jick
Refugee
For Achtung it was the stolen tapes.
Nothing for Zooropa.
For POP it was the leakage of Discotheque and Wake Up Dead Man to the internet. Then when the album was nearing it was the early release of mp3's/RA files to the web.
For ATYCLB, it was Bono's lost laptop publicity stunt.
For the Best of 1990-2000 it was Bono's giving a British DJ a demo tape of Electrical Storm.
It seems U2 don't like repeating their stunts but their subtlety is dying down, with the most recent Best Of marketing gimmick already being too obvious and staged, unlike the previous ones which were more surreptitious in nature.
So what marketing gimmick will U2 do to boost the sales of their upcoming album? I have my own guesses.
I think U2 will declare that this will be their last album and that they will break up after the album and tour. The band members will say "for most of our lives we've been in the same band and we aren't getting any younger so we'd want to make this our last so we can spend the rest of our lives doing other things were could not do when we were in U2." This kind of declaration will sound so real and it will drive the public into a panic. Everyone will cry "say it isn't so" - so the U2 farewell tour will be the biggest tour of them all because everyone will want to catch a glimpse of U2 before they close shop and disband.
This marketing gimmick will serve a two-fold purpose: First, if their declaration doesn't catch anyone's attention and their album and tour will get lukewarm response - the band will might as well decide to call it quits since they don't want to be limited to just a ceremonia greatest hits band like the Stones - they'd rather disband. Second, if their declaration gets people will and drive a U2 craze - then U2's popularity will increase a hundredfold and the band members will say "geee guys I never knew we are that important to you fans - I guess we can't call it quits yet because we own it to you the fans". So with the second scenario, U2 will actually look like heroes and champions of the fans because they will not disband just because the fans still love them.
I think the "disband threat" would be the most likely marketing gimmick they will pull for the next album. Just remember when it actually happens that you heard it first from me!
So guys what are your ideas? What marketing gimmicks do you see U2 doing for their next album/tour?
Cheers,
J
Nothing for Zooropa.
For POP it was the leakage of Discotheque and Wake Up Dead Man to the internet. Then when the album was nearing it was the early release of mp3's/RA files to the web.
For ATYCLB, it was Bono's lost laptop publicity stunt.
For the Best of 1990-2000 it was Bono's giving a British DJ a demo tape of Electrical Storm.
It seems U2 don't like repeating their stunts but their subtlety is dying down, with the most recent Best Of marketing gimmick already being too obvious and staged, unlike the previous ones which were more surreptitious in nature.
So what marketing gimmick will U2 do to boost the sales of their upcoming album? I have my own guesses.
I think U2 will declare that this will be their last album and that they will break up after the album and tour. The band members will say "for most of our lives we've been in the same band and we aren't getting any younger so we'd want to make this our last so we can spend the rest of our lives doing other things were could not do when we were in U2." This kind of declaration will sound so real and it will drive the public into a panic. Everyone will cry "say it isn't so" - so the U2 farewell tour will be the biggest tour of them all because everyone will want to catch a glimpse of U2 before they close shop and disband.
This marketing gimmick will serve a two-fold purpose: First, if their declaration doesn't catch anyone's attention and their album and tour will get lukewarm response - the band will might as well decide to call it quits since they don't want to be limited to just a ceremonia greatest hits band like the Stones - they'd rather disband. Second, if their declaration gets people will and drive a U2 craze - then U2's popularity will increase a hundredfold and the band members will say "geee guys I never knew we are that important to you fans - I guess we can't call it quits yet because we own it to you the fans". So with the second scenario, U2 will actually look like heroes and champions of the fans because they will not disband just because the fans still love them.
I think the "disband threat" would be the most likely marketing gimmick they will pull for the next album. Just remember when it actually happens that you heard it first from me!
So guys what are your ideas? What marketing gimmicks do you see U2 doing for their next album/tour?
Cheers,
J