Rollout Roundup: The Best Marketing Rollouts of the Week
There's no budget that creativity can't rival. This week we introduce our Single of the Week feature.
This week we explore the creativity of 3 of the most notable artists out right now, with a Single of the Week feature from a fast-rising indie artist. Let’s get into it.
3 - Brockhampton, Lil Nas X, and Dominic Fike - “COUNT ON ME” Video
We love a celebrity crossover. And this timing was serendipitous.
With all three artists riding on high-publicity moments, fan couldn’t have asked for a better crossover. Lil Nas X, as he does with everything, followed the buzz up with a great twitter moment, tweeting "i guess i'm a video vixen now".
Strengths: EVERYTHING. EVERY. THING. Mostly the lil makeout scene, the awkward flirty car ride that we can all relate to at some point, and the use of two popular but unlikely stage lovers.
Weaknesses: Can we ride the moment a little longer please? Dom and Lil Nas X could capitalize on this across their socials a bit more, but I get it, Nas is still promoting Montero (as he should be!) and Dominic is known for his general disdain of social media promotion.
2 - Young Thug - Slime Language 2
A picture’s worth a thousand words, but Young Thug’s iconic YSL Records photo that dropped earlier this week may be worth 10,000.
Strengths: As usual, Thug delivered in terms of quality music, but this rollout had a particularly regal feel to it. From the family photo to the black & white, timeless-style trailer, Thug and YSL as a label have transitioned from being a staple of the Atlanta trap music scene, to becoming one of the most prestigious names in this new generation of rap. We love a visual glow up!
Weaknesses: Are we getting any music videos? How about if we ask nicely?
1 - Saweetie - Pretty Summer Playlist (Season 1)
Saweetie is notably great at marketing, so this listing comes as no surprise.
But this release is particularly interested not only because of her rollout, but what she’s rolling out.
Strengths: Yearbook-style visuals where the guests, rather than Saweetie herself, are centered, makes this “playlist” particularly interesting. Saweetie made clear via Twitter that these playlists are meant to liaise between her listeners and some up-and-comers. That concept alone had fans interested, and as she always does, Saweetie followed it up with great visuals to match. Maybe it’s time that more artists reconsider releases outside of the traditional single-EP-Album formats. We’re rooting for ya, Saweetie.
Weaknesses: I’m not sure what to say here. Maybe a few more physical activations? Saweetie has been on a brand partnerships roll lately, which we LOVE, but sending some more stuff out that’s just her own could be helpful in balancing the sponsored with the organic content.
Runner Up (Single of the Week): Heath240 - “LIVE”
From the visuals to the innovative presave campaign, Heath delivered an indie rollout to rival some of the majors.
Shipping fans customized stickers for presaving the records was a smart move, it gave Heath extra content to use for promotion and socials. The visual carried the right amount of aesthetics and mystery to keep fans hitting replay. Overall, great single of the week.