Three PR/Marketing Campaigns that Inspired me in late 2021
By Alyssa Ross, Media and Communications Specialist
The more time that I spend working in public relations, the more I come to appreciate outstanding communication and marketing campaigns. Over the last few weeks, I have been blown away by the ways that individuals and companies are able to make a clear and lasting impression on their audiences. In many of these cases, companies have utilized the anticipation of something that comes around once a year, or simply events, that are considered rarities to prompt audiences to mark their calendars and prepare for something monumental. Here are three specific examples of successful marketing efforts that caught my attention in 2021, reminding me of just how important storytelling is within PR.
3. Vanity Fair’s “Same Interview, The Fifth Year” Video Featuring Billie Eilish
Typically, I would never sit down and watch a 20+ minute YouTube video. I also would definitely not take the time to view the highlights of four additional videos that are considered the predecessors to this one interview; however, I’ve found myself making this exception when it comes to Vanity Fair. In October 2017, Vanity Fair conducted a lifestyle interview with singer/songwriter Billie Eilish, who at the time was 15 years old. On its own, this interview would not be considered particularly special; however, each year since then, Vanity Fair has conducted the same interview with Billie. These videos are crafted to tell her story by building off of the last, highlighting her previous responses to each prompt as well as her current answers. The 2021 video, is the fifth installment in the series and features Billie at 19 years old.
This is a genius way to pull in viewers, especially those that are fans of Billie Eilish. Vanity Fair was smart to select someone so young to feature within this series as the audience is able to watch the subject learn, grow and develop their career over a wide span of time. It also opens the door for numerous more successful videos that build off of this one specific concept 𑁋 such as a 15th year interview in 2031. In fact, her fifth-year interview has already garnered 14 million views in the week that it has been available on YouTube.
2. Spotify’s End of Year Wrapped Lists
First, I have to confess that I don’t really use Spotify. I’m more of an Apple music kind of girl, but I would be lying if I said that I do not look forward to the end of the year specifically because of Spotify’s end of year statistics. You might be wondering why this is exciting to me, especially since I don’t really use the app. The beauty of social media is that even if I am not an avid user of this music platform, I will typically see dozens of other users’ Wrapped lists without a ton of effort on my end. Each year, it is common for users to share their Spotify data to multiple social media platforms. In this case, I can come across dozens of songs and usually a few unique artists simply by clicking through the stories published by people I follow on Instagram.
Why is this a great marketing strategy? The sheer repetition of this every year has made it a fan favorite, and by users sharing this information across social media, they are providing third-party validation to both the artists and the Spotify platform. As every Spotify user receives personalized data on their most listened to songs, artists, genres and podcasts, it is easy to see why we enjoy these wrap-ups every year.
1. Red (Taylor’s Version)
Taylor Swift teased the re-recordings of her album “Red” back in June 2021, and every few weeks leading up to the launch on November 12, she revealed a new layer to this album. From the upcoming release of songs that did not make the cut on the original “Red” album to her much anticipated 10-minute-long version of her song “All Too Well,” there was something for every fan to get excited about. As she had originally debuted this album back in October of 2012, the newly released music had a touch of nostalgia that was shown through the songs, artwork, images, merchandise, etc. Additionally, she launched a 10-minute-long short film and a new music video to go along with the album.
Her use of TikTok and Instagram to tease this album was outstanding as these efforts alone generated millions upon millions of views. For a few of her songs, the short film and the new music video, she recruited numerous artists and actors to be a part of telling this story, attracting different audiences from each of their fan bases as well. This tactic is amazing because Red is only her second album that she has relaunched. Taylor has four additional albums that will be re-released over the next several years, and marketing strategies behind each of these upcoming releases are bound to top what she has done with each of her albums in the past.