Dissertation

MU60174E
Music Management Extended Project
‘No Campaign Quite Like It’

A Case Study Analysis:
The Use of Viral Marketing in Driving Fans’ Engagement Online and
How This Impacted the Success of the ‘Fine Line’ Campaign
Word Count: 7,959
Submitted by Freya Whitfield on June 2021

Student Number: 21383980
Contents Page
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………......1-2
Marketing Background………………………………………………………………………...3-7
Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………….7-8
Findings…………………………………………………………………………………………9-16
Case Study: The Fine Line Campaign…………………………………………………….17-25
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..25-27
Critical Evaluation………………………………………………………………………………..28
Reference List………………………………………………………………………………….29-35
Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………..36-45
Freya Whitfield, 21383980. Music Management Extended Project
Introduction
In today’s saturated music market, standing out from competitors as an artist can be difficult
without establishing a brand and utilising marketing strategies to communicate this brand to
an audience of consumers (music fans). Popular commercial artists signed to major record
labels provide a variety of revenue streams through live performances, product sales, music
publishing and other means. One major revenue stream is the “the recording artist’s image
and reputation” (Meier, 2017, p.75) or the artist’s brand which Meier (2017) defines as “a
distinctive character” that labels can capitalise off of. To effectively capitalize off the artist’s
brand, it needs to be communicated to an audience through the use of music marketing
strategies. “Marketing comes into play to ensure the music is heard” (Ogden et al, 2011, p.120)
and to increase awareness of the artist’s brand which will inherently direct people to the music.
Music marketing teams can adopt techniques such as viral marketing to drive fans’
engagement both with each other and with the artist.
Columbia Records have a history of using viral marketing to promote their artists, for example,
the strategy for George Ezra’s ‘Staying at Tamara’s’ album campaign involved engaging an
online audience and targeting them using adverts (Music Ally, 2018, p.14). For David Bowie’s
album ‘The Next Day’, the white square album cover was circulated online which turned into
a meme, and posters of the square appeared in cities. Head of Marketing at Sony Music at
the time said the white square was a “strong tool” and the “hope was that fans would take this
and run with it”, causing it to go viral online through people’s reactions (Gardner, 2013).
Amongst Columbia’s marketing campaigns, the one for Harry Styles’ album ‘Fine Line’ is a
prime example of viral marketing done well, as proven by the traction and exposure it gained
within the music industry. The case study in this research project explores that campaign and
the way the marketing team behind it engaged fans of Styles through the use of direct and
viral marketing, both of which interlink. Columbia won Artist Marketing Campaign at the Music
Week Awards in 2020 (see Appendix B), and the Eroda campaign for the release of the single
‘Adore You’ was named one of the most successful viral marketing campaigns of the year in
2019. (Kaufman, 2019). This is therefore a credible and appropriate campaign to use as a
point of study. Following a brief outline and breakdown of the campaign, each viral element of
it will be analysed and supported by further research and theory.
1
The link between viral marketing and fan engagement is the focal point of the research, with
the aim to answer the following research questions:
1. How important is fan engagement in driving viral marketing and what factors of a viral
marketing campaign motivate fans to actively engage online?
2. Was the viral marketing strategy implemented for the Fine Line album marketing
campaign effective at engaging fans of Styles?
The purpose of the research project is to explore what compels music fans to participate in
the online engagement promoted by viral marketing, and how this subsequently drives a viral
campaign. Without fans engaging online, viral marketing would not work because relies on an
audience of fans to spread the message and content (Barnhart, 2020). Arguably, both online
engagement and viral marketing influence music fans’ connections with each other, therefore
furthering their connection to the artist and reinforcing their “sense of affinity” (Salo et al, 2013,
p.23) to the fan community surrounding the artist. It can further be argued and supported by
Stewart (2013) that this influences how likely fans are to purchase a music product or service
and remain loyal brand advocates of the artist in the long-term.
Figure 1: Artist-Fan Engagement Model

Conceptualized by Stewart (2013)
The use of the viral campaign for Fine Line as a case study is a prime example of a successful
viral marketing campaign. First, background into marketing is given to provide some context,
before moving on to explaining the methods of research used. Primary research findings are
then presented and supported with secondary research, and these findings will be applied to
a breakdown and analysis of the Fine Line campaign.
2
Marketing Background
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (2015) defines marketing as “the management process
responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”.
There are multiple types of marketing, many of which interlink with one another, as outlined in
Chi’s (2020) “41 and counting” list. To understand each type individually prompts further
defined research, and this project will further explore viral marketing and the way it was utilised
alongside other types of marketing to promote the ‘Fine Line’ album.
Viral marketing falls

under the category of
digital marketing as
outlined by revive digital
(n.d.) and supported by
Lathrop (2007).
Figure 2: 11 types of
digital marketing
Chi (2020) defines digital marketing as promotion through online channels such as social
media platforms and websites. Digital marketing is advantageous as it is “measurable and
trackable” (revive digital, n.d.). In contrast, traditional marketing is promotion via channels that
have existed since before the rise of the Internet, such as print, television, radio and poster
advertising (Chi, 2020). Distinguishing between these types of marketing is relevant to the
context of the research, as for the promotion of ‘Fine Line’, viral marketing aided traditional
marketing and vice-versa.
As the world continues to move towards a more digital era, marketers can harness the power
of digital marketing channels to market their products or services to online communities of
consumers. According to Salo et al (2013, p.23), “the music industry is one of the fast adopters
of new marketing channels and mediums”, taking advantage of social media platforms such
as Twitter to engage online communities of music fans in marketing efforts. Music marketers
are now able to reach their target audience of consumers via social media platforms “due to
the digitisation of music, emergence of social media technologies and popularity of social
media” (Salo et al, 2013, p.24). Marketing is beginning to focus on the consumer, as (Ogden
et al, 2011) support in suggesting that changes in music marketing have shifted the attention
from the products or services to the music fans who consume them. When a music consumer
connects with the artist, “marketing is occurring at an interpersonal level” (Ogden et al, 2011,
3
p.120). Acknowledging music marketing and the way it has evolved from traditional to digital
is important, and Ogden et al’s (2011) text on the history and development of music marketing
provides an overview of this. They emphasise the fact that music marketing has moved away
from traditional practices and towards digital practices to keep up with the rapidly moving
changes in technology, in parallel with claims from other researchers such as Salo et al (2013).
Direct marketing is when strategies including guerrilla and viral marketing are used to “reach
consumers directly” (Lathrop, 2007, p.192). Social media allows marketers to directly “target
and communicate with highly involved and interested consumers” (Mehta and Sivadas, 1995).
Due to increased social media usage, music marketers now have “access to an ever-growing
pool of users” (Mehta and Sivadas,1995) within fan communities online, and these fans tend
to be highly engaged as research by Santos et al (2019) supports. As stated by King in
McKinley Jr.’s (2013) article, music marketing is now about directly engaging with these fan
communities. Gatekeepers act as a barrier between labels and reaching the fans, so removing
them and going direct to the fans means labels can establish a B2C relationship with the fans
which could lead to a higher level of engagement as it elicits an emotional response (Lake,
2020). Columbia used viral marketing and B2C to directly engage with fans throughout the
course of the campaign.
Figure 3: B2B/B2C – Image by Roberts (2019)

in Lake’s (2020) article
4
Viral Marketing
Existing research surrounding viral marketing highlights the fact that most of the work is down
to the consumers, relying on them to engage with each other and spread the marketing
message, thus fuelling the viral campaign. A successful viral marketing campaign is
dependent on consumers perceiving value in the transmission of a message and “deeming it
worthy of passing on to others without feeling as though they are being used in the process.”
(Dobele et al, 2005, p.149). If a consumer feels like the message is worth sharing, they will be
more likely to share it, so the viral message needs to be unique enough to prompt an emotional
response from the right target audience.
Figure 4: Three key elements of viral content creation

