What works–and what doesn’t–shifts quick in advertising and marketing. As customers turn out to be savvier and shift their priorities, tried and true strategies to succeed in and interact with customers might not work in addition to they used to. To remain forward, entrepreneurs can look to seemingly unlikely sources for inspiration. Enter Megan Thee Stallion.
The rap artist from Houston lately launched Unhealthy Bitches Have Unhealthy Days Too, a psychological well being useful resource hub. At first look, this marketing campaign doesn’t appear related to model entrepreneurs–until they’re a social media supervisor having a very dangerous day. Megan Thee Stallion is a musician, not a model. In a post-CD world, her essential purpose isn’t to promote a services or products. It doesn’t really feel instantly relevant to most advertising and marketing groups.
Regardless of the plain variations in enterprise fashions, Megan Thee Stallion’s psychological well being useful resource hub is a masterclass in model constructing. Most (71%) customers assume it’s necessary for manufacturers to talk out on delicate subjects. Much more (88%) customers say authenticity is necessary after they’re deciding what manufacturers to assist. And over half (56%) of customers wish to know the backstory and the “why” behind a model. Megan Thee Stallion hit all three of those client candy spots along with her psychological well being useful resource hub.
In a single internet web page, Megan Thee Stallion proved that she understands her viewers, needs to talk out on the problems that matter to them and has a private connection to the subject.
Who’s Megan Thee Stallion, anyway?
Megan Thee Stallion–also referred to as the HTown Hottie or Tina Snow–received her begin on social media. She gained an viewers along with her Instagram freestyle movies and launched her first single on-line in 2016. Since then, she hasn’t missed. All six of her albums have made it onto the Billboard 200. “Savage”, a single from her debut album “Good Information” impressed a viral dance development with over 15 million movies utilizing the sound. She nabbed the Grammy for Greatest New Artist in 2021. Even in the event you’re not accustomed to her music, you’re undoubtedly accustomed to her affect. She’s the one who created the phrase “scorching woman summer season”.
Her main profession may be music, however she hasn’t stopped there. She’s consistently utilizing her platform as a catalyst for change. In 2020, she carried out on SNL for the primary time and interrupted her personal track with a protest in regards to the dealing with of Breonna Taylor’s case. She adopted that up with a New York Occasions op-ed in regards to the significance of defending black ladies.
She demonstrates her model worth of talking out about points that have an effect on her and her viewers of primarily black ladies clearly and often. Her consistency and vulnerability set her up as the right consultant for her latest marketing campaign, the psychological well being useful resource hub.
So that you had a nasty day
Megan Thee Stallion’s psychological well being useful resource hub is a deceptively easy website. The only web page opens with instructions to scroll and a photograph of the album cowl for “Traumazine”. She has hyperlinks to her streaming platform profiles and an embed of the video for essentially the most related track, “Nervousness”. She follows up with hyperlinks to psychological well being platforms and disaster strains. The web page ends with two CTAs–one to discover a therapist and one other to enroll in textual content updates.
Exterior of the first purpose of connecting her viewers with psychological well being sources, the positioning additionally does a wonderful job speaking that this isn’t a one-and-done effort. It associates this marketing campaign along with her overarching model.
Steady assist
The ultimate CTA to get SMS updates in regards to the initiative is a regular strategy. However the enrollment message is the place the technique actually shines. As an alternative of coming from a regular 5 digit advertising and marketing quantity, the textual content comes from Megan Thee Stallion herself, full with a contact card and photograph. The messages aren’t personalised to the consumer, but it surely feels private. The message itself informs the consumer they’ll get updates sooner or later–and extra importantly, looks like she’s there to assist you on a person degree.
Bringing it into the model
Megan Thee Stallion’s current model is already primarily based on standing up for her viewers. This marketing campaign is solely an extension of that worth. However she brings in fixed reminders all through the web page that that is her effort and it’s one thing she’s enthusiastic about. She embeds a video to a related track, intersperses the positioning with lyrics from that track and hyperlinks her streaming platform profiles.
This might simply really feel like a advertising and marketing play–and it undoubtedly is–however due to the rapport she’s constructed along with her followers and her historical past of advocacy, these really feel like pure additions and value-adds to the positioning.
A nasty day can flip into good advertising and marketing
The reception for this initiative has been overwhelmingly constructive. We dove into Sprout’s Social Listening instrument to see what audiences had been saying in regards to the hub. As of October 11, 2022–lower than two weeks after the launch–there have been 139,600 Tweets about Megan Thee Stallion and psychological well being plus over 583,000 engagements with these Tweets. These Tweets got here from over 97,000 distinctive authors, so lots of people are speaking about it. What’s most astonishing is a 96% constructive sentiment across the subject.
when meg stated “ dangerous bitches have dangerous days too” it rlly made me really feel secure <3
— sofiaa (@sofiavictoriiia) September 1, 2022
What does this model activism instance imply for entrepreneurs?
As we’ve stated earlier than, Megan Thee Stallion isn’t a model within the typical sense. However any model can study from the sturdy model activism examples she showcases along with her technique.
Make it make sense
This marketing campaign was profitable due to Megan Thee Stallion’s historical past of activism and her direct motion. By pairing her track “Nervousness” with actionable sources to alleviate nervousness, she proved that she’s not simply going to speak about it. She’s going to assist repair it.
In case your model is implementing activism, it must be holistic. The difficulty you’re addressing ought to tie again to your model story and values in a tangible and recognizable approach. It’s not sufficient to put up just a few instances. Your activism must be core to who you might be as a model and it’s a must to be able to take motion.
Deal with neighborhood issues
Megan Thee Stallion’s main viewers is black ladies. Entry to psychological well being and the stigma round asking for assist are severe limitations for that neighborhood. By admitting to her personal points and offering data on find out how to tackle them, she proved that she is aware of and cares about her viewers’s wants.
As a model, you in all probability have purchaser personas. However do these personas additionally embody your perfect purchaser’s anxieties and issues exterior of your product? In case your model sells tenting gear, your viewers may be involved about local weather change. In case your product line is made with responsibly sourced parts, your viewers might be apprehensive about sustainability or labor rights. The trigger you are taking up shouldn’t simply relate to your model, it must also relate to your viewers’s wants.
Put a highlight on the specialists
When Megan Thee Stallion got down to tackle psychological well being gaps, she might have created her personal basis. She has the viewers, platform and sources to make it occur. However she didn’t. She acknowledged that there have been individuals and organizations which were doing this work for years and have a greater grasp on the problems than she does, and he or she shined a highlight on them. Even in her launch, she retweeted Remedy for Black Ladies’s preliminary put up to drive her followers to them.
We’re deeply grateful to be featured as a useful resource in @theestallion’s newly launched wellness hub, Unhealthy Bitches Have Unhealthy Days Too.
At TBG our mission is to heart the psychological well being wants of Black ladies and women in a approach that feels accessible and culturally related. pic.twitter.com/GSk21G5H0f— Remedy for Black Ladies (@therapy4bgirls) September 28, 2022
There’s a time to place your model first and there’s a time to depend on the specialists. Recognizing that distinction could make a huge impact on the efficacy of your campaigns. Whether or not which means partnering with a nonprofit on a social concern or working with a creator that intimately understands their viewers, deferring to the specialists can promote authenticity and provides a way of self-awareness.
Campaigns that join
Megan Thee Stallion has proved that authenticity, vulnerability and a whole model story can supercharge your marketing campaign. If you add in assist from the specialists, you’ll be unstoppable.
Need to attempt it out? Be taught extra about how partnering with area of interest creators may also help you faucet into new audiences with unprecedented relatability.
