I consider Cowboy Carter one of the best albums of our times, and Beyoncé’s pre-launch marketing of it nothing short of epic.
The Grammys may have been late to catch up to the “Beyonce deserves an album of the year” party but her albums have always been worthy.
In the same way that Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key of Life defined my father’s generation, and Prince’s Purple Rain defined mine…
…Beyoncé brought us an album to last generations chock full with reminders the world needs now.
But it’s the album’s launch I want to talk, and only the launch.
And I want to share 5 lessons we can take from Beyonce’s marketing masterclass and apply to our own small, amazing businesses.
Beyoncé’s Marketing Has Not Always Been Successful
Beyoncé does not build her brand around publicity. At least not the Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight appearances kind.
She prefers mystery. Privacy.
Exhibit 1: her non-captioned IG account; her traditional media averse launches; her surprise album drops.
You only know Beyoncé has struck when she chooses to emerge. One time it was in a yellow dress with a baseball bat in hand. [Lemonade, 2016]
That preference for privacy irks her haters of which she has plenty, and maybe it hurts her bank account too. (Oh stop! We’re talking the billions here. Ok?)
Her Ivy Park clothing brand—which produced streetwear through a fashion partnership with Adidas struggled until both parted ways. Who remembers the House of Dereon? ***When you know, you know***
But I’ll tell you this: the way she launched Cowboy Carter (WITH THAT STETSON HAT ON A HORSE, OH MY GOSH) has redefined what it means to make an online offer and invite an audience to take action.
In my world of creating digital offers, I want to share with you five lessons you can take away and apply to your own online launches
1 | KNOW YOUR WHY
One of my favourite things that Beyoncé does from the get go on Cowboy Carter, and on the very first track, “American Requiem,” is that she dials up her voice and declares …
“It’s a lot of chatter in here
But let me make myself clear (oh)
Can you hear me? (Huh)
Or, do you fear me? (Ah) “
Her lines were an invitation and her reminder to the industrial complex -The Country Music Association- who manufactures and rewards the best in country music that she was born country.
Her home state is Texas.
She grew up steeped in the music of the American South.
And those sounds were rooted in the African origins of country music (the banjo and the genre’s little known ties to the blues).
That first song on Cowboy Carter was Bey’s way of sticking her middle finger up to the wind.
Arghhh, I mean the CMA.
Cowboy Carter was fuelled by Beyoncé’s anger and determination that burned bright after she met a racial backlash when she performed “Daddy Lessons,” with The Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards.
The ultimate slap was when organisers removed her performance from their 2016 award show on YouTube.
In making Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé not only understood her WHY, she shared it with the world via this post on her Instagram account.
The post said it all.
My Take On Cowboy Carter: When you launch your own digital offer, business, don’t just know your WHY, dial up your voice and share it.
Beyoncé did not just give us a history lesson, she riled up the Hive and educated the rest of us, grounding her foray into country music with a compelling story that resonated.
I don’t care whether you loved or hated Beyonce before the arrival of Cowboy Carter, by the time the album dropped, you were ready to listen.
I found this video of Beyonce’s performance that was scrubbed from the CMA 2016 awards show. How she was treated before and after this performance was her WHY.
2 | TheBeyoncé Marketing Machine Went All In With The Pre Launch
If you watch the Super Bowl ONLY for the ads and the half time shows like I do ***(sorry, not sorry),*** then you and I were talking about two things on February 11th, 2024.
How ‘FOINEEE’ Usher looked and sounded, and…
What do you mean Beyoncé is dropping a country album?
We have that Feb 11th Super Bowl to thank for that.
In her Super Bowl ad, Beyonce announced the release of Act II of her album, Renaissance.
Days later the release date of Cowboy Carter was set for March 29th, and it offered a feel for her country era.
Suddenly her Stetson hat and cowboy look at the Grammy’s made sense.
And then came her release of Texas Hold ‘Em accompanied by a TikTok dance that went viral and created another dance trend.
It also had Beyonce’s fan base calling radio stations to demand that they play her first two releases when they weren’t hearing them on their local radio stations.
For two full months, between the announcement and the album launch, Beyoncé ‘s marketing strategy was all about building anticipation.
So much so that just after midnight on March 28th, legions of her fans went live on You Tube to record their first reactions to Cowboy Carter.
Many of these takes went viral on YouTube.
Judette’s Take:
When launching don’t feel like you have to hold your hand or play it safe.
In fact, don’t.
Drop teasers. Use some of your best outputs to create buzz. Make sure the roll out is lined up well.
The tear sheet we can take away from the Beyoncé marketing playbook is that dropping wonderfully layered and important teasers can stir the pot of excitement and create momentum for what’s to come.
Don’t ever forget it was that momentum that took Beyoncée to the top of the country charts as the first black woman to shatter that ceiling.
Never mind that the CMAs declared it not country enough and denied her a nomination at their 2024 award show.
This was the ad that started the Cowboy Carter buzz.
3 | Cowboy Carter’s Marketing Proposition: “This Ain’t A Country Album”
Jon Pareles, music critic at the New York Times, offered an incomparable review of Beyoncé’s album revealing a surprising nugget to the non-country insiders.