(Hirvijarvi, 2017)
Viral marketing is advantageous because, as Dobele et al (2005, p.144) argue, it “dramatically

lowers the costs of promotions and boosts the speed of adoption.” This is echoed by Kaplan
and Haeinlein (2011) who state that viral marketing is a form of promotion that can be done
on a low budget, whilst still achieving a wide audience reach in a way that Kagan (2021) would
argue traditional marketing practices cannot. The potential reach of a viral marketing
campaign is large due to the access to a global market of consumers on social media.
However, Miller & Lammas (2010) highlight implications of viral marketing. They argue that
although social media presents opportunities for marketers to directly connect with
consumers, lack of control over the spread of marketing messages is an issue. Messages can
spread quickly therefore there is a risk that a negative message could circulate and have a
detrimental effect on the campaign. Kagan (2021) reinforces this by stating that disadvantages
of viral marketing include the risk of misinformation or a negative message spreading, and this
could get out of control and difficult to manage.
5
“The goal of viral marketing is to inspire individuals to share a marketing message to friends,
family, and other individuals to create exponential growth in the number of its recipients”
(Kagan, 2021). Word-of-mouth (WOM), whereby the message is spread from one person to
another and so on, strongly interlinks with viral marketing, as identified by Kaplan and Haenlein
(2010, p.254) below.
Figure 5: Relationship between WOM and viral marketing

(Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010)
Music marketers can use viral marketing to raise awareness about an artist’s brand and reach
a wide audience of music fans, encouraging them to form a connection with the artist through
their online participation. Research into the use of viral marketing in the music industry by
George (2017) highlights the connection between viral marketing and the importance of fan-
to-fan communication, finding that “consumers who are engaged with a brand are more likely
to engage in peer-to-peer communications.” This indicates that it is crucial for artists to
maintain and develop a strong brand image, as this is likely to increase the level of
engagement, both amongst fans and between fan and artist. This is reinforced by Harper’s
(2019) findings on fans’ participation in viral marketing on social media, leading to the success
of Beyonce’s album. The research project will expand on existing research by exploring how
fan engagement on social media drives viral music marketing.
Literature surrounding viral marketing, particularly within the context of the music industry,
remains scarce. Therefore, the aim of this research is to add to existing literature by offering
up to date research into viral music marketing and the role of fan engagement in relation to it.
The study will explore how fan engagement drives viral marketing, and vice versa. This link
between viral marketing and engagement has been made by researchers before, such as in
George’s (2017) study, however there is still a limited amount of research in the context of
social media and the music industry. Using a real-life campaign as a case study keeps the
research original and current.
6
Fan Engagement
The difference between fans and the average music consumer stems from their level of
engagement“ (O’Reilly et al, 2013, p. 166). Engagement is defined by Sandi and Triastuti
(2020, p.75) as “an audience’s everyday involvement with a variety of media.” With this in
mind, fan engagement can be defined as fans’ active or passive involvement (Shang et al,
2006) within a fan community. The more engaged fans are, the more likely they are to exhibit
“loyalty, satisfaction, empowerment, connection, emotional bonding, trust and commitment”
(Brodie et al, p.105) towards an artist. Engaging fans is paramount in any marketing strategy,
particularly viral marketing whereby it is essential that fans are engaged in order for the
marketing message to go viral and spread to a wide audience.
Methodology
To obtain both qualitative and quantitative data, a combination of primary and secondary
research methods have been used to gain a wide scope of information surrounding viral music
marketing and fan engagement. Research into music fans was conducted using social media
to obtain qualitative data within a natural setting, and a survey, which is a viable method for
generalizing findings to a wider population (Macy et al, 2016, p.69). The purpose of the
research is “…to understand consumer behaviour and consumer attitudes and opinions in
relation to products and services and the marketing activity that surrounds them” (McGivern,
2006, p.65). The research methods have been chosen as they provide the best type of data
to fulfil the purpose of the research project. Secondary research “is already available and
relatively quick and easy to access” (McGivern, 2006, p.149) and this has been compiled by
reading reliable sources such as online articles, academic journals and books. After
conducting secondary research, key readings have been analysed and patterns were found
which can be linked to the findings of the primary research for a solid understanding of the
research topic.
Primary research was conducted to gather quantitative data, which is “useful for describing
the characteristics of a population or market” (McGivern, 2006, p.58). A Google Forms survey
was sent to music fans with the intention of gaining information about their social media usage,
engagement, and their motivations for sharing content. Macy et al (2016, p.69) states that
“surveys are good for identifying characteristics of target markets, describing consumer
purchasing behaviours, and measuring consumer attitudes.” The survey was distributed on
social media platforms Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, as well as shared around via instant
messaging platforms such as Whatsapp and Facebook messenger. A total of 221 responses
from music fans between the ages of 16 and 55+ were recorded, making the results of the
survey valid due to the large sample size, and able to be generalized to fans of Styles as all
7
music fans are found to exhibit similar behaviours. Macy et al (2016, p.69) supports this in
stating that surveys are useful for “…evaluating information about a market by using a small
sample and extrapolating the result to the total population or market.” To obtain qualitative
data from the survey, optional text boxes were provided on certain questions for respondents
to add their own opinions, limiting the “risk of missing valuable information” (Survey Monkey,
n.d.). For confidentiality and ethical purposes, no personal information was asked for to protect
respondents’ anonymity, and it was made clear to participants at the beginning of the survey
that they had the right to withdraw at any point.
To keep the research project “focused and manageable” (McCombes, 2019), the Fine Line
marketing campaign has been chosen as a case study. This is an appropriate choice of
research method to “gain concrete, contextual, and in-depth knowledge” (McCombes, 2019)
about music marketing by analysing a particular case and applying research findings. To
analyse the case study, secondary research has been conducted by reading reliable articles
on the internet related to the campaign, including multiple sources where professionals directly
involved with the execution of the campaign were interviewed. “Through social media,
qualitative researchers gain access to a massive and diverse range of individuals, and the
content they generate” (Andreotta et al, 2019). Research was carried out on social media
platforms, predominantly Twitter, to find people’s live reactions at the time of the campaign
and identify similar patterns in reactions and behaviours displayed. All social media posts used
are kept anonymous for ethical reasons. Social media research is particularly effective
because it offers “…rich, naturally occurring data” (Beninger, 2017, p.71) which emerges
within a real-world social environment (Andreotta et al, 2019). One disadvantage of collecting
qualitative data on social media is the fact that it has limited generalisability (Bhandari, 2020),
however for the research project findings only need to be generalised to fans of Styles. Social
media research was conducted into fans’ reactions who are members of Styles’ fanbase
community, as identified by their user profiles.
8
The Music Fan

