Wanna build a great brand? Watch Lady Gaga this week and take some notes. Her 360 blitz helped crash the Amazon.com servers last night. Lady Gaga fans rushed Monday to download her new album, Born This Way, from Amazon for a mere $0.99 -- until, of course, technical difficulties set in. Amazon issued the following statement:
"Amazon is experiencing high volume and downloads are delayed. If customers order today, they will get the full Lady Gaga, Born This Way album for $0.99. Thanks for your patience."
Lady Gaga recently partnered up with social gaming company Zynga to launch GagaVille, a Gaga-themed offshoot of Zynga’s hit game, FarmVille; She was also the first Twitter user with more than 10 million followers. She did this w/o a social media expert, she did it by building an authentic, differentiated brand that appeals to millions. From HBO to SNL to the View to Letterman - She broke through the noise with original content, PR, Digital, Television to create a media groundswell to sell her album and rally her fans.
The result is the top selling album on iTunes and Amazon.com! Marketers should take notes as this case study shows that a great idea has sold millions. I dare you to market your brands more like Gaga. Start with an idea you are proud of and run with it.
