Hey there! Happy Friday! We're back with another edition that's got us buzzing. This week, we've got something special in store as we dive into the global release of Arlo Parks' latest album, 'My Soft Machine.'

We had a chance to catch up with Hayley Absalom, the Senior Marketing Manager at Transgressive, to get all the details. You don't want to miss this!

Also, in this week’s edition:

• Eventbrite Introduces AI Text Generator.

• SoundCloud Introduces DMs for iPhones.

• Bandsintown Unveils Ad Manager.

Imaginative, Innovative and Immersive: Behind Arlo Parks’ ‘My Soft Machine’ Release

Following the release of her critically acclaimed, Mercury Prize winning debut album ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’, Arlo Parks has returned with the sophomore record ‘My Soft Machine’. It’s been just two weeks since its release, and the record has received an impressive mix of support from radio, digital and traditional media.

Ahead of the album drop, singles from the record received 12 million+ streams, and have over 20 million+ combined streams to date. Each single has landed 8-10 DSP playlist covers, and they’ve scored hundreds of playlist inclusions.

The album campaign was handled by Transgressive Records in partnership with [PIAS].

We had the privilege of going behind the scenes and interviewing Hayley Absalom, Senior Marketing Manager at Transgressive, to delve into the campaign's standout moments.

Campaign Goals

The team collaborated with Arlo to work towards the following campaign goals: broadening Arlo's audience, expanding her sonic palette and themes, and solidifying her status as a career artist. To achieve these goals, they’ve implemented meaningful promotions and activations during the rollout of the new record.

Spotify Fans-First Event

In partnership with Spotify UK, Arlo shared an intimate and immersive experience with a group of her fans. The experience took place at Paul Epworth’s Church Studios and offered a behind the scenes look at the record. Only 20 lucky fans were selected at random to attend, from over 3,000 entries.

“The location - the Church Studios in North London - was incredibly important to both artist and management, as this is where the music was recorded,” says Absalom. “The space was decorated with studio images of Arlo, posters of bands and artists that have influenced the new record, and multiple retro TV screens which showed a message from her and other album visuals. The room was scented with a fragrance referenced in the album lyrics, plus there were lyric sheets available for fans to take home, and Arlo-approved snacks, creating an immersive experience. “

“Fans were treated to a selection of tracks from the album, including some that were unreleased at that point, and halfway through the event Arlo made a surprise appearance. She performed a set of acoustic tracks followed by a Q&A. She then met fans and had a polaroid taken with each. It was an incredibly special - and for some fans an emotional - experience.”

Striking Visuals in Print and Online Media

Throughout the campaign timeline, across global print and online media, we’ve seen the striking imagery that has been curated for coverage of ‘My Soft Machine’. Absalom explained the role that traditional press played in the release rollout.

“All Stripes (UK) + Orienteer (US), plus local [PIAS] offices + PRs internationally handled the press campaign.Traditional press is still very important to us, especially with an artist as culturally relevant as Arlo whose reach extends beyond music press. The strategy on this campaign was to focus on cover and large, impactful feature looks to coincide with single releases and this is something we achieved both in the UK and internationally, kicking off the campaign with the cover of The Guardian’s ‘Film & Music’ cover in February.”

Outside of the UK, Arlo also achieved multiple cover or feature interview appearances across a huge variety of tastemaker publications including Range (US), Paste (US), Bounce (Japan), Neubo (Spain), Elle (Brazil), Focus Knack (Belgium), Vogue (Germany), Harper's Bazaar (Brazil), DI Weekend (Sweden), Rolling Stone (US, Germany, Italy and France), Les Inrocks (France), and The Guardian (Australia).

Meaningful Collaborations

Arlo and the team partnered with Apple Music to host a listening session at the Dolby Studios in Soho, NYC, during release week. Absalom shared that, “fans were able to hear tracks from the Apple Music Edition of the new record in spatial audio, alongside a Q&A between Arlo and AM One presenter Matt Wilkinson”.

The collaborations didn’t stop there. Arlo also partnered with T Totaler, an artisanal loose leaf tea company based in Sydney, as previously reported by Promoed. Their collaboration resulted in an exclusive tea blend available only in Australia, named ‘Purple Phase’ after one of the tracks from Arlo's album.

[PIAS] A&R and Marketing Manager Sophie Brown previously shared with us the inspiration behind this collaboration, “We really wanted to create something different for fans, something that feels very personal to Arlo. On her socials, she’s always talking about taking time for yourself, listen to music, read a book and drink some tea. So we took one of the core things that she loves and reached out to T Totaler.”

An Immersive Pop-Up Experience

At the end of last month, Arlo appeared at The Old Truman Brewery in London and hosted a pop-up experience alongside Bone Soda. The experience was designed to bring fans into a world full of the artifacts, books and fragments that inspired the project. It also had exclusive merch up for grabs.

Premieres Fuel Anticipation

Tracks from ‘My Soft Machine’ also received a variety of premieres, to help build anticipation for the campaign’s releases.