A music fan “experiences an emotional attachment” (O’Reilly et al, 2013, p.166) to an artist
and as a result is more engaged than the average consumer of music. To better understand
music fans, a survey was conducted with the intention of finding out their behaviours.
Figure 6: Music Fan Figure 7: Age range
Respondents were mostly aged 16-24 and when asked to list three favourite artists (Appendix
C), over half listed Styles (Appendix D), making the results applicable to fans of his. Findings
show that music fans of all artists display similar behaviours and feel a level of connection and
commitment to that artist as a result of factors such as social media.
Figure 8:
Level of
connection
Figure 9:
Factors influencing
commitment
9
Social Media
According to a study by MusicWatch (2018), nine out of ten social media users engage with a
music related activity (Appendix E). Salo et al (2013) support this by positioning social media
as a platform for “two-way communication between record labels, artists and consumers, and
between consumers.” One respondent added that social media can “make or break an artist”
by influencing fans’ engagement.
Figure 10: Social media as a tool for promoting artists and engaging fans
Figure 11: How social

media plays a role in
promoting artists
Figure 12: Most used

social media platforms
10
Laroche et al (2012) suggest four consumer motives for social media use:
• Reinforcement of social identity
• Sense of affinity
• Participation via user-generated content
• Two-way interactions
Increased social media usage “has enabled modern viral marketing efforts and increased their
efficacy” (Kagan, 2021). Music fans regularly use social media to interact with artists, making
it an essential tool for reaching fans and encouraging conversations amongst them.
Figure 13: Social

media usage
Figure 14:
Twitter usage
Twitter in particular allows artists and fans to “engage in two-way communication and
encourage real-time conversation in artist-related topics” (Laroche et al, 2021). On Twitter,
dedicated music fans are referred to as ‘Stans’ (see Appendix F). Stans are more influential
than the usual music fan as they initiate the spread of information and enjoy sharing their
favourite artist with others, making them “the perfect audience for brands to engage early on
in a campaign” (Twitter, 2017).
11
Word-of-Mouth (WOM)
WOM is important for the promotion of music, and many artists now are using social media to
spread information via WOM, through viral marketing (McManus, 2009). Twitter facilitates
WOM (Miller & Lammas, 2010), subsequently driving the viral campaign in question.
Figure 15: WOM information sharing
81.9% of music fans have shared information via WOM, and their motivations for doing so
include reasons such as participation within a fan community, to feel connected to the artist
and peer influence. One respondent noted “I would need to be 100% sure of the information”,
linking to Bughin et al (2010)’s idea that WOM is most effective when it comes from a trusted
source such as a friend or family member.
Figure 16: Motivations to share information via WOM
12
Figure 17: Likelihood of becoming a fan through WOM referral
Respondents’ motivations for sharing information via WOM can be linked to Salo et al’s
(2013) five motives for social media participation:
• Access to content
• Sense of affinity
• Participation
• Interaction
• Social identity
WOM can occur within online and offline settings, particularly within online settings whereby
fan communities on social media increase the likelihood and speed at which it spreads.
(Bughin et al, 2010, p.3). Music fans want to engage online to feel a sense of community. One
respondent stated, “people are craving information about their favourite artists” and
participating online allows fans to gain information they would not otherwise find elsewhere.
Figure 18: Motivations to engage
13
Fan Communities
“Music forms communities of fans” (McManus, 2009), and fan communities on social media
make the transmission of marketing messages more efficient and capable of reaching a large,
global audience (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2011). Artists and their teams can encourage these
communities to spread information via WOM, through viral marketing efforts (McManus,
2009). For example, by providing fans with compelling content that is worth sharing, fans can
interact with each other which is likely to increase their engagement towards the community
and as a result positive WOM spreads (Santos et al, 2019).
Figure 19: Fan community Figure 20: Fan community influence
One respondent noted that on ‘Stan Twitter’ (Appendix G), ‘Stans’ become familiarized with
each others’ usernames and profile pictures, adding to the sense of community. All
respondents were given the option to add how an online fan community has benefitted them
(Appendix H), and similar benefits emerged. The following conclusions were drawn:
1. Making friends with other like-minded fans is the most prominent benefit of being part
of a fan community – 51 out of 98 people said they have made friends through this
2. Being part of a fan community educates people, both on information relating to music
artists and important topics that they would not otherwise read about
3. Fan communities have a positive influence on those whom are a part of them, giving
people the opportunity to connect with others and share their excitement
These findings align with wider research, such as that by Sandi and Triastuti (2020) who
convey the fact that fans enjoy actively participating within a community to connect with each
other and they also benefit emotionally doing so. However, multiple respondents pointed out
that the “dark sides of social media” must also be considered. Stan twitter can be “toxic” due
to people being hateful towards other fans out of jealousy or frustration.
14
Purchase Behaviour
Figure 21: Factors influencing purchase decisions
One respondent noted that the genuine like/want for products is somewhat affected by liking
the artist, for example Styles’ ‘TPWK’ (Appendix I) merchandise is likeable to fans because
they know it is related to him and his brand. Another respondent added that being part of a
fan community has influenced them to purchase merchandise and attend events. Fans part of
online communities share information about products or services via WOM and this is a
“primary factor behind 20 to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions” (Bughin et al, 2010).
Figure 22: Purchase Behaviour
Rahman et al (2018) suggest that the more engaged fans are, the more likely they are the
purchase products of services. If fans are engaging with others online and see them purchase
or show interest in certain products, they will be more likely to purchase that product. Making
products stand out, for example by making them limited edition and tie in with the artist’s brand,
can create conversation around them and therefore drive sales and increase brand
awareness. As one respondent stated, limited edition releases make them “feel pressured to
want to own it”, especially if other fans are talking about it.
15
Figure 23: Likelihood of purchasing limited edition merchandise
Loyalty
Laroche et al (2012) linked brand communities, trust and loyalty, supporting the finding that
online engagement within a community, induced by viral marketing, effects the loyalty and
commitment consumers have to the brand. Being part of a fan community and engaging with
other fans is the most common reason for people remaining loyal to their favourite artists.
Figure 24: Long-term

fan loyalty
Figure 25: Loyalty

influences
16
Case Study Analysis:

