by Robert van Alstyne
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Blogger-loved Brit band the xx cleverly parlayed its high online profile into an elegantly executed digital marketing campaign for sophomore album Coexist.
- Rather than go the traditional route and share a full stream of the album with the usual big media suspects like NPR, the xx gave the details of a secret URL featuring a full stream of the album to one individual in London on September 3, 2012. With the help of Microsoft, the band then tracked the discovery and sharing of the stream’s location among individuals around the globe over the following eight days leading up to Coexist‘s official release date.
- During the promotion, any consumers hipped to the site could watch access to it spread in real time via a beautifully illustrated map of the world. Users could also rewind the timeline to check out global distribution patterns as they unfolded.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- Millennial consumers in particular are entranced by Web-rooted aesthetic experiments and interactive marketing campaigns. The xx’s album leak hit the mark by transforming the typically mundane digital roll out of an album into an evolving participatory art project.
- Want to know how trends trickle down and spread out? Brands might start by experimenting with xx-style dissemination.
RESOURCES
