Image by GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Not content with merely being the world’s biggest pop star, Taylor Swift is now an author as well.
Documenting her ongoing Eras tour – which began on March 17, 2023, and will end on December 8 of this year - ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Book’ will arrive on shelves on November 29 (Black Friday) and be sold exclusively by Target.
The coffee-table book features 256 pages of on-stage and behind the scenes photographs as well as reflections and notes from Swift during her time on the tour, with the singer also forming her own publishing imprint to release it.
The opportunity to market a product with such guaranteed exposure and return on impact as a Taylor Swift book is likely a dream job for creatives – so how would they sell the product if they were given a chance?
Creative agency Snack Drawer’s co-founder and chief creative officer, Hannah McElhinney, said Taylor Swift is already a masterclass in marketing, so creating her own imprint is a smart first step to control the marketing of the book, as well as ensure she is fully associated with the release.
“Many artists who release books are at arm's length, often just approving a book compiled by the publisher, but his tells fans the book is 100% endorsed and Taylor herself wants you to buy it, which is huge considering she hasn’t yet endorsed or written an autobiography,” she said.
“I would look at transforming the release day into a series of major big-ticket events or moments, something Taylor has done previously with listening parties, and rewarding her biggest Swifties with extra perks like personalised copies.
“Taylor has the ability to boost economies with her every action, so I’d love to see her focus on independent bookstores to release it.”
McElhinney also said that the fact Swift has set up her own imprint has fans thinking this might be the first of many books, and she would personally love to see the singer move further into publishing, using her sway to publish other authors under the imprint.
“As for what I’d do, hype is key with Swiftiedom, so midnight release parties would be important,” she told AdNews.
“Taylor is also known for her relatability over being ‘cool’, so given the release timing I’d say a big Christmas campaign (Taylor Swiftmas, perhaps?) would be on brand for her and ensure it’s the #1 gift on the wish list of fans.
“If I had the chance to guide Taylor’s book launch strategy (imagine!), I’d get her dressed up and send her out carolling from door to door, surprising people and gifting them a copy of the book – like a scene out of Love Actually.”
Think HQ’s creative director, Wellison D'Assuncao, said he would get Swift to create a song – an advertising jingle in disguise.
“Our song title would be ‘Turning Pages’, which sounds like another break-up, make-up classic, but done in a similar style to her Saturday Night Live ‘Monologue Song’” he said.
“We would start with a teaser campaign; Tay Tay singing a verse of the song and drop it on her socials (social media goes wild!). We would then drop the jingle across all her socials, including music streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube Music.
“An accompanying music video would also roll out featuring Tay Tay in funny scenarios promoting the book like; Taylor fights with a group of Swifties at Target to get a copy of it and in her bedroom showing the book to her cats Meredith, Olivia and Benjamin Button, you get the idea.
“This would be the world’s first advertising jingle to make it to the number one spot on the pop charts.”
Initiative’s associate strategy director, Kate O’Loughlin, said her ideas to market the book would involve going deep into the archive of vintage Taylor Swift marketing techniques to surprise and delight fans with a trip down memory lane.
“Given nostalgia marketing is as popular as it is right now, it’s bound to work,” she said.
“Starting out, I’d send Taylor to a Target near her to get papped buying copies of the book. This is something she used to do with every new album release up until Reputation.
“Exciting the fans with an IRL experience, I’d get Blondie to jump onto a classic YouTube livestream à la Red album launch to give the rest of the world a chance to connect with her. To really bring the Red album ties in, this would have to be a live reading of the book set in the same bookshop that the All Too Well 10 Minute Version short film was set in.
“To round it out, it would only make sense for her to say she’s hidden a series of secret messages using capitalised letters (like she used to do with her album leaflets) throughout the book, detailing the date and time at which her next rerecorded album will be dropped.
“Combined, these three vintage Swiftie marketing techniques would have fans flooding to any bookstore to snap that sure-to-be-best-seller right up.”
DDB Melbourne’s head of strategy Matt Pearce said the one thing that resonated with him as an observer on the phenomenon of Swift’s Eras Tour was how all-in dads were going for their daughters - wearing friendship bracelets, dressing up and even memorising the lyrics.
“I would sell The Eras Tour book as a must-read for dads wanting to connect more meaningfully into their daughters’ lives: to hear what they hear in a Tay Tay song,” he told AdNews.
“Why just read ‘Girlhood’ when you can read this too?”
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