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Will Smith hosted a listening party to promote his first album in 20 years, Based on a True Story. It wasn’t just any listening party – it was a listening party specifically for influencers.
Will Smith’s album was announced at the 2024 BET Awards, singing “You Can Make It.” He collabed with Fridayy and the Sunday Service Choir. Smith’s album addresses his Oscars controversy, specifically his scandal involving slapping Chris Rock. He also writes about his “crazy” and “complicated” relationship with his wife. USA Today called his rap “braggadocious” and “fast-paced.” He also includes a “commanding, drawling pastor” character. The album draws from trap, neo-soul, Afrobeats, and gospel. It features themes of “hardship and retribution.”
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Will Smith hosted a listening party to launch the album. The guest list? All influencers and content creators.
Discover how to curate a memorable brand image as an influencer.
Alongside the release party, about a dozen creators participated in the “car wash” where creators stopped by a network office to film “with its various shows.” In this case, the office was The Lighthouse or Whalar’s LA creator campus.
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SVP of content at Smith’s media company, Lukas Kaiser shared with The Publish Press the behind-the-scenes. Ranging across various niches – from comedy to podcasting to fashion – 13 creators were invited to make content with Smith. Each creator got 5-20 minutes to make two videos with Smith and the creators delivered.
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Whether it’s a funnily absurd scenario like missing a free throw before getting interrupted by a literal shoe shiner, or behind-the-scenes of a classic lip-sync TikTok, these creators absolutely delivered on content.
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The New and Improved Press Tour
Kaiser described the process as a sort of Press Tour. Instead of Smith traveling around to various networks to sit down for longform interviews, Smith’s media team brought the creators to him. And with short-form content like TikToks getting unimaginable reach these days, Smith’s team not only gained reach in their campaign but were able to target the exact audiences they were looking for.
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Kaiser said, “The way the algorithms are working, if you want to be everywhere at once you don’t actually have to go to 100 places, you just need to be on 100 pages and I think that’s the shift in a press tour.” He added, “Creators from different places and different walks of life are showing up and tapping into their different worlds and I think that’s a way to do world-building around a project.”
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The creator car wash itself was a time-effective, cost-effective way of making it feel like Smith was everywhere – across all FYPs and Reels there he was featured by creators of all niches. It almost seems random, but of course we know it’s part of the carefully curated “world-building” of which Kaiser spoke.
The Will Smith Cinematic Universe, if you will.
Tapping Into the Power of Influencers for Music Promotion and Beyond
Will Smith’s album release is not the only campaign to tap influencers for the purpose of building hype. In 2021, Carrie Underwood promoted her Cry Pretty album by partnering with makeup influencers. The makeup influencers then created looks based on the album cover.
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Brands have also been known to partner with music influencers to promote their products. Clothing brand Adidas actually increased their customer engagement by 20% thanks to their collaboration with music influencer @SoundBeats. In this case, Adidas partnered with an influencer to promote their line of sneakers, with the goal of reaching an audience of music enthusiasts.
Similarly, a few years back DJ Khaled partnered with Cîroc Vodka in an ad campaign with the slogan #CelebratewithCîroc. The hashtag took off, prompting fans to post their own #CelebratewithCîroc.
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In all three cases, the influencers chosen by the brand looking to promote their product had personal connections with the challenge, theme, or hashtag. For the campaign involving Carrie Underwood’s album, makeup artists could express themselves and their talent by recreating the album’s cover art. Adidas partnered with an influencer who represented the exact audience the campaign was targeting: musicians. Or, musicians who would be interested in music-themed sneakers. The Cîroc Vodka ad campaign prompted user-generated content and high audience engagement amongst DJ Khaled’s audience.
Take a look at 5 Ways to Measure the ROI of Influencer Marketing here.
Why Will Smith’s Album Campaign Worked
Will Smith’s album release campaign operated similarly, with the inclusion of influencers to promote the album. But the fast-tracked content creation during the influencer “car wash,” was especially unique. And instead of going for a specific niche – be that make-up artists, musicians, or vodka connoisseurs – Smith’s campaign hit a variety of niches. Therefore, it hit a variety of audiences and generated buzz amongst niches.
@brookemonk_ Results with @Will Smith
This worked for a few reasons, but largely because Smith had – and still has – a lifelong following. Fans of his acting, his influence, and even his scandals can be found on any corner of the internet. Therefore, the campaign only needed to generate a little buzz for interest to grow. Verified brands and influencers alike commented on the posts, therefore generating more buzz about Smith’s internet presence and therefore his album as a whole.
