INSIGHTS | October 11, 2023
3 Marketing Lessons We Can All Learn from Taylor Swift
If you haven’t heard of Taylor Swift, you are indeed living under a rock. Her personal brand is arguably one of the best known entities in the entire world. She is a unifying, amplifying, galvanizing force. Even if you’re not a Swiftie yourself, your brand can achieve your Wildest Dreams if you take a page out of Taylor’s songbook.
1. Your greatest Love Story should be with your fans.
Taylor has a dedicated legion of stans, and that’s not by accident. She gives, and gives, and gives, to her fans:
- Taylor created her own holiday, Swiftmas, where she sends gifts with personal notes to some of her fans. Not just a generic Swift CD or some leftover concert merch, either – she takes time to find out what each person really wants.
- When a male Swiftie posted a social vid asking Taylor what he should wear to prom, she answered him directly, giving thoughtful advice.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg; there are dozens of other examples, but those two show what makes Taylor’s fan appreciation unique: the thoughtful and personal touches establish a meaningful, tangible relationship between superstar and fanbase.
2. Find a Blank Space for your brand in an unexpected place.
Taylor Swift and … professional football? Turns out, the only thing Travis Kelce needed to get into the spotlight was to duet with Taylor. Since the news broke about the pair, Kelce’s jersey sales have jumped 400%, and the Kansas City Chiefs just got an entirely new and untapped army of pop music fans to buy their tickets and care about their team. Partnerships, especially unexpected ones, are an effective way to turn otherwise unaware audience groups onto your brand.
3. It pays off to burn the Midnights oil.
While undeniably talented, Taylor Swift’s reign didn’t happen by birthright – she put in the work to earn the crown. Her Eras tour spans five continents and has a whopping 146 performances, with each show clocking in at 3 hours and 12 minutes (that’s the length of the movie Titanic, to put it into perspective). With 44 songs that she actually sings, countless costume changes, and dance routines, every show is a feat of stamina and strength. Beyond a grueling tour schedule, Taylor’s work ethic has been praised by everyone from Bill Belichick to Alana Haim, especially when it comes to the proliferation of her album production (she recently re-recorded her first 6 albums to gain full ownership and rights management while also releasing four new albums since her last tour in 2018). She never stops writing, recording, performing, listening to and interacting with her fans, or promoting her latest tour or album – hard work works.