1. Back to Basics - Marketing Plan
Overview
Four Year Strong is back and stronger than ever.
Four Year Strong is a four-piece band from Worcester, MA who started making music in
2001. Their sound can be described as a blend of pop punk and melodic hardcore. They are
typically found headlining major festivals such as the Vans Warped Tour. With every album
release, their popularity continued to climb. Though their latest album prior to their hiatus, In
Some Way, Shape, or Form, received mixed reviews, they are ready to take on the music world
once again.
Objectives
Four Year Strong are coming back from a hiatus and are looking to return to their
original sound, such as 2007’s Rise or Die Trying and 2010’s Enemy of the World. As the
pioneers of their genre, Four Year Strong are ready to conquer the masses once again.
We will accomplish this by:
1. Creating and exposing marketing assets that are engaging
2. Achieving significant airplay on rock radio
3. Securing licenses and syncs in films and games
4. Assist the band in continuing to develop their existing fan base
4. Official Site: http://fouryearstrongmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fouryearstrong 464K likes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fouryearstrong 76.5K followers
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/fouryearstrong 1.59M views
Instagram: http://instagram.com/fouryearstrong 127K likes
Band and Album Info
Album Title: Back to Basics
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Marketing: Kat Neidig
Management: Kat Neidig
Publicity: Kat Neidig
Radio: Kat Neidig
Digital: Kat Neidig
Tour Marketing: Kat Neidig
Licensing: Kat Neidig
Four Year Strong is:
Dan O’Connor: Vocals, guitar
Alan Day: Vocals, guitar
Jake Massucco: Drums
Joe Weiss: Bass
Track Listing:
1. Back to Basics
2. A Story to Tell My Friends
3. Clockwork
4. Kill the Lights
5. To Infinity and Beyond
6. Boston Strong
7. All In
8. Stick to Your Guns
9. I Still Don’t Know What a Gigawatt is
10. Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
11. Status Quo
Bonus Tracks:
1. Excelsior
2. Goonies Never Say “Die”
3. Don’t Back Down
5. Timeline
Overview:
We are creating full assets for the title track “Back to Basics” and “All In.” We will begin
with the former in order to begin executing our plan of reassuring the fans’ faith in the band that
their original sound has not gone anywhere. We will use the analytics from this in order to
determine traction. We will follow the same formula for “All In.” Once we gain momentum
online, we will assign dates for our radio plan.
Dates:
April 27: Artwork doc, “Back to Basics” single art fully approved and delivered
May 1: Live video shoot/Free show in Boston
May 2: “Back to Basics” approved master delivered
May 3: Photo shoot
May 4: “Back to Basics” performance shoot
May 5: “All In” performance shoot
May 6: “Back to Basics” narrative shoot
May 7: “All In” narrative shoot
May 9: Album cover fully approved and delivered
May 25: EPK fully approved and delivered
May 28: “Back to Basics” video fully approved and delivered
June 5: “Back to Basics” music premiere
June 8: Vinyl art due
June 22: DVD and “All In” fully approved and delivered
June 22: “Back to Basics” video premiere
June 22: “All In” approved master delivered
June 29: Album packaging and mastered album fully approved and delivered
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July 13: “All In” teaser premiere (not completed or approved)
July 20: “All In” video premiere
July 21: iTunes album pre-order with “All In” instant grat
Aug. 17: “Status Quo” premiere on Purevolume
Aug. 25: Track-by-track premiere on AbsolutePunk
Aug. 26: Album stream premiere
Sept. 2: Album Release
Retail
We will service the album to all major and minor retailers and DSPs. Clean versions
TBD.
Configurations:
6. Pre-order to live at the band’s site ASAP
1. Standard digital: $9.99
2. Standard physical: $11.99
3. Standard vinyl: $15.99
4. iTunes LP - TBD
a. Standard album
b. Bonus songs?
c. Live album
d. Music videos
e. Behind the scenes (TBD on timing)
5. Deluxe digital: $11.99
a. Standard album
b. Bonus songs?
c. “All In” music video
6. Deluxe physical: $19.99
a. Standard album
b. Bonus songs?
c. Live album
d. Music videos
e. Behind the scenes (TBD on timing)
Tools
Online Assets:
● Approved photos
● Single art
● Layered album art
● New biography
● Press releases
Other Assets:
● “Back to Basics” video
● “All In” video
● 3 EPKs (single, album, tour)
● Behind-the-scenes of all videos
● Behind-the-scenes of photo shoot
● Banners
Advertising
Physical
● Print ads in Alternative Press, more TBD
● Retailed POP to be created
● Cross-promotion with band gear sponsors (Orange Amps, Vater drumsticks, etc.)
