Yes, his achievements are incredible. However, the musical career of Taylor Swift It was not without problems and challenges. Reaching this height not only requires talent, dedication and commitment, but also a long-term strategic vision. Without a doubt, Taylor Swift revolutionized the music industry, but she also redefined the way of marketing, creating her own image.
For those of us who work in content generation and brand positioning, its story shows us the importance of a intelligent emotional marketing managementforming a strong community through coherent actions, empathy and a bond with your audience.
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How did she overcome difficulties to become the world’s leading artist? To find the answer, you only need to listen to the phrases of their songs.
1- Reinvent yourself to surprise
“I was never a natural, all I do is try, try, try”, Mirrorball.
In several of her songs, the singer expresses that in reality, fame and charisma were not something she was born with, but qualities that he cultivated with dedication, working as hard as possible to reach his audience. With each album, from Fearless until 1989, he showed his ability to reconvert and adapt to trends. However, the artist’s definitive relaunch came in 2017, with Reputation.
There was a public scandal that marked the drastic before and after in Taylor Swift’s style: the confrontation with Kanye Westwhich began in 2009, when the rapper disparaged her on stage during the awards MTV Music Video Awards. Years later, she mentioned Swift in the song Famous, with sexual and offensive sayings. Backed by his wife at the time, kim kardashiana smear campaign went viral on social networks under the hashtag #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty and Snake Day (Day of the Snake), calling it treacherous.
After a year away from the spotlight, without appearing in public, having deleted all the publications from his social networks, one of the rebranding most impressive in the world of music: Swift published a video of a snake crawling and announced the album Reputation, one of the most successful. Not only He used the criticism to his advantage, but he came back from the defamation stronger than before.
2- The power of honest and empathetic stories
“And when you can’t sleep at night, you listen to my stolen lullabies”, My tears ricochet.
The problems did not end there. In 2019, West’s manager Scooter Braun purchased Big Machine Records, Taylor Swift’s label. Although she immediately changed labels, it seemed like a dead end. He lost the rights to all of her records. However, he would find the solution in the trust of your public.
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The artist embarked on the (apparently foolish) mission of re-recording album by album. Far from accepting her loss, she focused on her most important asset: her followers. She returned to produce the albums, adding unreleased songs. Sincere and direct communication earned him absolute support: Taylor’s versions (Taylor’s version) by Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and 1989 greatly outsold the first copies. They were a success.
Other creations by the artist also show the power of telling stories. Folklore and Evermore, which she recorded during the time of the pandemic, when she could not give recitals due to isolation, helped her share a closer connection to your community. Although they are fictional stories, the power of some lyrics that tell stories, such as Betty, August either Cardiganencouraged their fans to find connections between the characters, creating their own narrative.
3- Create shared experiences and a strong community
“Make friendship bracelets, live in the moment and enjoy it”, You’re On Your Own, Kid.
Argentina was impacted by the global phenomenon of Taylor Swift in November 2023. The tickets of the Eras Tour They sold out in minutes, thousands of hopeful fans lined up under the torrential rain, parents accompanied the pilgrimage for hours, the outfits were combined according to the colors of each album and millions of friendship bracelets exhausted the letter supplies for jewelry in the country. Even the weather was measured based on the recitals: Dry swifties or wet swifties?
The artist had never postponed a show by her own decision. However, a big storm forced the second recital at the Monumental stadium to be rescheduled for two days later: “I love concerts in the rain, but I will never put my fans or my team in danger.”Taylor wrote.
With hotel occupancy in the city at its limit, Only its power to generate community prevented chaos: the swifties put a containment network into action for those who had traveled from other cities or even from other countries, offering accommodation or exchanging tickets so that everyone can fulfill the dream of seeing it live.
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irishsuarez
The result? 195,000 swifties enjoyed the three-hour show in Buenos Aires65 thousand tickets were sold per date. It raised close to 7 million dollars per concert in our country, in addition to considerable income in the gastronomic and hotel sector. Eras Tour is the first tour in history to surpass the 1 billion dollars collection worldwide, according to Statista data.
emotional marketing
The phenomenon generated by Taylor Swift continues to break the mold. Her latest release, The Tortured Poets Department, an album with 31 unexpected songs, it was the first in Spotify history to have more than 300 million views in a single day. The secret of their success is not only in talent and effort, but in deeply knowing their audience and communicating with them in a unique way.even in code…
Within the swiftie community, fans scan their new songs for easter eggs (Easter eggs) that they hide surprises or advances. It can be joining letters, numbers, or symbols on the discs. Another action of the artist to have a more intimate relationship with her followers is the Secret Sessions(secret sessions), personal meetings at Swift’s house, where some of her most enthusiastic fans on the networks are summoned by her to listen to upcoming releases while she cooks dinner for them.
However, the most relevant connection with your audience is the authenticity and feeling that it transmits through its product: music. Within these stories, his followers find real emotions with which they feel identified, generating a powerful bond. In marketing, this ability to question the audience It is priceless, and Taylor Swift is proof of the reach she has when strategically positioning a brand.
Co-founder of WE LOVE MEDIA.