The team collaborated with Everyman Cinemas for a special premiere event that took place at Screen On The Green in London. “We used this opportunity to globally premiere the video for ‘Pegasus’ ft Phoebe Bridgers - a very special moment from the record - and this was again followed by a Q&A with Arlo, plus a screening of The Souvenir, a film which influenced the album”. The event was also live streamed via YouTube After Party.

Tracks from ‘My Soft Machine’ also received global radio premieres on SiriusXM, triple J, and WDR 1LIVE.

Incentivised Pre-Orders

In January, Arlo announced her album release alongside a pre-order option for fans, which was incentivised with a promise of access to pre-sale tickets to her Europe and United Kingdom tour.

In Australia, Stack Magazine offered a vinyl bundle giveaway, including a signed art card, to fans who pre-ordered the album. Fans also had the chance to win an Audio Technica turntable, thanks to Soundmerch.

In-Store Offerings

Arlo collaborated with various retail partners, engaging in activities such as a fan listening session at Marilians in Spain and in-store signings at Rough Trade locations in New York and London.

She also curated a special limited edition chocolate box set, which featured friendship bracelets, posters, and poetry. Additionally, exclusive items like limited edition socks and vinyl releases were made available through select retail partners worldwide.

For fans in Japan, a unique edition of the CD and LP was offered, featuring a Japanese version artwork and including two bonus acoustic tracks.

Increasing Arlo’s Visibility

The campaign included some high profile TV appearances including performances on The Jonathan Ross Show, Later with Jools Holland, and an incredible performance with a 16 piece orchestra on German late night TV show ZDF Magazin Royale reaching 2 million viewers.

During the campaign, a Reel was promoted across Instagram featuring key single ‘Blades’. In less than 24 hours, it reached 500,000 viewers making it Arlo’s most viewed Reel at that point. It went on to gain 8.9 million+ views overall.

Outdoors, the campaign also included an impressive mix of placements in Germany, France, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as outdoor billboard support from Spotify in New York and London.

The Takeaway

By crafting meaningful experiences and curated coverage around the ‘My Soft Machine’ release, Arlo Parks, the Transgressive and [PIAS] teams have produced a standout international album campaign, without relying on gimmicks. We suspect this campaign will have some very positive, lasting effects for Arlo Park’s career.

^{Written by Olivia Gliku}

In Other Marketing News

Eventbrite Introduces AI Text Generator: Eventbrite has introduced a new AI-powered feature for events, designed to enhance event promotion and drive ticket sales.

The AI Text Generator tool enables users to effortlessly create professional-quality copy and significantly reduce the time spent on writing.

By utilising the AI Text Generator, event organisers can automatically generate captivating messaging for event pages, emails, and social media advertisements.

This powerful tool empowers users to craft compelling and persuasive content, ultimately leading to increased engagement and higher ticket sales.

💡Insight - This one's a total no-brainer, and we're not surprised if we see more awesome integrations like this popping up in different apps down the line.

SoundCloud Introduces DMs for iPhones: SoundCloud users can now rejoice as the much hyped feature of sending and receiving DMs has come to iPhones.

The significance of DMs within the SoundCloud community cannot be overstated, as it provides a seamless way for artists to connect with fellow musicians and more importantly their devoted fan bases.

💡Insight - As you might recall from our earlier chats, we're totally stoked about SoundCloud and how they're making waves in the music streaming scene. Gotta admit, we're curious to see how this whole DMs thing plays out. It's going to be interesting, no doubt.

Bandsintown Ad Manager: Bandsintown has unveiled Ad Manager, a new tool aimed at helping artists and their teams effectively reach potential fans.

The platform, boasting 570,000 registered artists and a user base of 75 million, offers Promoted emails, enabling musicians to send targeted messages to similar artists and specific geographical regions.

According to a post by the company, you can “measure your success in the Ad Manager dashboard to learn more about your audience through our data analytics and improve engagement on future campaigns.

💡Insight - We're big fans of Bandsintown, and while there may not be any mind-blowing breakthroughs in this announcement, they've got some seriously cool features. Don't sleep on their free email-to-followers tool and the "Promoted" emails option. Give 'em a whirl.

Learn

Building Email Lists: We all understand the significance of building artist email lists, but it's always beneficial to have a quick refresher. Luckily, the good folks at Amplify You have some valuable tips to help you out. They cover off things like:

• Optimize Your Website.

• Incentivize Fans to Subscribe.

• Engage with Subscribers.

ICYMI

Catch up on our recent stories:

• Inside DMA'S Winning UK Album Strategy

• The Marketing of Peach PRC's Chart-Topping EP

• Introducing Un:hurd: a Self-Service Music Marketing App

Lead Writer - Olivia Gliku
Editor and Publisher - Nick Lynagh

Promoed is created and published by Habit Music Pty Ltd.

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^{We acknowledge the Turrbal people, the Traditional Owners of the land on which we stand, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.}