7. Online
Ads will cover key entertainment and core audience sites for release awareness and
reach Four Year Strong fans directly through social media and search. Ads will click through to
commerce offers fouryearstrongmusic.com and find the right balance between broad awareness
to likely buyers and buying media for efficient cost per clicking:
● Key music sites: AbsolutePunk
● Facebook: Targeted ads to men ages 16-24 who like Four Year Strong, Vans Warped
Tour, pop punk music, or similar artists—followed by females of the same qualifications
● Search engine ads (Google, Yahoo, etc.): these will provide direct access to the Four
Year Strong store.
● Twitter: promoted tweets from the band
● Google content network: this will give us access to inexpensive banner inventory and
cover the web widely on thousands of sites, but only targeted to sites that mention Four
Year Strong and other pop punk bands.
Tour Schedule
Date Venue City
8/28/2014 The Palladium Worcester, MA
8/29/2014 Irving Plaza New York City, NY
8/30/2014 The Stone Pony Asbury Park, NY
8/31/2014 Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA
9/1/2014 Altar Bar Pittsburgh, PA
9/2/2014 Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Columbus, OH
9/4/2014 The Fillmore Detroit Detroit, MI
9/5/2014 The Vic Chicago, IL
9/6/2014 Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
9/7/2014 The Pageant St. Louis, MO
9/9/2014 The Showbox at the Market Seattle, WA
9/10/2014 House of Blues Los Angeles, CA
9/11/2014 Knitting Factory Reno, NV
9/12/2014 The Depot Salt Lake City, UT
9/13/2014 The Rock Tucson, AZ
9/14/2014 Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO
9/15/2014 Bourbon Theatre Lincoln, NE
9/17/2014 House of Blues Dallas Dallas, TX
9/18/2014 Bayou Music Center Houston, TX
9/19/2014 Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom Little Rock, AR
9/20/2014 House of Blues New Orleans, LA
9/21/2014 Kress Live Biloxi, MS
9/23/2014 The Nick Birmingham, AL
9/24/2014 Revolution Live Ft. Lauderdale, FL
9/25/2014 The Beacham Orlando, FL
8. 9/26/2014 The Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
9/27/2014 NC Music Factory Charlotte, NC
9/28/2014 Rams Head Live! Baltimore, MD
Radio
History:
Four Year Strong does not have much history when it comes to radio. The only single to
hit the airwaves is “Just Drive” from In Some Way, Shape, or Form.
Audience
Single:
9. We will service “Back to Basics” to Internet radio and SiriusXM. We will determine a pop
punk radio impact date when when we see an adequate response from the song.
Timeline:
TBD Sirius XM: Channels TBD
TBD Digitally deliver track
Mail CD pro
Impact SiriusXM
TBD Service video to music video outlets: MTX, Fuse, VH1, Music Choice
TBD Impact pop punk radio
Pitch:
Four Year Strong has had an active and dedicated following for several years. They
have developed their own sound that we believe the airwaves are ready for. Their new album
promises to appeal to listeners because of its catchy
Licensing
Though Four Year Strong does not have much history when it comes to licensing, the
potential is evident. We will service the entire album to our supervisor mailing list and then
hand-pick specific songs to submit on a project-by-project basis. Since the band is very
passionate about New England sports, we will focus on sports networks while still branching out
to various outlets.
ESPN NFL
NBC NHL
NBC Sports TD Garden (Boston Bruins)
MLB Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots)
Activision
Press
The Pitch:
Four Year Strong have been a leading force in the pop punk scene. Not only do they
provide the in-your-face sound that many fans of the genre look for, but they also can back it up
with their musicality. Over the course of their career, Four Year Strong have developed their
sound to appeal to a wider audience. They have remained true to themselves throughout their
career are continuously inclining in popularity.
The plan:
10. We would like to secure major features/cover stories where possible, in music and
lifestyle publications/websites/broadcast outlets to elevate the band’s profile through storytelling
and imaging. We will also provide regional and genre-specific outlets to reach core local
markets.
Bio:
I will reach out to Alternative Press’ editor-in-chief to write the new bio. Tastemakers
such as AP will be key to have on board early on.
Major Feature Pitches:
Alternative Press
Guitar World
Ongoing Press Targets:
These are the targets we’ll be seeking coverage in throughout the campaign as we build
the buzz.
