It is no secret that Beyonce’s team has been ahead of the marketing curve when it comes to the music industry. Back in 2013, Beyonce shocked the entire world when she released her self-titled album one Friday morning. Not only was having an album released on a Friday an  uncommon practice (most albums at this time were being released on Tuesdays), her team simply presented the album by having it appear on streaming platforms. No prior posts. No hints of an album coming out. No “marketing”.

More recently, Beyonce’s team announced her new album Renaissance in a very unique way.

On June 9th, her team put up blank profile pictures across all of Beyonce’s social media platforms, causing a frenzy of curiosity amongst her fans. 

Next, her website began selling invisible merchandise that included, “a “renaissance box,” a T-shirt, and a CD. [The site] doesn’t tell us anything about the T-shirt design or what will be in the box.” Even without knowing anything about the products being sold such as the t-shirt design, the contents of the box, or even the songs on the CD, fans swarmed the site and placed their orders. T-shirt

If you take a look at The Marketing Genius of Beyonce, David O. describes how Beyonce’s strong fanbase and defined audience allows her team to make these bold marketing decisions:

“You will be surprised by how many musical artists lack this. Even some popular musicians do. This is why they have to make scenarios and circumstances to sell their music. They have to go on shows, do interviews, and the like. Beyonce has dropped an album without saying a word. And in minutes, the world was already in on it. I think she has done that more than once.”

While most artists need a certain amount of promotion to get some buzz around their music, Beyonce has a dedicated enough fan base that she doesn’t need traditional marketing at all. It seems like the key to her team’s marketing strategy is creating an opportunity for mystery and excitement, setting her up to outsell many of her competitors in the industry.

By Altia Bend