Lady Gaga: a musical genius, a stylistic phenomenon, and a marketing gift
Five Grammys, two entries in the Guinness Book of Records 2011, and unforgettable sartorial hits, such as her meaty dress in 2010: Lady Gaga is remarkable as much for her daring style, her musical talent, as for her genius in bringing the brand to life. 'she knew how to develop.
But what is even more remarkable is that this notoriety is quite recent, and that in 2008, she was still only singing in the opening act of the group's comeback tour New Kids on The Block. “It was only 3 years ago, and now she is, in many ways, the biggest celebrity on the planet. Gaga is a marketing phenomenon. "Says Anita Elberse, professor of strategic marketing at Harvard Business School, who has developed a course illustrated by a practical case based on Gaga's experience.
In November 2009, Lady Gaga was to leave for several months for a tour called "Fame Kills" with rapper Kanye West. But in early September, the latter sparked a media storm at the MTV Awards, cavalierly snatching the microphone from Taylor Swift's hands to assert that it was Beyonce who deserved the award for best female video that we had just awarded to Swift. After this scandal, West had to cancel her tour, and Troy Carter, Gaga's agent, was faced with a strategic dilemma: Should she continue the tour alone, decrease the scope, or cancel it altogether? Production costs for the tour had been estimated at $ 12 million. For someone who had never sung alone, this presented a colossal challenge. In the balance, there were potential sales of 20,000 tickets at $ 100, or even $ 125 a seat on average. Reducing the size of the tour lessened the risks, but also the potential revenue, and previously Gaga had made a small one-month tour, the "Fame Ball" which ended in losses. On the other hand, even if the decision to cancel everything would not necessarily compromise the recovery of part of the 4 million dollars that had already been committed on the tour, Gaga took the risk of seeing her notoriety crumble if she did not. did not talk about her.
Elberse says this decision was decisive for Gaga's career. With the advent of digital, agents had to learn how to manage routes efficiently in order to earn more money. Between 2004 and 2008, revenue from record sales steadily declined, and more and more, it was concerts that enabled artists to earn money, while also helping to build their notoriety. And in return, they sell more records.
The professor also recalls how Lady Gaga was also able to sign contracts with brands for the development of “Lady Gaga” branded products, such as the Viva Glam spot with the MAC cosmetics brand, or the sponsorship partnership with Virgin Mobile.
Finally, the artist quickly understood that social media could help boost his career. Since the launch of her first single "Just Dance" in 2008, she writes her Tweets herself, and has sole control of her various social media accounts. Her content is covered by numerous media, she gives interviews to influential bloggers regularly, and broadcasts low-budget videos that allow her to be discovered behind the scenes. For Troy Carter, her success in these endeavors can be attributed to the sincerity of the passion that connects Gaga to her fans. Social media has been a great vehicle for developing this connection: "The fans feel that in a way they can make it their own," he explains. "They gather around her."
And Elberse concludes: "(Gaga) could very well be the marketing manager of a very large company, because she understands what a brand is, and how important it is to have a sense of solidarity with it."