The ‘Fine Line’ Album Marketing Campaign
Figure 26: ‘Fine Line’ Album Plaque

Source: Jewel Box Platinum
17
Executive Summary
As the music industry becomes more fan-orientated, it is important for labels to engage fans
(Burke, 2019), as they “are often the arbiters of what goes viral” (Barnhart, 2020). The
Columbia Records marketing team engaged fans by working with Styles and his existing
fanbase to implement a successful viral marketing campaign for the release of ‘Fine Line’ in
2019. According to MRC Data, ‘Fine Line’ was one of the top ten selling albums in both 2019
and 2020 (Appendix J and K), achieving a double multi-platinum certification from RIAA
(Appendix L). All six singles were awarded a platinum certification (Appendix M), proving that
the marketing efforts paid off as reflected by the sales numbers achieved. The campaign was
built around driving conversation through Styles’ music videos and promotional appearances
(Shawcross, 2020), by incentivising and motivating fans to share content (see Figure 4). Viral
marketing was complemented by other types of marketing such as guerrilla, scarcity and
traditional strategies. It was essential for the team to understand Styles’ community of fans to
“tailor the right messages at the right time and place so they resonate with the audience and
inspire them to take actions” (Burke, 2019). As Dorsey (2015) suggests, natural conversations
break out when marketing messages are not thrown directly at consumers. The team created
an environment that stimulated fans to actively engage with one another (Santos et al, 2019)
in a way that did not throw messages in their face, but instead allowed them take control and
ownership of the marketing activities presented to them (Shawcross, 2020).
The campaign is broken down into constituent parts, separating each single release and the
promotional period surrounding them. For the twelve-song album, the campaign duration was
just over a year with a total of six singles releases. Focus is placed on the releases of singles
‘Lights Up’ and ‘Adore You’, as these demonstrated the greatest use of viral marketing and
significantly impacted the campaign as a whole. As outlined by O’Brien (2021), there are two
types of viral marketing; purposeful which Columbia used by having a plan in place to make
content go viral, and incidental which occurs when content spreads without a plan behind it.
Incidental viral marketing occurred later on in the campaign as a result of the engagement
created by the purposeful marketing strategies. The following breakdown will explore how viral
marketing was used to drive fans’ engagement, and how without their engagement marketing
messages would not have spread. This will then be applied to consider the effect the marketing
efforts had on fans’ purchase decisions and loyalty to Styles as a brand, and what marketers
can learn from this campaign. Based on the presented research and findings thus far, the
following can be hypothesised: Fans’ engagement online impacts the reach of a viral
marketing campaign. This hypothesis will be tested by analysing the campaign and drawing
conclusions about what can be learned from the strategy used.
18
Lights Up: “Do” You Know Who You Are? (DYKWYA)

The campaign kicked off on October 5 th 2019, when Styles tweeted the word “Do” (Appendix
N), triggering fans into a frantic conversation trying to theorize possible explanations. “The
very fact that Harry can tweet one word and send his entire fan base straight to ‘Theory City’
is pretty outrageous” (Elizabeth, 2019). Within minutes, the tweet was “being shared by the
public at large rather than just its target audience” (Barnhart, 2020), meaning it had gone viral.
“DO WHAT” (Appendix N) started trending worldwide, sparking conversations amongst a
global audience of Twitter users. Styles’ tweets are highly anticipated due to his lack of social
media activity, so whenever he does tweet it has a large impact. One respondent stated, “the
way Harry Styles uses his social media is brilliant as he can trend in seconds with a single
tweet. His tweets mean something, they’re rare.” Fans engaged with each other to figure out
what the tweet meant, establishing their fan community and forming connections with each
other in the process. As Dorsey (2015) states, “cliff-hangers will encourage your customers to
continue up the funnel in a way that doesn’t beat them over the head with your brand’s
message.” As fans wanted to know more about what this tweet meant, they became committed
to the fan community to gain information, thus engaging with the campaign early on.
The use of cryptic viral marketing is becoming more prominent in the music industry, “where
artists are using mysterious commercials and billboards to promote new albums” (Dorsey,
2015). Posters were used to target various territories that read the slogan “Do You Know Who
You Are”, a lyric that fans of Styles would later discover is from the debut single ‘Lights Up’.
Figure 26: DYKWYA posters Figure 27: Twitter user discovers posters
19
This poster campaign is an evident example of how guerrilla and cryptic viral marketing are
combined to get audiences engaging via WOM. “Guerrilla marketing is placing bold, clever
brand activations in high-traffic physical locations to reach audiences in a creative and cost-
effective way, grow brand awareness, and spread the word about your brand” (Chi, 2020). It
gains fans’ attention and creates a buzz (Macy et al, 2016, p.419), prompting them to engage
with each other. Shortly after the posters were spotted fans realised that they represented
Styles and begun talking about them to find out more about what they meant. This got fans
engaging with one another in anticipation of new music. The posters were identifiable to Harry
due to the font used, and the “TPWK” and Columbia Records logo stamp on the posters,
reaffirming the importance of artists as a brand. ‘Stans’ spark conversation (Twitter, 2017), so
by placing posters that only they knew were identifiable to Styles and his brand allowed the
message to spread effectively as passionate fans are likely “to do much of the promotional
work” (Macy et al, 2016, p.411).
The use of viral and guerrilla marketing to promote ‘Lights Up’ got fans excited about new
music, “and even gave news outlets an opportunity to speculate about the new album before
Harry announced anything” (Mancilla, 2020). The promotion of this single demonstrates the
importance of energizing and motivating (Macy et al, 2016, p.411) the most loyal ‘Stans’ to
build initial momentum and excitement. Fans were eased into the viral marketing that was to
come, laying out the foundation of the B2C (Figure 3) relationship between the marketing team
and the fans, and the fans and the artist (Figure 1). Fans engage with other fans to feel a level
of connection their favourite artist, and a sense of community surrounding that artist. By giving
fans marketing messages to share and talk about, this prompted them to engage with each
other, therefore strengthening their community before anything had even been announced.
The Online Message Generator

As Macy et al (2016, p.412) suggest, fans need to be provided with the tools and content they
need to spread a message, thus making it easier for them to spread information. The Columbia
team provided fans with a promotion tool through the use of a personalized online message
generator, a consistent component of the campaign. “Along with the mysterious posters, the
accompanying website allowed for fans to receive personalized compliments from Harry
himself” (Mancilla, 2020), by entering their names. The option to download it was available so
that fans could share their messages as a way of validating their involvement within the
community. This added an interactive element to the campaign and the theme changed to
correlate accordingly with each single which spurred new conversations and “kept up the
excitement and engagement of fans” (Davies, 2020).
20
Figure 28: Online Message Generator

Source: DYKWYA Website
Adore You: The Island of Eroda

To promote the release of the single ‘Adore You’, the team created a fictional island called
‘Eroda’, which is ‘Adore’ spelt backwards.
Figure 29: Eroda
21
Eroda was “an elaborate, meandering advertising campaign that spanned several months”
(Yassin, 2019), using cryptic messages which “is a failsafe in music marketing” (Forde, 2019)
as it excites and engages fans, whilst also gaining virality and media coverage. Not only was
Eroda a viral trend, but an ongoing mysterious phenomenon with no answers, and as Barnhart
(2020) suggests, a successful viral campaign is timely. Salcedo (2019), Director of Digital
Marketing at Columbia, said that much of the Eroda campaign’s success was down to real-
time updates based on fans’ reactions. The team gaged fans’ reactions and responded to this
accordingly by giving them hints to boost their engagement and keep them guessing. Stans
share theories and dissect clues (Twitter, 2017), so giving Styles’ Stans a mystery to solve
meant they collaborated and engaged with each other to work them out. A successful viral
campaign “gives users something to do” (O’Brien, 2021) so giving fans a mystery to solve let
them “interact organically” (Dorsey, 2015).
Targeted advertisements were used to promote Eroda to an audience of people who have
previously visited Styles’ website (Appendix O). These ads were promoted on multiple social
media platforms, and by leveraging a combination of technologies this boosted their reach
(Dobele et al, 2005). By targeting an audience of fans, this increased the virality of Eroda as
fans are “credible sources” (Dobele et al, 2005) who are the perfect audience to engage and
spread a message. For something to be considered viral, the message must also reach
individuals outside of the target audience (Barnhart, 2020). Eroda reached other audience
groups including Black Mirror fans and gaming fans who discussed theories on platforms
‘Reddit’ and ‘Discord’ (Xanthogeorgis and Salcedo, 2019). Furthermore, fans of Styles were
given digital postcards to send to their loved ones, encouraging them to spread the word. This
spread the message as people are more likely to elicit a response to a marketing message if
it has been shared to them by a close friend or family member (Figure 16). Targeting audience
groups who were not fans of Styles was “successful in garnering attention and interest in
Styles’ new work, regardless of whether the targets were fans or not (Yassin, 2019).
Directly interacting with fans online through the ‘@visiteroda’ Twitter account was a key factor
of the Eroda campaign, and fans engaging with this account drove the campaign. The account
acted as a central hub for B2C (Figure 3) communication between the label and the fans, and
everything tweeted had purpose (Xanothogeorgis, 2019). The team running the account used
multiple hashtags to build awareness and drive engagement as “hashtags go hand in hand
with more social media shares” (Barnhart, 2020). One respondent said “there is an excitement
when hashtags are trending, during promo season and releases which makes you feel like
you’re part of something bigger.” This direct interaction with fans drove their engagement,
22
culminating in a number one trending hashtag the day before the release of ‘Adore You’ and
over four million Twitter impressions within the first week (Xanothogeorgis, 2019).
Eroda “not only heightened anticipation for Styles’ music video release and album, but
developed a complex story arc for Styles’ art” (Yassin, 2019). This reinforces the idea that
viral marketing is successful at engaging fans when it involves imagination by having an
interesting storyline (Dobele et al, 2005). Music fans use social media to gain information
(Figure 11), and Eroda meant they had to work together to search for this information online
and find the answers to their theories by engaging with other. As the answers were not found
straight away, their engagement fuelled the campaign as the more people who discussed
Eroda, the more viral it became as time went on. The viral marketing of Eroda successfully
engaged fans as they managed to piece it all together (Xanothogeorgis, 2019).
Physical Products and Purchase Decisions