National/Cores:
AMP
Billboard
Rolling Stone
Tech/Musician:
Guitar World Premier Guitar
Guitar Digest Pro-Sound News
Music and Musicians Tape Op
Vocals
Digital Marketing and Publicity
Goals:
Our primary goal will be to continue developing and engaging the online Four Year
Strong fan base through consistent content and interactive promotions as well as third party
features, giveaways, and contests.
Campaign about going “all in”:
Four Year Strong has always promoted raising your voice and giving your all. We could
create a campaign along with the release of “All In” about the importance of speaking your mind
and standing up for what you believe in.
Social interaction:
The band currently does an excellent job of interacting socially. We would like to see
them connect their assets together to multiply their impact. We would like to see Dan and
11. Alan’s Instagram accounts synced with the band’s Twitter and Facebook pages. By connecting
these accounts, we hope to see major increases in engagement.
We will also continue to supply app suggestions to make it easier for the band to create
content and share content with their fans. Below are a few that we suggest immediately:
● Snapchat
● Just Sayin’
● Keek
Online Performance Targets:
We will target the following outlets for in-person performances, appearances or visits
throughout the campaign.
Youtube Presents Spotify
Youtube What’s Trending VEVO
Livestream AOL
Clear Channel Online Live Nation Labs
Fuse Machinima
Music Choice Google
Pandora iTunes
Purevolume Buzzfeed
National Publicity:
We will service all press releases to our 2000+ list of blogs and major entertainment
portals and follow up for interviews, album reviews, and contesting giveaways.
Local Publicity:
● Free show on May 1 has been sent to ~100 local Boston contacts.
● Upon announcement of album release, contact will be made with 1,500 blogs and digital
outlets, securing as many reviews as possible.
● When tour dates are announced, we will blast all local markets securing articles with
incentives (tickets, photo pass, CD, merch, etc.) to cover Four Year Strong.
● Upon approval of with the Four Year Strong team, requesting demographic related
markets coverage with recirculation through artist social media as well.
● If there are any other activities (free shows, appearances) invites will be sent out to
corresponding markets.
Website Targets:(not complete list)
Websites TBD
Tour Marketing
Goals:
To work with promoters in tour markets, to maximize marketing and promotion efforts
across all local media.
12. ● Promoters post show information on their venue website and all social media platforms.
Work with promoters to include a ticket giveaway or free download.
● Promoters to include show information in their weekly e-blast. Will work with promoter to
include a free download, video, or other exclusive content to secure additional show
mentions.
● Will encourage promoters to post video(s) on the venue website, promoter website,
promoter Facebook, and Twitter.
● Request that promoters get music video played in venue of upcoming shows and tag
tour dates
● Promoter reps to distribute flyers at local upcoming shows featuring similar bands, retail
partners, and lifestyle shops.
● Promoters to solicit radio, print, and online outlets for interviews to advance their show.
Band members to make themselves available for radio visits, meet and greets,
interviews, etc. to help promote shows.
● Work with the radio department to encourage station visits and radio giveaways in each
market, to increase radio support for the show and the band.
● Request for promoters to push radio for single ads or increased spins.
● Ad mat to include photo, logo, website, album mini, album mini, album release
information and single information.
● Posters sent to each promoter for upcoming tour dates, which will be posted inside the
venue and at key promoter retail partners.
● We will activate Four Year Strong’s fans and promoters to distribute flyers throughout
the community, and also utilize Facebook/Twitter to promote their local show.
● Once touring package is confirmed, we will work with other bands’ managers and
marketers to combine efforts and produce strong packages for radio, print, and online
giveaways.
● Create a turnkey radio promotion that ties in with the name of the name of the single
and/or album. Work with the radio department and promoters to lock it in.
● Work with promoter and colleges to offer promotions to Greek life and sports teams.
● Ticketmaster up-sell of album.
● Ticketmaster will run a Twitter retweet album contest on release week.
● Set up CD/Ticket giveaways with local lifestyle shops in each tour market (local CD
stores, tattoo shops, Tilly’s, etc.)
● Activate promoters and their local partners to set up ticket giveaways at at bars and
clubs in each tour market. For example: Budweiser (or a local partner that the promoter
works with regularly) hosts a party at a local bar where they give 20 tickets away for the
show bundled with CDs and discounted alcohol).
● Distribute all content (video, album buy links, press releases) through promoter’s assets.
Lifestyle
Four Year Strong is evidently a lifestyle band. We will strive to maintain and expand that
credibility. Based on the demographics, we will target college-level men and women. We will
13. focus on this age group and implement innovative ways to reach them where they live and hang
out.
