Consistency in Content and Marshmello’s Branding
The music industry holds some of the largest brands in the world from mega artists such as Marshmello, and Travis Scott, to the labels themselves like Sony and Ultra. These entities bring in millions, if not billions of dollars every year, and much of their success can be attributed to a flawless execution of social media usage through conversion copywriting. Today I would like to focus on the artist, Marshmello specifically, and break down his (team’s) use of social media to find out what makes him one of the most successful music brands ever.
Marshmello is a cultural icon, who’s image has transcended the music industry as a whole. He has had multiple appearances in popular media, but the largest and most successful instance is no doubt in the massively popular video game, Fortnite. But what makes Marshmello’s appearance in the game and its surrounding events stand out as something other than a brute force attempt at garnering attention from the press, and how does it relate to his usage of social media? First, appearing in Fortnite grew his audience on a massive scale, which likely introduced a new target audience of teens and young adults who enjoy music and gaming. I’d say that Marshmello’s consistency and follow through is what makes his social media stand out and keeps people invested. For example, Marshmello’s social media consists of memes, games (usually Fortnite related), and of course the regularly scheduled music content. This covers a wide array of content, which in turn expands and diversifies Marshmello’s audience. Many of his fans will surely come back for different content, whether it be the memes, gaming content, or the music itself. This means that there are more conversion points that the team must hit in order to maintain and grow the brand; which they do, for example, by releasing a Fortnite Music video for his recent track “Blocks,” thus hitting both the part of the audience that is interested in gaming and the other waiting for new music. Also, the “Cooking with Marshmello” and “How To” videos on his YouTube provide multiple touch points for fans. Notably, Marshmello often mentions other actors his content, mentioning Ninja (@Marshmellomusic) or recent collaborator Kane Brown (@Marshmellomusic). This solidifies himself into the greater communities he identifies with and expands the Marshmello canon in the eyes of the audience.
Marshmello’s appearance in Fortnite definitely solidified himself as a social media powerhouse and popular figure with such a wide array of content, but it begs the question of focus. His social media is clearly more than just music, but does this come at the expense of his image as a DJ and producer? Has Marshmello simply become a meme? That character in Fortnite who had a concert? Interestingly, given a brief search through Twitter on Marshmello, most people talking about him are focusing on the music and the costume (it is Halloween season after all), as opposed to simply “that Fortnite character.” It shows that it is possible for an artist to expand their target demographic even across separate media while not degrading the brand as a musical entity.
In contrast to other brands in the industry, Marshmello is probably the most diverse. This of course comes at the risk of alienating some parts of the fanbase who care less for certain content, but generally in the case of Marshmello it has been a net positive. Deadmau5 is also a DJ and producer whose audience is made of a gamer demographic. The difference though, and where Marshmello comes out on top is once again the consistency of diverse content. For Deadmau5, video game content feels like a one-off event, despite him previously live streaming games like PUBG very consistently in previous years. In the fast paced environment that social media is today, consistency is key. People looking for gaming content from Deadmau5 have likely moved on to other brands that meet their needs and wants as consumers, whereas Marshmello has certainly kept all or most faucets of entertainment locked down, therefore ensuring that his audience is always engaged. Marshmello’s consistency in social media content has undoubtedly given him an edge over the competition.
Works Cited
@Marshmellomusic. “Let him hear it @kanebrown.” Twitter, 21 Oct. 2019, 11:51 a.m., https://twitter.com/marshmellomusic/status/1186309140303335428. Accessed 30 Oct. 2019.
@Marshmellomusic. “Let’s run some games @Ninja @timthetatman @CouRageJD @DrLupo.” Twitter, 26 Oct. 2019, 3:52 p.m., https://twitter.com/marshmellomusic/status/1188181702142652416. Accessed 30 Oct. 2019.
Marshmello. “Marshmello — Blocks (Fortnite Music Video).” YouTube, uploaded 22 Oct. 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC5i9ETswoc&feature=youtu.be. Accessed 30 Oct. 2019
