KEY FINDINGS

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• TikTok unveils new ‘Fan Spotlight’ feature with Billie Eilish. (Link)

• Post Malone’s ‘Live at le Louvre’ gig streamed live on Roblox. (Link)

FEATURE

Three Key Moments From Billie Eilish’s Album Release

Last week, Billie Eilish released her third studio album - “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT”.

The highly-anticipated album captured plenty of attention ahead of its release day and has continued to do so from then onwards.

Here’s three things we loved about the rollout.

You’ve Got a (Close) Friend in Me

On April 4, Billie made each and every one of her 111 million followers a ‘Close Friend’ on Instagram and cryptically shared an image to her story. We now know that that image was a small section of the “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” album art.

Since Instagram’s story algorithm prioritises stories from users’ ‘Close Friends’, this move meant that Eilish was able to secure a top spot on her followers’ feeds for free, regardless of how they’d engaged with her content in the past.

Her vague post drummed up plenty of attention for herself and her release - which had not yet been officially announced, but was building traction on the rumour mill.

Tapping Into Aussie Airwaves

As a special treat to her Australian fans, Billie Eilish partnered with triple j to deliver an exclusive advanced listening session for 30 super fans.

On the day of release, triple j airwaves were also taken over by the release. The station played the record in full and shared a 13 minute filmed interview with Eilish.

Linking Up With Linktree

In partnership with Linktree, Billie unveiled two “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” themes. One theme is available to all of Linktree’s 50 million creators and the other is available only to her super fans who joined the mailing list found on Billie’s own Linktree.

Both options link to Billie’s merch store - an outside of the box, immersive way to drive traffic.

The Takeaway

As one of pop music’s biggest stars, Billie Eilish has plenty of opportunities to create meaningful marketing moments for her listeners, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen her do for “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT”.

For her third album drop, she’s created a valuable experience for each of her Instagram followers, radio listeners in Australia and users of Linktree, all in a unique, meaningful way.

^{Written by Olivia Gliku}