The whole world is talking about Tupac’s performance at Coachella 2012, which took place a couple of nights ago. Pop stars have spoken of crying during his time on stage, whilst journalists have called the event “the future of live entertainment”. It provided great publicity for Tupac, Snoop Dogg (who sang with him) and Coachella’s organisers. It was a success. There’s just one strange detail about all of this – Tupac died 16 years ago.
This is why I’m pegging Tupac as an unlikely hero of evergreen content; actually, those who came up with the idea, as the man himself is no longer with us. Even years after his death, the rapper has managed to circulate his brand and get people talking about it. Although it’s slightly different, what brand wouldn’t want to do that?
Keeping the brand alive
Let’s face it – music, movie and TV stars are brands within themselves. They must adopt clever marketing and advertising to keep that brand alive. Doing so for more than a month is tricky, so evergreen content (which is designed to stay fresh for months, or even years) is perfect.
Evergreen comes in many forms, from blogs and features to how-to video guides. In this case, the hologram of Tupac was beamed into one of the world’s biggest music festivals and subsequently got the entire world talking about that brand. How many brands can say they’ve had three associated hashtags trending at once? (#nowthat2pacsback, #holographictupac and #coachella) Some even called it the “best thing that’s happened to hip-hop in a long time…” (@kushandwizdom). That’s a really big statement.
Not all feedback has been positive, admittedly, but that doesn’t matter – the stunt still encouraged dialogue. It has given people something to think about and even if they weren’t a die-hard fan before, they most likely will have an opinion on the matter. They know about the brand and by using said hashtags, they’re engaging with it.
It doesn’t stop there…
This stunt has brought Tupac’s music to life for a whole new generation; a generation that may have heard the name before, but that didn’t know the music or appreciate his legendary status. Think about how many downloads will be made of Tupac’s music off the back of this, or how many more people will be encouraged to head to Coachella 2013 in anticipation of an equally-amazing performance?
In addition to encouraging engagement, this idea will almost certainly result in increased profits for the Tupac estate and Coachella – another key benefit.
Adapting that in the real world
Ok, so your brand might not have a spare £250,000 floating around to bring Elvis or Frank Sinatra back to life – that doesn’t mean you can’t take a leaf out of Tupac’s book. Don’t be scared to do something that will really get people talking, but also remain fresh for months to come.
It doesn’t have to be on this grand scale. You could write a how-to article offering a revolutionary approach to your brand’s expert area, or create a video guide that solves a big problem for your target audience. The possibilities for evergreen content are endless and if the reaction to Tupac’s performance is anything to go by, it’ll be an investment that pays off for years to come.