Nashville, the home of country music, has a place called Music Row.
It’s where all the country music publishers, record labels, and recording studios are located.
But more importantly, country superstars are born on Music Row because of strategic pairings.
According to Pareles, publishers are matched with artists who are then matched with songwriters to create the words to the hits.
Taylor Swift once lived on Music Row.
But this ain’t a Swiftie post. It’s a Beyonce post, which brings me to to another fact observed by Pareles.
He writes: “If Beyoncé had merely wanted to make mainstream country hits, she could have hired a seasoned Nashville producer and had her pick of expert Music Row songwriters.”
But “Cowboy Carter” went left. No, no not that left. I mean contrary to the establishment left.
And Beyonce brought on producers like Pharell, Swizz Beats, Jon Batiste, Ryan Beatty, Raye, Nile Rodgers, and they bought hip-hop and R&B, blues and gospel back to the realm of country.
“This ain’t a Country album. This is a Beyoncé album,” the Queen wrote on Instagram just a few days before the album’s release.
With that one statement she clarified expectations and controlled the album’s debut narrative on her terms.
When critics questioned the influences as they should, journalists, reviewers and think pieces echoed her words, reinforcing the message she wanted to convey.
Judette’s Take:
Before the horse runs away from the stable, and your work meets the world, control the narrative by declaring what your audience can expect from your launch.
“This ain’t a Country album. This is a Beyoncé album”, took on another dimension when third party endorsers began say it back to everyone who questioned the album’s place on the country charts.
When you launch, have a sticky line in EVERY description of your copy that clarifies intent.
This ensures your message sticks in the face of misunderstanding.
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4 | Cowboy Carter Taught Us That Who You Bring To The Table is Critical
One of Beyoncé’s biggest flexes on Cowboy Carter is her collaborations with the heaviest of hitters in country music: Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.
In the eyes of the public, you can’t get more “country” than these two superstars.
This was such a cool but powerful move.
You see, when you create an offer and before you take it to market, you’ve got to devote time to understand all the forthcoming objections.
This is hard. No one likes doing this.
But from my experience I can tell you with 100% confidence that front facing all the objections you may or may not face will allow you to build counterpoints into your messaging.
And one of the best ways to do that is to build in third party endorsers into your project
Exhibit 1:
Critics: Beyoncé isn’t country and is not one of us.
Dolly Parton: “Wow, I just heard Jolene. Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it. Love.”
Exhibit 2:
Critics: Beyoncé needs to stay in her lane.
Miley Cyrus (who crosses genres without backlash): “I’ve loved Beyoncé for such a long time, before I had the opportunity to meet and work with her. My admiration runs so much deeper now.”
Exhibit 3:
Critics: Beyoncé has little regard for the true country music and artists that paved the way.
Linda Martell: “I am honoured to be included.”
Lninda Martell is the first black country singer whose 1970 album, “Color Me Country,” included the first charting country hit by a Black woman.
Judette’s Take:
Lean into the the discourse by anticipating the negatives, develop an objections spreadsheet and add a last columns that speaks directly to the counteracting actions or points you’ll take.
When you’re considering putting your offer into the world, I want you to think this:
“If I were _____, here’s what I’d have to say about my ____.”
Now, not every objection matters. You want to pay attention to those that do.
5| Progress Was Better Than Perfection
If you listen to Cowboy Carter first, and then the dance centric Renaissance (Act I in Bey’s trilogy) you’ll find a seamless flow.
On track 27 of Cowboy Carter, the music segues from country to the stuff we adore about Beyoncé: dance beats.
My goodness you only have to listen to YaYa Ya, a toe stumping, hands clapping Beach Boys meets Tina Turner single, to know that the change in tempo was imminent.
But why?
To me, adding dance beats to a country album would be enough to give her critics enough bullets to pull the trigger, and be dismissive within their narrow mindedness.
Her explanation though was everything: “The world needed to dance.”
And she was right.
Post Covid. Post being shuttered in. Post losses and grief, Post Capitol Hill riots there was need for a collective happiness.
The world to dance and Beyonce delivered Renaissance, postponing the release of Cowboy Carter to remind us that house music was created by young people who happened to be black, queer and influential, way before that was an acknowledged thing.
But it’s changing the order of the releases that matters most when we’re talking the readiness any body of work to meet the moment.
Judette’s Take:
Do not be afraid to stop, assess how all the bits of your launch releases are stacked and then change the dates to suit the mood and the moment, once required.
Of course Beyoncé has a budget to do as she pleases.
But listen, if your own release is not aligned with the opportunity or the moment for your work to be received well, it is best to pause and rearrange the timing.
Final Thoughts About Beyoncé + The Marketing Cowboy Carter
The way Cowboy Carter was released offers us an insight into how offers can be launched with a MASSIVE budget.
But it also points straight fingers to the fact that getting close to perfection lies in the weeds.
Overthinking too? Sure! That’s why the rollout of the 2024 Album of the Year triggered such deep interest and massive streams.
Every detail was planned with room for flexibility.
Act III is going to provide another opportunity to learn from the Beyoncé marketing machine, and I for one can’t wait.
For now, and at the time of writing we get to anticipate the Cowboy Carter tour. Tickets anyone?
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