Green Day's Marketing & Promotional Efforts

[pacejunkie punk]

7 minutes ago, HAPPY ROOTING UNICORN said:

If by legacy act you mean a band that doesn’t produce new music, or anyway focuses more on its legacy rather than creating something new, I don’t think it’s the case with GD in the near future. 
Even if FOAM as a record will not be a commercial success (and I think it’s way too soon to say this, FOAM didn’t perform that bad), the band expressed the desire to release more music more often, with or without Warner. Which is quite the opposite than what I expect from a legacy act. 

Maybe the days of colossal promotions and 5 singles with music video per record are over, but I don’t think this means GD will become a legacy act any time soon. 

That’s not how I define legacy act, to me I think it’s more how you are perceived by the mainstream than whether you are still creating new music. Paul McCartney never stopped making new music, but people go see Paul in concert to hear him play Beatles and Wings hits.  If I go see The Who or The Stones you can bet it’s not for their latest releases.  New music by legacy artists doesn’t impact the mainstream. Green Day may continue to make new music for a smaller and smaller audience and the larger audience listens to Dookie and AI and doesn’t even know when they put something out that’s new.  In that sense they start to look more like those classic rock bands. They haven’t had that kind of impact on mainstream charts and awards since 21CB ten years ago. 

[Montclare]

When I think legacy act, the main three things I think of are-

1. Bands who tour solely on their previous works and don't put out any new music.  Think Fleetwood Mac doing Rumours tours for the 8 millionth time.

2. Bands who put out new music, but it doesn't chart, doesn't get airplay, or fans who show up at shows don't know it.  Think the Rolling Stones.

3. Age.  Again, look at the bands mentioned, with members in their 70s.

Green Day doesn't fit any of these qualifiers.  They're always putting out music, to the extent that they create other bands to do so in their spare time.  Their shows are a mixture of hits and songs from whatever current album they're touring on.  RevRad charted at #1 and had 2 singles hit #1 on the rock charts.  Casual fans might not know the words to current songs, but plenty were singing along with Bang Bang and Still Breathing like any hit from AI or Dookie.  The band members aren't even 50 yet and have a frontman who looks like he's in his mid-30s.  I do think it's concerning that FOAM only hit #3 on the Alternative Chart, but don't worry about them hitting legacy act status.  Yet.  We'll see what the promotion is for the album when it comes out.

[Billie Joes Eyelids]

24 minutes ago, HAPPY ROOTING UNICORN said:

If by legacy act you mean a band that doesn’t produce new music, or anyway focuses more on its legacy rather than creating something new, I don’t think it’s the case with GD in the near future. 
Even if FOAM as a record will not be a commercial success (and I think it’s way too soon to say this, FOAM didn’t perform that bad), the band expressed the desire to release more music more often, with or without Warner. Which is quite the opposite than what I expect from a legacy act. 

Maybe the days of colossal promotions and 5 singles with music video per record are over, but I don’t think this means GD will become a legacy act any time soon. 

Also if Warner is currently dictating the singles release schedule, I can see even more why they might want to get out from under that. Maybe in the future they won’t even do albums, just release a single every few months. Just kidding, but I can see why they would want to do their own thing. Billie is far from losing his creative drive I think.

[Lenny]

4 hours ago, Billie Joe's Eyelids said:

 @Sheenius you seem to know a lot about marketing. Why the extremely slow singles release pace in your opinion? It feels like they’re losing momentum.

I worked for a Marketing company for 2 years and then transitioned into Operations Management over the last 5 years or so. Operations still requires Marketing and even more Sales efforts if anything. I think most people just think of Marketing as some aggressive advertising tactic or something when it's not really the case. Promotions is a huge part of it but how something is priced vs it's perceived value, how it's placed in a marketplace and the actual product itself are huge parts of establishing your market. 

My opinion (which can't be close to the truth as I don't work for Warner) is them trying to avoid saturation. I said a few times recently that I think this will be a longer GD era that may even flow right into the next release (whatever it may be). Rather than them blow their load all at once and drop 3 singles over a span of a month or two they'll most likely drop a single that's a quarter - half a year apart. Then there's always a new Green Day song out throughout the era. Although the irony is that the one we have at the moment will get overplayed as there's no alternative for radio stations to use to push the new album. 

The other reason could be that the other 8 songs are not single material so why release something that will chart poorly and may gain negative attention prior to the album dropping? It could be a play on the mystery of not knowing what 80% of the album sounds like. I remember Rev Rad as a whole being a bit of a surprise after Bang Bang dropped. 

The final thing I could think of is the best for last. There could be a gem in there that they're saving. The reason they'd do that is cause pre-sale and first week sales tend to be quite heavy. The hardcore fans come out and dust off their wallets regardless of the product. They love to support the band and they live and breathe it. After the first month sales and streams start to fall. If a gem of a single comes out later on that can keep the momentum going for the album. Very similar to how Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Holiday and Wake Me Up When September Ends did it for AI. AI was an even bigger record by the end of 05 than it was at the end of 04. 21 guns did this for 21cb as well. 