“A musician’s interaction with fans…has become a form of entertainment itself that drives
sales of merchandise and concert tickets” (McKinley Jr., 2013). A unique range of
merchandise products were made available throughout the duration of the campaign, which
were deliberately limited in supply to drive fans’ engagement and increase sales. 71.9% of
respondents said they are more likely to purchase a product from their favourite artist if it is a
limited-edition item (Figure 23), and as one respondent noted, limited edition merchandise
releases make them “feel pressured to want to own it.” Participation within a community on
social media drives fans’ engagement, thereby increasing their likelihood of purchasing
products (Rahman et al, 2018). It can therefore be concluded that viral marketing affects
consumer behaviour and influences their purchase intentions (Satrio et al, 2020), by engaging
fans online and strengthening their affinity within a community.
“More products attached to the artist-brand equates to more opportunities for monetization”
(Meier, 2017, p.76). For example, Styles’ merchandise team capitalized off Styles’ ‘TPWK’
brand as an artist, releasing items that read the ‘Treat People With Kindness’ slogan,
reinforcing Styles’ brand and profiting off of it in the process. Columbia used the TPWK slogan
on many products “Because so many individuals are not actively seeking information about
products, stimulating emotion and affect is a better way to distinguish a product and draw
interest” (Gobe, p.74). Fans emotionally resonated with the TPWK message and the limited
nature of the merchandise, therefore they spoke about them and shared them. One survey
respondent said that they only like their TPWK hoodie because it is related to Styles,
reinforcing the fact that fans resonating with this are buying into him as a brand.
23
Pop-Up Shops
To bring the campaign to life, exclusive pop-up shops were hosted in Los Angeles, New York
and London in partnership with Live Nation.
Figure 30: Pop-Up Shops Banner

Source: @HSHQ on Twitter
The purpose of these pop-up shops was to drive physical sales (Shawcross, 2020), allowing
fans to get together within a community environment and immerse themselves in the
campaign. Photo opportunities at the shops brought the fan community closer together, as
they took photos with each other and shared them on Twitter and Instagram. In doing so, this
further promoted the album and spread the word, as fans shared pictures with their friends.
They were doing the work of promoting Fine Line to a wider audience, whilst also gaining an
emotional reward through doing so. In-person events such as the shops influence fans’
commitment to an artist (Figure 8), driving product sales as fans are more likely to purchase
items in person. Gerald Gorn’s study ‘The Effects of Music in Advertising on Choice Behaviour’
as referenced by Gobe, found that when listening to music, people “chose products
accompanied by the music they liked.” (Gobe, 2001, p.75). The album was playing on repeat
at the shops, meaning that fans purchase products here.
24
Brand Loyalty
Marketing a strong brand image for Styles throughout the viral campaign heightened fans’
engagement, thus increasing their loyalty and commitment towards Styles as a brand
(Laroche et al, 2012). As the findings show, fans who are more engaged online tend to be
more committed to the fan community and therefore more likely to remain committed to the
brand in the long-term. This is supported by Shang, Chen and Liao (2006) who found a positive
correlation between online participation and brand loyalty. The campaign enhanced fans’
existing connection and commitment to Styles by engaging them, thus turning them into loyal
brand advocates. The Fine Line campaign has left Columbia with a loyal community of fans
who can be relied on to engage in future marketing campaigns, as “consumers who are
engaged with a brand are more likely to engage” (George, 2017)
Conclusion
The purpose of this case study was to understand fans and their motivations and behaviours
within an online setting. This was applied to the understanding of what motivated them to
engage with the Fine Line campaign, and how this made it go viral. The key finding is that fans
who are more engaged online tend to be more committed to the fan community, and therefore
more likely to forward content via WOM and remain loyal advocates of the artist they follow.
Fans display this loyalty by attending events and purchasing products or services, which as a
result promoted the brand to a wider audience, making it go viral. The marketing of Fine Line
clearly demonstrates some of the innovative strategies employed by Columbia Records and
the success these had to create a perfect environment for fan engagement which fuelled the
viral marketing campaign. The campaign supported the five key aspects for fan engagement,
as adapted from Croft and Heimdal (2021):
- Enticing the Styles fan base within their existing Twitter space to create new
conversations around the Fine Line album
- Enlightening the fans through the use of the Eroda storyline to open up conversations
and create ways to involve themselves in the mystery
- Enrolment in the emotional aspects through the DYKWYA posters and branding of
unique and limited merchandise products
- Engagement through the use of the established fan base as the primary driver of the viral
marketing campaign
- Empowering fans to be the knowledge drivers that could use Twitter to advise and inform
other fans and so they become loyal advocates and influencers within a community space
25
Prior to the campaign, Styles already had an established fan base from his time in the band
‘One Direction’ and from the promotion of his first album. Columbia therefore already had
access to a large community of fans on social media and had this not been the case, the
outcome of the campaign’s success may have differed. O’Brien (2021) suggests that a
successful viral campaign includes content associated with big, popular artists, indicating that
the ‘Fine Line’ campaign may have been so successful because Styles is a popular artist. He
also had a pre-existing engaged audience, and as Music Ally (2019) point out they “relish
knowing everything…and will read enormous symbolism into everything” which is what makes
viral marketing work so well. Contrary to this, “there is an inherent risk involved with viral
marketing campaigns and tactics” (Barnhart, 2020), as there is a “lack of control over the
spread of marketing messages” (Miller and Lammas, 2010) and the risk of a negative message
circulating. Viral marketing is also advantageous because it is “an easy and cheap way for a
message to gain popularity” (Kagan, 2021), as supported by other researchers such as Kaplan
and Haenlein (2011) who also suggest that it is a low-cost type of marketing. Forde (2019)
contradicts this by saying that the viral campaign for Fine Line only worked because Columbia
had a big budget, which was used for supporting content and promotional activities to engage
fans more than a viral campaign usually would.
According to Chin (2014), fans may be also getting exploited in their roles as promoters and
publicists for their favourite musicians. The use of an online fan base in marketing campaigns
could be viewed as “fan labour” (Ilar, 2014) or unpaid work, prompting further research and
questions about whether or not this is the case. Contrary to this, if fans are enjoying the activity
of participating and sharing content related to their favourite artist, (Figure 17) then it can be
argued that their work is not seen as labour as they are choosing to actively participate. “Fans
do not necessarily view themselves as being exploited for their labour.” (Chin, 2014),
especially if they gain rewards such as making friends within a community out of doing so.
It can be concluded that fans’ engagement played a pivotal role in the success of the viral
campaign for Fine Line. Columbia motivated fans to engage with the campaign by giving them
promotional content, making it easy for them to share messages and create buzz around the
campaign with a wider audience. As researchers such as O’Brien (2021) and Dobele et al
(2005) suggest, a successful viral campaign gives fans something to do. The marketing
activities for Fine Line such as the pop-up shops, the posters, and the mystery of Eroda, all
gave fans the chance to get involved which impacted the virality of the campaign’s reach. As
shown in Figure 15, fans are most motivated to share information out of choice. The marketing
messages surrounding Fine Line were interesting enough for fans to deem them worthy of
sharing (Dobele et al, 2005). Additionally, fans are motivated to share information to
26
strengthen their connection and social identity (Laroche et al, 2012), and to participate within
the community that reinforces this (Figure 15). Social media, particularly the @visiteroda
Twitter, facilitated their sharing of information and gave fans the chance to directly engage
with each other (Figure 10). It can therefore be concluded that the viral marketing of Fine Line
was effective at engaging fans. Due to the limited nature of this project, it was not possible to
cover every single aspect of the campaign. Recommendations for further research would be
to look further into different elements of the campaign and research the marketing of it in its
entirety, not just limited to viral.
27
Critical Evaluation
The opportunity to explore a topic of choice for the music management extended project
allowed me to choose something that stemmed from personal experiences and interests. The
development and realisation of a feasible topic area took a while to refine as I had many ideas
and was undecisive as to what would be most appropriate to research academically. I
narrowed down my area of research to music marketing, as throughout my studies at UWL I
have particularly enjoyed learning about how artists and their music are marketed. From being
a music fan myself, I am particularly interested in how fan engagement plays a role in
marketing artists, so I narrowed my research down to this. I communicated the idea by
developing a clear proposal and received positive feedback, prompting me to execute
research into fan engagement and viral marketing. To further refine the research, I focused
on a viral marketing campaign used for one of my favourite artists, making my project more
enjoyable to carry out. As a fan at the time of the campaign, this benefitted the research project
as I knew where to search for reliable resources and information. I also had access to a large
fan community online to fill out my survey, heightening the validity of the results.
I am aware that my pre-existing knowledge and involvement as a fan may be viewed as

