Beyoncé, Marketing and Strategy

What can the way Beyonce has been running the Renaissance World Tour (RWT) and Beyonce's marketing strategy teach us about good strategic communications?

To the naked eye nothing. But if you look closer you'll see that like everything else, professionals in strategic communications can learn a thing or two from Queen Bey.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Beyonce has been on tour since May 10th, starting in Europe. Now that the tour has come to an end, she is following the record-breaking run with a documentary-style made-for-theater movie to share the experience beyond the actual event.

Since she launched the RWT the reaction across the world has been phenomenal. The experience has left everyone starstruck and in awe.

In fact, the response to the tour has been so incredible that economists have coined the term, “The Beyonce Bump” to characterize the economic stimulus that the tour has created in cities it has visited.

As someone who flew to London to experience the tour– my first time seeing Beyoncé live– and sitting on stage, the visuals were stunning, the energy incredible and her performance was perfect.

What I’ve heard most is how the concert itself created a space for freedom of expression and how people felt seen by their favorite artist, both at the concert and online.

If done correctly, strategic communications should have the same effect on its intended audience.

In this blog post, I’ll use the way Beyonce has designed her show and responded to the commentary around it to remind us of some of the core values that are key to running a successful strategic communications campaign. And how to do so in a way that leaves your audience seen and understood.

The Beyoncé Marketing Strategy School

Beyonce is known for creating moments with everything she does. Whether it’s a perfume launch, the Ivy Park fashion line, new albums, or the RWT. Everything she does seems to stop time.

When she released her surprise fifth album on a Friday in 2013, there were no leaks. At the time, no one in the industry dared to launch a project on a Friday, but when she did it, industry norms shifted.

She is the moment.

But with every moment, there is always a strategy behind it.

Beyonce’s marketing strategy didn’t begin with the Renaissance tour. The Renaissance tour is the climax of perfectly strategized moments that she encapsulated in a set of “Acts” that helped her audience live through the progressive intensification of her latest project.

So how did we get here?

By running a well-oiled public relations campaign and perfecting it as she went along.

How the RWT Leveraged Basic Communications Values

Typically no one outside of Beyoncé’s marketing team knows what she's trying to accomplish, hell we didn’t even know what was coming next.

It’s easy to assume that some of her goals are based on what artists normally aim to achieve.

Promotion of New Music
Audience Engagement
Revenue Generation
Brand Image Evolution
Increase in Global Reach
Fan Experience
Social Media Engagement
Long-Term Engagement

While these are broad goals, whether planned or intuitively, Beyoncé seems to have added a specific approach that was aimed at enhancing the concert experience.

I think the way she’s running the concert is a great example of how you can run an effective communications campaign.

Just like communications isn’t just about pushing out info and running ads, the Renaissance tour became more than just a performance. It drew you in as a participant, even when you didn’t realize it, like through comments on social media.

Here are a few parallels.

Listening: Along the way, I think it became clear to all of us that Beyoncé is lurking on social media…and she’s listening. One thing that I’ve found really interesting about the RWT is that people have said random things on social media and it would be reflected in the show. One example is how after a viral tweet suggesting she change where she performed “Heated” she made the change. In other instances, viral tweets of fan-favorite moments from past tours would be magically incorporated into her performance, leading to a kind of compounding virality. She took this moment from a tour years ago and added an ad lib during her performance in the same city where the original moment occurred. Of course, the ad-lib went viral!
Engagement: So often in our communications strategies we focus on getting our messages out there by pushing information through our own channels. I see this in a lot of government communications where the entire focus seems to be on informing the public. But what Beyonce does is create opportunities for her audience to engage with her en masse or individually, while everyone else (at least artistically) is on mute. .

The appearance of Say My Name posters is a good example of this. People held up posters like, “Say My Name: Jennifer” and Beyonce said their name in the end. A small gesture but this responsiveness is designed to engage consumers– it’s not just about her performing but, connecting in her own way with the audience while reminding them of one of Destiny's Child iconic songs too. Staying on message!

Call to Action: One thing Beyoncé has always been good at is the “call to action.” With legions of fans and devoted stans, her ability to move her audience toward a clear, specific end goal is pretty unmatched. For example, on August 23, she posted. “Virgo Season is upon us. This tour has been such a joy and as we approach the last month, my birthday wish is to celebrate with you wearing your most fabulous silver fashions to the shows 8.23 - 9.22.” She continued on to say, “We’ll surround ourselves in a shimmering human disco ball each night. Everybody mirroring each other’s joy. Virgo Season together in the house of chrome. See you there.” What did the concertgoers do? Not only did they show up in silver as their Queen commanded, and silver garments sold out of clothing stores across entire regions. In communications (and especially in marketing) a clear, direct CTA that creates urgency and is inclusive of the audience can’t be beat!

Strategic communications has both elements of the very clear kind of promotional aspects which is getting the word out but also adjusting and being nimble through your listening, engaging the audience, and ultimately driving some kind of desired action.

Impact on Audience

Like I said, I attended Beyonce’s concert in London and when I look back at it, I was probably a bit too early in the line-up. From my computer screen, it felt like the tour became even more as it went on.

The impact of her creative efforts is clear.

The anticipation for her concerts wasn’t just a feeling reserved for ordinary people but also for celebrities. People were excited to dress in silver for her birthday celebrations. Some people recreated her performance outfits from over the years, calling them Beyonce Approved outfits.

Attendees were looking forward to the #Mutechallenge to see who did it best. People were comparing the concerts done in the same location but on different nights, ones done across the country and even globally. Some people decided that one night wasn’t enough, they had to do it twice.

Then there’s the cultural impact that goes unnoticed.

The Renaissance album is a celebration of queer culture. A culture whose contributions have been ignored for far too long. Many people in this community have felt unseen for so long and this tour has worked to change that.

But this is intentional.. As intentional as her strategy to positively impact her brand and audience. This is the impact of Beyonce’s marketing strategy.

At a concert in Minnesota at the Huntington Bank Stadium, she ended her concert by saying, “I hope you feel seen. I hope you feel safe. I hope you feel loved. I hope you feel connected.” There is real emotion communicated in that statement– the kind that builds a deep connection with the audience.

Conclusion

As I’ve said before, when it comes to building trust externally in strategic communications, it’s about engaging with your audience consistently and strategically.

What we can learn from Beyonce is how to set creative goals, how to execute them effectively, and how to achieve strategic communications objectives.

To conclude, remember that:

Adaptability matters. Regardless of the industry you’re in. Listening and leveraging adaptability to improve the audience experience is paramount.
Engagement is key. Beyonce listened. Even when people didn’t think she was listening. She engaged and then she responded. Brands should understand that audience engagement is critical in the digital age. Engaged audiences turn into loyal fans. Just ask the Beyhive.

In the end, consumer engagement is important. It isn’t just a nice-to-have feature. It’s imperative to your success in strategic comms. It also contributes to brand loyalty, customer retention, and success.

Beyonce actively engaged with her fans which led to an enhanced fan experience, created fan communities, and expanded reach.

Beyonce taught us that when creativity aligned with brand values is executed well it can lead to great success for brands.

Joey Gaskins is a public affairs professional with a formidable record of designing and executing innovative strategies, campaigns, and tactics—turning around negative perceptions, reaffirming trust, amplifying and influencing policies, and achieving unprecedented results. Follow him on Linkedin.