Tentpole marketing is a strategy devised by most artists, movies, and media production companies to seize the hype created around an event \u2013 a trend, or a moment in a manner that benefits them.<\/p>\r\n
The concept of tentpole marketing is similar beyond the movie industry as well. Here, the marketing drives are strategized around the arc of the buzz curve; in other words, the conversations that take place before, during, and after the given event.<\/p>\r\n
In other words, if you hope to stir interest in the aforementioned things, market it in a way that is relevant to something that is generating a lot of buzz, such as selling face masks and t-shirts around election time, releasing a family-oriented movie on a festival, or conducting a CSR activity around Independence day. These are all instances where marketers took benefit of the \u201ctrend\u201d to efficiently market their cause.<\/p>\r\n
The digital world is largely led by trending topics, pictures, and videos on different platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, which are primarily popularised by hashtags. Many brands then join the bandwagon if they find it relevant to trending hashtags to promote their products and services. In the past, we have observed how popular acts such as the Kiki challenge and Ice Bucket challenge created on social media platforms gained instant traction due to its creative, engaging and interesting nature.<\/p>\r\n
In some cases, marketers go all-out with completely designing their offerings around a tentpole event. Have you ever noticed a movie studio releasing a Christmas-special movie during summers? Of course not, the movie was produced to direct people to the theatres when they are in the Christmas spirit.<\/p>\r\n
Another standout example of how a well-crafted tentpole marketing strategy can deliver unparalleled results is Ariana Grande\u2019s music video, \u201cThank U, Next.\u201d This video, which was a tribute to celebrated female-led movies, instantly surpassed YouTube\u2019s highest record for most views within 24 hours of release. There\u2019s no doubt that most of the success of the music video was because of Ariana Grande\u2019s relevance as an admired singer and public figure, but an equal credit goes to the marketing team that treated the music video release like an event.<\/p>\r\n
What we can learn from Grande\u2019s team is the hype and anticipation they created by sharing teaser-videos, photos and behind-the-scenes right before the release of the music video. This strategy is useful for more than just an event, movie release, or music video premiers.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nWhether you want to launch a product or run a new marketing campaign, it\u2019s crucial to ensure you don\u2019t waste a moment, rather mount it along with other techniques leading up to launch.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n
Capitalizing on Moment Marketing<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n
Take a look at the calendar and you\u2019ll notice the list of special events like Christmas, Halloween and New Year\u2019s are lined up one after the other.<\/p>\r\n
Marketers spend an entire year planning and waiting to release their movies, videos or other announcements during these occasions. Then there are tentpole events that do not wait for such holidays, one of them is the Super Bowl.<\/p>\r\n
During the 2013 Super Bowl, an unexpected power outage put the game on halt for nearly 30 minutes. What could have otherwise been a disastrous time was turned around by the watchful social media marketers who jumped in and seized the moment.<\/p>\r\n
Oreo stole the show when its team tweeted, \u201cPower out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark.\u201d What we see here is, Oreo didn\u2019t expect the power outage, nor did they prepare for an incident like this, but what saved them was having a 15-member social media team on stand-by during the game. This shows they were in the right place, at the right time, to capitalize on the moment.<\/p>\r\n
Power out? No problem. pic.twitter.com\/dnQ7pOgC<\/a><\/p>— OREO Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013<\/a><\/blockquote>