My love for cross-promoting started at a young age. As a comic book fanatic I loved those issues of Amazing Spiderman which featured guest stars from other books I loved, like The Avengers and X-Men. Later as a teen I loved it when characters from the TV show Friends would show up in scenes of Mad About You. Around the same time I would also devour Hip Hop albums and be particularly into tracks that featured guest MCs from other rap groups.
At the time I never once thought about the strategic or marketing thought behind these events. I was just excited to see worlds collide whether it was Method Man guesting on 2Pac‘s “Got My Mind Made Up” or the rare comic book that pitted DC Comics’ Superman against Marvel Comics’ Spiderman. But of course these team ups mostly originate from a strategic agenda. One that is intended to grow markets, audiences and revenue. In a way it’s not much different from Pepsi contracting Michael Jackson to appear in their ads for the associative benefit for their brand. The difference lies more in the ‘feel’ of the tactic, than in the nature of the result.
Redman was introduced to the world on the classic EPMD track “Hardcore”. Once I heard that track by an established artist, I knew I had to keep an eye/ear out for this new artist’s first solo album as well. When Power Pack guest starred in X-Men, it drove me to pick up their own title as well. I might see an opening act at a concert and fall in love with their music and buy it right there.
Cross-Promotion Benefits
- Credibility – connecting an artist or product to an already established one can lend credibility and convince people to give it a shot or take a chance, e.g. opening acts, guest feature on a song.
- Context – Marvel Comics truly innovated the comic book world by placing their books in context to others. Characters guesting in comic books led to the perception that all the stories were tied together, and one should buy more than just the core book to be able to follow along. In the same way, Redman guesting on the EPMD album indicated to rap fans exactly where they should place him in the music landscape. If you can turn on people to one part of a grouping of products, they will be more likely to check out the rest as well. This is at the core of the Family Records philosophy as well.
- Exposure – Reaching more people, faster, for less money, and more frequently.
And to tie it all together: Marvel Comics, Eminem and XXL Magazine teamed up for a great Cross-Promotional effort surrounding Em’s album release. A comic book that featured Punisher, Eminem, and was published in XXL. Genius.