subjective. To combat this, I ensured good research practice by considering other points of
view to avoid coming across as bias. The research process was overwhelming due to the
amount I carried out and not knowing what to do with it all. Applying research was challenging
and it was difficult to condense down to what was relevant. To problem solve this, I effectively
organised my research into subsections using tables, pulling out key quotes and analysing
key texts. This helped with planning the body of work, as I could bullet point and apply key
information I had already identified. To correctly reference my research sources, I
communicated with the university academic support team to assist me.
The self-directed nature of the project gave me creative freedom to structure the project in an
organised manner. I included figures throughout the main body of the text to make it more
visual and effectively communicate points I was making. I was also advised to work on using
less quotes and paraphrase where possible, so I made sure to work on this within the main
body of work. The overall process of carrying out the research project allowed me to apply the
academic skills I have learnt during my time on the Music Management course. The
completion of the project helped me gain valuable critical thinking and organisational skills
that can be applied to future endeavours. I think I successfully demonstrated my knowledge
and understanding of the chosen topic, however I could have gone into more depth in certain
areas if we had a higher word count.
28
Reference List
Andreotta, M., Nugroho, R., Hurlstone, M.J. et al. Analyzing social media data: A mixed-
methods framework combining computational and qualitative text analysis. Behave Res 51,
1766-1781 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-019-01202-8
Barnhart, B., 2020. What is viral marketing (and does it actually work in 2020)?. [online]
Sprout Social. Available at: <https://sproutsocial.com/insights/viral-marketing/> [Accessed 3
May 2021].
Beninger, K. 2017, ‘Social Media Users’ Views on the Ethics of Social Media Research’ in
Sloan, L. and Quan-Haase, A., 2017. The Sage Handbook of Social Media Research
Methods. 1st ed. Sage, pp.57-71.
Bhandari, P., 2020. What Is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples. [online] Scribbr.
Available at: <https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/qualitative-research/> [Accessed 17
December 2020].
Brodie, R., Ilic, A., Juric, B. and Hollebeek, L., 2013. Consumer engagement in a virtual
brand community: An exploratory analysis. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), pp.105-
114.
Bughin, J., Doogan, J. and Vetvik, O., 2010. A new way to measure word-of-mouth
marketing. [online], pp. 1-9. McKinsey & Company. Available at:
<https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/a-new-
way-to-measure-word-of-mouth-marketing#> [Accessed 1 May 2021].
Burke, T., 2019. Why Record Companies Need to Shift From B2B to Direct-to-Fan (Column)
- Variety. [online] Variety.com. Available at: <https://variety.com/2019/music/opinion/record-
companies-b2b-direct-to-consumer-fan-model-1203291622/> [Accessed 5 May 2021].
Chi, C., 2020. The Ultimate List of Types of Marketing [41 and Counting]. [online]
Blog.hubspot.com. Available at: <https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-types>
[Accessed 1 May 2021].
Croft, S. and Heimdal, H., 2021. The five E’s of fan engagement in music marketing (guest
column). [online] Musically.com. Available at: <https://musically.com/2021/06/08/the-five-es-
of-fan-engagement-in-music-marketing-guest-column/> [Accessed 10 June 2021].
29
Davies, L., 2020. Do You Know Who You Are? Harry Styles and Complimenting Fans.
[online] Medium. Available at: <https://medium.com/digital-society/do-you-know-who-you-
are-harry-styles-and-complimenting-fans-79a77d4689c4> [Accessed 3 April 2021].
Dobele, A., Toleman, D. and Beverland, M., 2005. Controlled infection! Spreading the brand
message through viral marketing. Business Horizons, [online] 48(2), pp.143-149. Available
at: <http://www.elsevier.com/locate/bushor> [Accessed 9 December 2020].
Dorsey, S., 2015. Mystery Marketing: 3 takeaways from cryptic marketing strategies. [online]
MarketingExperiments. Available at: <https://marketingexperiments.com/social-
marketing/cryptic-market-messaging> [Accessed 6 May 2021].
Elizabeth, D., 2019. That Cryptic Tweet From Harry Styles Might Be a New Album Teaser.
[online] Teen Vogue. Available at: <https://www.teenvogue.com/story/harry-styles-cryptic-
tweet-internet-theories> [Accessed 4 March 2021].
Forde, E., 2019. Harry Styles had 2019’s most cryptic music-marketing campaign. [online]
Musically.com. Available at: <https://musically.com/2019/12/10/harry-styles-had-2019s-
most-cryptic-music-marketing-campaign/> [Accessed 10 December 2020].
Gardner, J., 2013. How David Bowie's white square infiltrated our minds. [online]
Standard.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/how-david-bowie-s-
white-square-infiltrated-our-minds-8530858.html> [Accessed 2 February 2021].
George, S., 2017. Viral marketing in the music industry: How independent musicians utilise
online peer-to-peer interactions. MA. University of Chester.
Gobe, M., 2001. Emotional Branding. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, pp.74,75.
Harper, P., 2019. BEYONCÉ: Viral Techniques and the Visual Album. Popular Music and
Society, [online] 42(1), pp.61-81. Available at:
<https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2019.1555895> [Accessed 5 March 2021].
Hirvijarvi, F., 2017. Viral Marketing and content forwarding on social media: Outlining the key
elements behind successful viral content creation. Arcada University of Applied Sciences.
30
Jewel Box Platinum. 2020. HARRY STYLES “FINE LINE” PLATINUM ALBUM. [online]
Available at: <https://jewelboxplatinum.com/portfolio-item/harry-styles/> [Accessed 6 May
2021].
Kagan, J., 2021. Viral Marketing. [online] Investopedia. Available at:

