical backgrounds… Mars, known for chart-toppers like “Uptown Funk,” “That’s What I Like,” and “24k Magic,” has been identified with pop, R&B (rhythm and blues), soul, and funk genres. Due to the commercial success of his music, he is one of the most famous artists in the music industry. Meanwhile, .Paak is a rapper/singer whose songs like “Come Down,” “Come Home,” and “Bubblin” fall under hip-hop, soul, and R&B genres. Even though he’s won a few Grammys because of his musical talents, .Paak wasn’t as famous prior to his stint as the other half of Silk Sonic. Despite the differences in their popularity, Mars and .Paak’s shared background in various musical genres enabled them to collaborate as equals. The duo’s chemistry was on full display when their first single, “Leave the Door Open,” was released in 2021. The song was a massive hit, becoming the number 1 song on Billboard’s Hot 100 music chart for 2 consecutive weeks.
Following the success of their first single, Silk Sonic rode on their popularity and used it to generate hype for their first studio album. Teased in March 2021, the album, “An Evening with Silk Sonic,” was released in November of the same year.
Critics and fans alike praised the 70s-inspired album. According to Wongo Okon of entertainment website Uproxx, the album is “fun, charismatic, and ambitious in all the best ways.” The album was certified platinum, meaning it has sold over 1 million units. Moreover, it reached a billion streams on Spotify at the end of 2021. Due to the critical and commercial success of their first album, Silk Sonic became one of the most exciting artists to listen to in 2021… and because of the quality of their music, the duo bagged multiple awards in the 2022 GRAMMYs. – While attaining popularity wasn’t .Paak’s reason for collaborating with Mars, there’s no denying it was a genius move from a marketing perspective. Partnering with an industry icon like Mars allowed .Paak to elevate his brand to the next level. The main lesson you can get from this musical duo? In a highly-competitive industry, having great products or services isn't the only thing you need to attract customers. There has to be a high brand awareness as well. After all, how can you sell a good product or service if no one’s aware of its existence? By increasing brand exposure through collaboration, you can tap into previously unreachable audiences and market your products or services to more people. … and the higher your brand’s engagement rates are, the higher your chances of generating more profits. However, keep in mind that while partnering with other brands is beneficial, there are a few considerations to take note of:
Finding the right business to collaborate with can be tricky especially when there are lots of brands out there. So, keep these tips in mind when creating plans for collaborations. Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Monday’s Marketing Marvels! In a past “Marketing Marvels” article, we talked about a hit TV series in 2007: Mad Men. Learn more about business and management lessons you can learn from the main protagonist of another American TV sitcom on next week’s Marketing Marvels! |