 

 

 

[Billie Joes Eyelids]

That’s a very interesting perspective I hadn’t thought of @Sheenius, thank you.

[Lenny]

3 hours ago, Billie Joe's Eyelids said:

That’s a very interesting perspective I hadn’t thought of @Sheenius, thank you.

no problem! I didn't want to add on more as it was long but it also seems like Crush as a management team likes to focus on 1 single and trying to make it really big. The song that comes to mind is Panic At The Disco - High Hopes. They've been pushing that song for what seems like forever at this point. Kind of with the hope that if you hear it that many times it will get stuck in your head or something. 

The risk of introducing another single too early is that they drop the current song like it's nothing. 

[Billie Joes Eyelids]

1 minute ago, Sheenius said:

no problem! I didn't want to add on more as it was long but it also seems like Crush as a management team likes to focus on 1 single and trying to make it really big. The song that comes to mind is Panic At The Disco - High Hopes. They've been pushing that song for what seems like forever at this point. Kind of with the hope that if you hear it that many times it will get stuck in your head or something. 

The risk of introducing another single too early is that they drop the current song like it's nothing. 

But they’ve promoted the hell out of this song and it seems to have reached its max and is on a downward trajectory. How does continuing to promote it help? Especially if it’s clear by now that it’s not resonating with large numbers of people. I mean I guess at this point I just don’t want them to play it at appearances like they’re recording for NYE because the general response to it seems to be meh and I feel like it doesn’t help them. But I know nothing about marketing. 

[pacejunkie punk]

9 minutes ago, Sheenius said:

no problem! I didn't want to add on more as it was long but it also seems like Crush as a management team likes to focus on 1 single and trying to make it really big. The song that comes to mind is Panic At The Disco - High Hopes. They've been pushing that song for what seems like forever at this point. Kind of with the hope that if you hear it that many times it will get stuck in your head or something. 

The risk of introducing another single too early is that they drop the current song like it's nothing. 

 

Just now, Billie Joe's Eyelids said:

But they’ve promoted the hell out of this song and it seems to have reached its max and is on a downward trajectory. How does continuing to promote it help? Especially if it’s clear by now that it’s not resonating with large numbers of people. I mean I guess at this point I just don’t want them to play it at appearances like they’re recording for NYE because the general response to it seems to be meh and I feel like it doesn’t help them. But I know nothing about marketing. 

It’s called the mere-exposure effect and it’s an actual thing that works:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere-exposure_effect

[Billie Joes Eyelids]

13 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

 

It’s called the mere-exposure effect and it’s an actual thing that works:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere-exposure_effect

So I guess the thought here is that FOA could still do well as a single via repeated exposure. Maybe once people adjust to the falsetto? 😬

26 minutes ago, Sheenius said:

no problem! I didn't want to add on more as it was long but it also seems like Crush as a management team likes to focus on 1 single and trying to make it really big. The song that comes to mind is Panic At The Disco - High Hopes. They've been pushing that song for what seems like forever at this point. Kind of with the hope that if you hear it that many times it will get stuck in your head or something. 

The risk of introducing another single too early is that they drop the current song like it's nothing. 

How long was High Hopes promoted before it did well?

[pacejunkie punk]

1 minute ago, Billie Joe's Eyelids said:

So I guess the thought here is that FOA could still do well as a single via repeated exposure. Maybe once people adjust to the falsetto? 😬

Yeah even we have to admit it seemed weird at first but with repeated exposure doesn’t sound so strange anymore. And a lot of people on here said they liked the song itself the more they heard it. 

[Brutalitops]

Big time legacy angle.

Remember Green Day? They're back. In hockey form!

 

 

[Guest]

52 minutes ago, Brutalitops said:

Big time legacy angle.

Remember Green Day? They're back. In hockey form!

 

 

Hockey foam, you mean!

I'm sure all the hockey fans, or anyone in that regard, will love drunken unicorn Billie singing a lazy vague song about firing before aiming. And someone, whoever that is, being a liar.

I'm so excited for this era full of foam.

Well, maybe I'm being too harsh and sarcastic... But come on.

When all the promotion's about a late release because Warner doesn't give a shit about Green Day, then meeting pop stars and getting shitfaced with them, then sending ramblings on social media... Something's wrong.

[Lenny]

15 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said:

 

It’s called the mere-exposure effect and it’s an actual thing that works

It's Crush's hail mary pass lol The award show performances and attendance is also a Crush management thing as well. 

It looks like Billie Joe is in some rap video now as well. This is a big legacy angle now for sure. Using that as a stamp of approval for the new stuff. 

