Today (January 04) is ‘Pop Music Chart Day’ – a day celebrating the first release of Billboard magazine’s iconic ‘Hit Parade’ – the original Top-40 chart.
With the global reach of social media platforms, the ability to capitalise on anniversaries or events such as this can be harnessed by publishers to leverage the promotion of their products. By riding the wave of noise generated by others, you can often find an easy way to tie in your messaging and create awareness of your titles to a relatively targeted consumer group.
With Taylor Swift absolutely DOMINATING the headlines in 2023, it’s no wonder the Music category remains the only sector in the market in both Sales and Revenue growth YoY.*
In December, TIME magazine featured Taylor Swift as their ‘Person of the Year’ (POTY) in their sought after annual edition, which went on sale just two-days after her highly publicised birthday bash. The inclusion of Swift saw three collectable cover variants available on shelf which Barnes & Noble, Inc. Director of Newsstand, Krifka Steffey, anticipated to sell “more than 50k units”* of! As the newly crowned POTY, Swift’s name brought new consumers to the brand, drove enormous awareness online and moved significant volume. This was an absolute TRIUMPH for the magazine category, and an excellent example of the outcome products can achieve when correctly aligned with popular culture.
Consider what events, or anniversaries are upcoming that may relate to your titles. What is trending, who is capturing consumer attention and how can you make this work for you? 2024 is set to be an exciting one, so make sure to make the most of every opportunity!
P.s It’s Harry Styles’ birthday next month…
*Sources: Latest Closed UK Total Market Data to September 2023 | Yahoo News
