Megan Thee Marketer: Classes from the HTown Hottie

What works–and what doesn’t–shifts quick in advertising. As shoppers develop into savvier and shift their priorities, tried and true strategies to achieve and have interaction with shoppers could 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 just lately launched Dangerous Bitches Have Dangerous 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 unhealthy day. Megan Thee Stallion is a musician, not a model. In a post-CD world, her essential aim isn’t to promote a services or products. It doesn’t really feel instantly relevant to most advertising groups.

Regardless of the apparent variations in enterprise fashions, Megan Thee Stallion’s psychological well being useful resource hub is a masterclass in model constructing. Most (71%) shoppers assume it’s necessary for manufacturers to talk out on delicate subjects. Much more (88%) shoppers say authenticity is necessary after they’re deciding what manufacturers to assist. And over half (56%) of shoppers wish to know the backstory and the “why” behind a model. Megan Thee Stallion hit all three of those shopper candy spots together with her psychological well being useful resource hub.

In a single net web page, Megan Thee Stallion proved that she understands her viewers, desires 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 called the HTown Hottie or Tina Snow–bought her begin on social media. She gained an viewers together 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 News” impressed a viral dance pattern with over 15 million movies utilizing the sound. She nabbed the Grammy for Finest New Artist in 2021. Even if you happen to’re not accustomed to her music, you’re positively accustomed to her affect. She’s the one who created the phrase “hot girl summer”.

Her major profession could be music, however she hasn’t stopped there. She’s continually 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 concerning the dealing with of Breonna Taylor’s case. She adopted that up with a New York Occasions op-ed concerning 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 continuously. 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 foul day

Megan Thee Stallion’s psychological well being useful resource hub is a deceptively easy web site. 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 probably the most related track, “Anxiety”. 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 join textual content updates.

Exterior of the first aim 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 together with her overarching model.

Steady assist

The ultimate CTA to get SMS updates concerning 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 quantity, the textual content comes from Megan Thee Stallion herself, full with a contact card and picture. The messages aren’t personalised to the consumer, however it feels private. The message itself informs the consumer they’ll get updates sooner or later–and extra importantly, appears like she’s there to assist you on a person stage.

Bringing it into the model

Megan Thee Stallion’s current model is already based mostly 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 captivated with. 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 play–and it positively is–however due to the rapport she’s constructed together with her followers and her historical past of advocacy, these really feel like pure additions and value-adds to the positioning.

A foul day can flip into good advertising

The reception for this initiative has been overwhelmingly optimistic. We dove into Sprout’s Social Listening device to see what audiences had been saying concerning 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% optimistic sentiment across the matter.

What does this model activism instance imply for entrepreneurs?

As we’ve mentioned 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 together 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 “Anxiety” with actionable sources to alleviate anxiousness, 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 needs to be holistic. The problem you’re addressing ought to tie again to your model story and values in a tangible and recognizable manner. It’s not sufficient to submit a number of occasions. Your activism must be core to who you’re as a model and it’s a must to be able to take motion.

Handle group considerations

Megan Thee Stallion’s major viewers is black ladies. Entry to psychological well being and the stigma round asking for assist are severe obstacles for that group. By admitting to her personal points and offering data on learn how to tackle them, she proved that she is aware of and cares about her viewers’s wants.

As a model, you most likely have purchaser personas. However do these personas additionally embody your ultimate purchaser’s anxieties and considerations exterior of your product? In case your model sells tenting gear, your viewers could be involved about local weather change. In case your product line is made with responsibly sourced parts, your viewers might be anxious about sustainability or labor rights. The trigger you are taking up shouldn’t simply relate to your model, it also needs to 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 folks and organizations which have been doing this work for years and have a greater grasp on the problems than she does, and she or he shined a highlight on them. Even in her launch, she retweeted Remedy for Black Ladies’s preliminary submit to drive her followers to them.

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 big effect on the efficacy of your campaigns. Whether or not meaning partnering with a nonprofit on a social difficulty 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 an entire model story can supercharge your marketing campaign. While you add in assist from the specialists, you’ll be unstoppable.

Wish to attempt it out? Study extra about how partnering with area of interest creators may help you faucet into new audiences with unprecedented relatability.