Also seems like a play to capture the younger audience. They're even considering face tattoos. 

15 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said:

Yeah even we have to admit it seemed weird at first but with repeated exposure doesn’t sound so strange anymore. And a lot of people on here said they liked the song itself the more they heard it. 

Also playing on the illusion that it's a successful or well received song. Also repetition drives it right into your brain. Whether or not you want to be aware of it you will be. If you're frustrated about it and hate them you'll say something. Then everyone who hates you will go listen to it and enjoy in spite of you. 

[Billie Joes Eyelids]

1 hour ago, Sheenius said:

It's Crush's hail mary pass lol The award show performances and attendance is also a Crush management thing as well.

Instead of throwing a Hail Mary pass on a single that hasn’t done that great, why not just go on to the next single? I guess you answered that before when you said it’s either because they don’t have any more hit-worthy singles or they have a really good one that they don’t want to put out too early. Or to avoid saturation. I guess I’m getting it now. I hope it’s not the first reason I listed. It’s hard to imagine that FOA is a do or die single and the only one they’re hanging their hopes on. 

[Beerjeezus]

They didn't even play FRA live at shows, so yeah, there either is something better or they're aware it's mostly crap and FOAM is the best there is, so they're making sure people hear it.

[Lenny]

1 hour ago, Billie Joe's Eyelids said:

Instead of throwing a Hail Mary pass on a single that hasn’t done that great, why not just go on to the next single? I guess you answered that before when you said it’s either because they don’t have any more hit-worthy singles or they have a really good one that they don’t want to put out too early. Or to avoid saturation. I guess I’m getting it now. I hope it’s not the first reason I listed. It’s hard to imagine that FOA is a do or die single and the only one they’re hanging their hopes on. 

They could be holding off for the time the record actually drops. Rev Rad saw one of GD's weakest first weeks in sales.  They got their pre-sales and dedicated fans know the album is on it's way and have pre-ordered. 

They may do an additional push in February or late January to boost that up to more impressive first week sales. That's essentially what places you high on Billboard charts and starts generating some buzz around your album with positive articles. That would go hand in hand with a new single. 

Believe it or not Uno's launch was more successful than Rev Rad's in sales figures. 

We're sitting here trying to figure them out and they're probably all chilling at one of their places eating popcorn not giving a fuck and have no plan in place 😂 Whatever will be, we got Hella Mega we're gonna get paid 💸

[DookieLukie]

3 hours ago, Sheenius said:

 

It looks like Billie Joe is in some rap video now as well. This is a big legacy angle now for sure. Using that as a stamp of approval for the new stuff. 

What rap video?

[UNICORN VOMIT]

1 hour ago, DookieLukie said:

What rap video?

check out insta thread.

[Lenny]

6 hours ago, DookieLukie said:

What rap video?

I just saw it. I have no clue who the actual rapper is. If it's not 80's or 90's hip hop or very early 2000's then I don't know it. GD seems to get some hardcore respect in face tattoo communities that's all I really know. 

The only modern guy that I've been able to tolerate for a few tracks is Vince Staples. Even then I hate when he collaborates with certain artists and just reading his interviews with hate against white people (the majority of his fan base) is somewhat ridiculous. He does make some very minor valid points about the dynamic and irony but he is wrong overall. 

Another thing is that he tries to reference his LA ghetto as some black problem. I can see through your shit Vince cause I'm a fan of 80's hardcore punk. I've seen non black hardcore punks in videos and documentaries go back to their childhood homes and wow what a surprise it looks like your ghetto! The ghettos demographic is made up of an allocation of several different races not just the allocation you hand select for your music videos to push your bias!

 

 

[Rumpelstiltskin2000]

58 minutes ago, Sheenius said:

I have no clue who the actual rapper is.

Tyla Yaweh. I'd never heard of  him before Billie went to the Post Malone show

[Lenny]

15 hours ago, Rumpelstiltskin2000 said:

Tyla Yaweh. I'd never heard of  him before Billie went to the Post Malone show

I didn't even know about the Post Malone show

[Maddie86]

Green day should team up with KitchenAid and do a promotion where you get a free copy of nimrod with the purchase of a blender

[Squashie]

2 minutes ago, Maddie86 said:

Green day should team up with KitchenAid and do a promotion where you get a free copy of nimrod with the purchase of a blender

Or a Vitamix

[Beerjeezus]

2 minutes ago, Maddie86 said:

Green day should team up with KitchenAid and do a promotion where you get a free copy of nimrod with the purchase of a blender

that's promo I would love

[Lenny]

19 hours ago, Maddie86 said:

Green day should team up with KitchenAid and do a promotion where you get a free copy of nimrod with the purchase of a blender

I was thinking more a long the lines of tapping into the baby boomers for a target market. Every purchase of FOAMF will come with a free sample of metamucil and boner pills.