This aspect of the plan ties in with marketing. When it comes to promoting a new album it doesn't necessarily take a lot of money, not these days anyhow. In my estimation the group could benefit from the following:
1) Totally revamp the offical ZZ Top website. It really is nothing more than an advertisement for upcoming shows and events, as well as trying to plug merchandise. There have been some cool things in the past, for example the Double Down Live tour blog that was posted in the fall of 2009 during the Canadian tour. But the majority of the time the "updates" are nothing more than promotions. ZZ should have kept the original organizers of the ZZ Top Fan Club, they were such fans of the group and were so dedicated that they likely would have done the web site for free. Currently the offical site is run by a corporation that works on many bands, and for the most part doesn't know the first thing about ZZ. And the fact you have to pay to participate in the forum is absurd.
2) Billy is a member of twitter however only occasionaly posts anything. This is fine, twitter is not really my thing and it is not surprising that Billy is not that into it either - he is not really in the target age group. But as a publicity tool twitter is great. Maybe Billy could start tweeting his thoughts on the new album, reveal some song titles to build some excitement, mention a possible release date, etc.
3) It would be very cool for ZZ to post on YouTube or some other FREE medium a sneak peak at the new album, whether it be some 30 second samples of new songs or video footage of the band in the recording studio. If I recall correctly Chickenfoot did this a few years ago when promoting their new album and the results were fantastic.
4) Release a downloadable single through iTunes or Amazon. I can't see anybody having a problem with paying $0.99 for a new song from their favorite band. We heard the Billy single "Flyin' High", now how about a group song?
5) Release promo copies to the press. This would allow the media to start talking about the album well before the release date. The more talk the better. Maybe even send promo copies to ZZ Top blog sites (hint hint).
As I write this it is already mid July. We should be getting some additional details about the album soon: release date, name of the record, song titles, etc.
Anybody else notice the group has a four week break between early September and early October. If I had to guess I would reason Billy and perhaps the other members will be making the final touches and approvals on the final mixes of the new album during this break. We'll see.
Point 1 - Revamping the FC website. Not too long ago, someone inside the FC site told me they were going to work on bugs with the FC site and forums, so it's cool to see this happening! It will be interesting to see what they come up with. I agree with Antenna Head's point, the forums should be open to the public.
ReplyDeletePoint 2 -
ReplyDeleteBFG had 6 tweets in 2010. I agree that he isn't in the target age group; perhaps Elwood or someone else on the inside could handle the Twitter stuff. However, BFG (or Dusty or Frank) could post on the Facebook or MySpace pages. Perhaps they could use the new FC site - Have Mercy! Stay tuned for FC updates!!
Although BFG has been elusive in the past (the Hand of Ham?), he seems to be doing some PR interviews and referencing the new album. Wouldn't it be cool to hear from Dusty or Frank?