<https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/viral-marketing.asp> [Accessed 2 December 2021].
Kaplan, A. and Haenlein, M., 2011. Two hearts in three-quarter time: How to waltz the social
media/viral marketing dance. Business Horizons, 54(3), pp.253-263.
Kaufman, G., 2019. Here's How Harry Styles Pulled Off the Most Viral Marketing Campaign
of 2019 For 'Adore You' Video. [online] Billboard. Available at:
<https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8545527/adore-you-harry-styles-viral-
campaign> [Accessed 10 December 2020].
Lake, L., 2020. What Is the Difference Between B2B and B2C Marketing?. [online] The
Balance Small Business. Available at: <https://www.thebalancesmb.com/b2b-vs-b2c-
marketing-2295828> [Accessed 4 May 2021].
Laroche, M., Habibi, M., Richard, M. and Sankaranarayanan, R., 2012. The effects of social
media-based brand communities on brand community markers, value creation processes,
brand trust and brand loyalty. Computers in Human Behaviour, [online] 28(5), pp.1755-1767.
Available at: <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.04.016> [Accessed 5 December 2020].
Lathrop, T., 2007. This Business of Global Music Marketing. New York, NY: Billboard Books,
pp.192, 193.
Macy, A., Rolston, C., Allen, P. and Hutchison, T., 2016. Record Label Marketing: How
Music Companies Brand and Market Artists in the Digital Media. 3rd ed. New York (US) and
Abingdon (UK): Focal Press, pp.19, 69, 411, 412, 419, 422.
Mancilla, A., 2020. How Harry Styles Has Utilized Unique Marketing To Grow His Fanbase.
[online] Blog.hollywoodbranded.com. Available at: <https://blog.hollywoodbranded.com/how-
harry-styles-has-utilized-unique-marketing-to-grow-his-fanbase> [Accessed 10 December
2020].
31
Marketing.twitter.com. 2017. Music on Twitter: Start with the fans in the front row. [online]
Available at: <https://marketing.twitter.com/en/insights/music-on-twitter-start-with-the-fans-in-
the-front-row> [Accessed 9 May 2021].
McCombes, S., 2019. How To Do A Case Study | Examples And Methods. [online] Scribbr.
Available at: <https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/case-study/> [Accessed 17 December
2020].
McGivern, Y., 2006. The Practice of Market and Social Research: An Introduction. 2nd ed.
Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited, pp.58, 65, 149.
McKinley Jr., J., 2013. Who Needs the Critics? Go Cryptic Instead (Published 2013). [online]
Nytimes.com. Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/22/arts/music/who-needs-
the-critics-go-cryptic-instead.html> [Accessed 5 May 2021].
McManus, S., 2009. Viral marketing for musicians - examples (AC/DC, OK GO) and tips
from Sean McManus. [online] Sean.co.uk. Available at:
<https://www.sean.co.uk/a/musicjournalism/var/viral-marketing-for-musicians.shtm>
Mehta, R. and Sivadas, E., 1995. Direct marketing on the internet: An empirical assessment
of consumer attitudes. Journal of Direct Marketing, 9(3), pp.21-32.
Meier, L., 2017. Popular Music as Promotion: Music and Branding in the Digital Age.
Malden, MA: Polity Press, pp.75, 76.
Miller, R. and Lammas, N., 2010. Social media and its implications for viral marketing. Asia
Pacific Public Relations Journal, [online] 11. Available at:
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268200746_Social_media_and_its_implications_f
or_viral_marketing> [Accessed 8 December 2020].
MRC Data, 2019. Nielsen Music Year-End Music Report U.S. 2019. Year-End Music Report.
[online] New York: The Nielsen Music Company, pp.29-30. Available at:
<https://static.billboard.com/files/pdfs/NIELSEN_2019_YEARENDreportUS.pdf> [Accessed
8 May 2021].
32
MRC Data, 2020. MRC Data Year-End Report U.S. 2020. Presented in collaboration with
Billboard. Year-End Report. [online] New York: MRC Data, pp.17, 47-48, 52. Available at:
<https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/files/2021/01/MRC_Billboard_YEAR_END_2020
_US-Final.pdf> [Accessed 6 May 2021].
Music Ally, 2018. The Year's Best Music Marketing Campaigns. Sandbox Issue 218. [online]
Music Ally, pp.14, 15, 20. Available at: <https://musically.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/12/Sandbox218-EOY-47927645739.pdf> [Accessed 5 January 2021].
Music Watch, Crupnick, R., 2018. Music Scores A Gold Record on The Social Media Charts.
[online] Musicwatchinc.com. Available at: <https://www.musicwatchinc.com/blog/music-
scores-a-gold-record-on-the-social-media-charts/> [Accessed 7 May 2021].
O'Brien, C., 2021. Case Study: How Artists and Songs Go Viral. [online] edmprod. Available
at: <https://www.edmprod.com/case-study-how-artists-and-songs-go-viral/> [Accessed 8
May 2021].
Ogden, J., Ogden, D. and Long, K., 2011. Music marketing: A history and
landscape. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, [online] 18(2), pp.120-125.
Available at: <http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jretconser> [Accessed 6 December 2020].
O'Reilly, D., Larsen, G. and Kubacki, K., 2013. Music, Markets and Consumption.
Woodeaton, Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers Limited, pp.166,167,168.
Rahman, Z., Moghavvemmi, S., Suberamanaian, K., Zanuddin, H. and Bin Md Nasir, H.,
2018. Mediating impact of fan-page engagement on social media connectedness and
followers purchase intention. Online Information Review, 42(7), pp.1082-1105.
revive.digital. n.d. The 11 Types of Digital Marketing | Revive Digital. [online] Available at:
<https://revive.digital/blog/the-11-types-of-digital-marketing/> [Accessed 31 May 2021].
RIAA. n.d. Recording Industry Association of America. [online] Available at:

<https://www.riaa.com> [Accessed 9 May 2021].
33
Salo, J., Lankinen, M. and Mäntymäki, M., 2013. The Use of Social Media for Artist
Marketing: Music Industry Perspectives and Consumer Motivations. International Journal on
Media Management, [online] 15(1), pp.23-41. Available at:
<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14241277.2012.755682> [Accessed 6
December 2020].
Sandi, ZA & Triastuti, E 2020, 'Fandom as a reward industry in Indonesia: Pleasures in pop
music fan engagement and participation within online social networking', SEARCH
(Malaysia), vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 73-89. <http://search.taylors.edu.my/documents/journals/2020-
12-2/SEARCH-2020-12-2-J5-73-89.pdf> [Accessed 15 April 2021].
Santos, T., Correia, A., Biscaia, R. and Pegoraro, A., 2019. Examining fan engagement
through social networking sites. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship,
20(1), pp.163-183.
Shang, R., Chen, Y. and Liao, H., 2006. The Value of Participation in Virtual Consumer
Communities on Brand Loyalty. Journal of Internet Research, [online] 16(4), pp.398-418.
Available at: <https://doi.org/10.1108/10662240610690025> [Accessed 5 December 2020].
Shawcross, C., 2020. Columbia's Charlie Shawcross talks Harry Styles as big Q4 push
beckons for Fine Line. Interviewed by Mark Sutherland for Music Week. [Online article]
Future Plc, 1 October. Available at: <https://www.musicweek.com/labels/read/columbia-s-
charlie-shawcross-talks-harry-styles-as-big-q4-push-beckons-for-fine-line/081366>
[Accessed 10 December 2020].
Sony Music UK. 2020. Columbia Records’ Harry Styles marketing campaign honoured at the
Music Week Awards 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.sonymusic.co.uk/columbia-
records-harry-styles-marketing-campaign-honoured-at-the-music-week-awards-2020/>
Stewart, S., 2021. The Use of the Artist-Fan Engagement Model as a Strategy Tool. Belmont
University, Nashville.
Survey Monkey. n.d. Conducting Qualitative Research. [online] Available at:

<https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/mp/conducting-qualitative-research/> [Accessed 17
December 2020].
34
Urban Dictionary. 2017. Top Definition: Stan. [online] Available at:

<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Stan> [Accessed 10 May 2021].
Urban Dictionary. 2016. Top Definition: Stan Twitter. [online] Available at:
<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Stan%20Twitter> [Accessed 7 May
2021].
VisitEroda.com. 2019. Visit Eroda. [online] Available at: <https://www.visiteroda.com>

Xanthogeorgis, M., and Salcedo, J., 2019. Here's How Harry Styles Pulled Off the Most Viral
Marketing Campaign of 2019 For 'Adore You' Video. Interviewed by Gil Kaufman for
Billboard [online article] 6 December. Available at:
<https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8545527/adore-you-harry-styles-viral-
campaign> [Accessed 10 December 2020].
Yassin, D., 2019. Harry Styles, Eroda and the celebrity as artist | The Michigan Daily.
[online] The Michigan Daily. Available at: <https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/harry-style-
eroda-and-celebrity-artist/> [Accessed 10 December 2020].
2015. A Brief Summary Of Marketing And How It Works. [ebook] Maidenhead: Chartered
Institute of Marketing, pp.2-11. Available at: <https://www.cim.co.uk/media/4772/7ps.pdf>
35
Appendices
Appendix A: Harry Styles signed to Columbia Records UK, a sub-label under Sony Music
Sources: Websites - Sony Music UK and Columbia Records UK
36
Appendix B: Columbia won award for the Fine Line campaign

Source: Sony Music UK (n.d.)
Appendix C: Survey question asking respondents to list artists whom they are a fan of
(indicative sample of all responses given)
37
Appendix D: Survey responses in Google spreadsheet, highlighting the fact that most
respondents listed Harry Styles (indicative sample)
38
Appendix E: MusicWatch (2018) study results

Source: MusicWatch
39
Appendix F: Definition of a ‘Stan’

Source: Urban Dictionary
Appendix G: Definition of ‘Stan Twitter’

Source: Urban Dictionary
40
Appendix H: Fan community benefits

(Indicative Sample)
Appendix I: ‘TPWK’ Acronym

Source: Harry Styles Website
41
Appendix J: Top 10 selling albums in 2019

Source: MRC Data Year-End Report U.S. 2019
Appendix K: Top 10 selling albums in 2020

Source: MRC Data Year-End Report U.S. 2020
42
Appendix L: About The Recording Industry Association

Fine Line’s Multi-Platinum Certification
Sources: Jewel Box and RIAA
43
Appendix M: Singles platinum certifications

Source: RIAA
Appendix N: “Do” Tweet and “DO WHAT” trending

Source: Twitter
44
Appendix O: Eroda Targeted Ads

Source: Facebook
45

Dissertation

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dissertation

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

MU60174E

Music Management Extended Project

‘No Campaign Quite Like It’

Word Count: 7,959

Submitted by Freya Whitfield on June 2021

Case Study: The Fine Line Campaign…………………………………………………….17-25

Figure 1: Artist-Fan Engagement Model

Viral marketing falls

Figure 3: B2B/B2C – Image by Roberts (2019)

Figure 4: Three key elements of viral content creation

Viral marketing is advantageous because, as Dobele et al (2005, p.144) argue, it “dramatically

Figure 5: Relationship between WOM and viral marketing

The Music Fan

Figure 6: Music Fan Figure 7: Age range

Figure 11: How social

Figure 12: Most used

Figure 13: Social

Figure 15: WOM information sharing

Figure 16: Motivations to share information via WOM

Figure 17: Likelihood of becoming a fan through WOM referral

Figure 18: Motivations to engage

Figure 19: Fan community Figure 20: Fan community influence

Figure 21: Factors influencing purchase decisions

Figure 22: Purchase Behaviour

Figure 23: Likelihood of purchasing limited edition merchandise

Figure 24: Long-term

Figure 25: Loyalty

Case Study Analysis:

Figure 26: ‘Fine Line’ Album Plaque

Lights Up: “Do” You Know Who You Are? (DYKWYA)

The Online Message Generator

Figure 28: Online Message Generator

Adore You: The Island of Eroda

Figure 29: Eroda

Physical Products and Purchase Decisions

Figure 30: Pop-Up Shops Banner

I am aware that my pre-existing knowledge and involvement as a fan may be viewed as

Kagan, J., 2021. Viral Marketing. [online] Investopedia. Available at:

RIAA. n.d. Recording Industry Association of America. [online] Available at:

Survey Monkey. n.d. Conducting Qualitative Research. [online] Available at:

Urban Dictionary. 2017. Top Definition: Stan. [online] Available at:

VisitEroda.com. 2019. Visit Eroda. [online] Available at: <https://www.visiteroda.com>

Appendix B: Columbia won award for the Fine Line campaign

Appendix E: MusicWatch (2018) study results

Appendix F: Definition of a ‘Stan’

Appendix G: Definition of ‘Stan Twitter’

Appendix H: Fan community benefits

Appendix I: ‘TPWK’ Acronym

Appendix J: Top 10 selling albums in 2019

Appendix K: Top 10 selling albums in 2020

Appendix L: About The Recording Industry Association

Appendix M: Singles platinum certifications

Appendix N: “Do” Tweet and “DO WHAT” trending

Appendix O: Eroda Targeted Ads

You might also like