I’ve seen a million faces and I’ve rocked them all
Bon Jovi debuted in 1983 and 30 years later they’re still kicking it…in a big way!
Bon Jovi has played nearly 3,000 concerts in more than 50 countries for 34 million fans! Along the way they’ve sold in excess of 130 million albums.
And here in 2013, Bon Jovi had the highest grossing concert tour of the year. This year’s Because We Can campaign raked in over $250 million.
Billboard Magazine has their tour grossing $60 million more than the second place finisher, Pink. It was also Bon Jovi biggest year as a touring act.
Every show that Bon Jovi played this year. All 90 of them, sold out! Over 2.1 million fans attended the Bon Jovi shows in 2013.
Not only has the band been able to keep things hot on the road. They’ve been able to keep the party alive on social media.
In November, A video of Jeremy Fry dancing to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” at a Boston Celtics game in 2009 went “viral” on social media and caused the band’s 1987 hit to return to the Billboard Hot 100 charts, clocking in at number 25 selling over 4,000 downloads that week
Here’s the completely unstaged video that made the rounds on social:
Social media for touring acts can be tricky. No artist wants to come across as being inauthentic to their audience. Bon Jovi succeeds in connecting with their audience and creating that connection. With a career that spans 30 years, it’s obvious that they know how to do that.
30 years later, to still be relevant is one thing. For Bon Jovi to be the top grossing act in the game is a true testament to the bands ability to foster meaningful relationships with their fan base. Keep in mind that we’re talking a multi-generational fan base. That’s extremely impressive.
I doubt we’ll be talking about Justin Bieber or One Direction 30 years from now. At least I hope we won’t. (sorry…couldn’t resist)
Fans of music and sports are, in my mind, the biggest audience in social media. No other group responds to social interaction the way fans of sports teams and bands do.
The band integrates Twitter and Instagram and curates content under the hashtag #BonJoviMemories. They understand the ability to aggregate killer content and how to publish it to create that bond with their audience. I know a lot of agencies and brands that are absolutely terrified of curating images for fear of being sued.
You don’t get sued when you utilize images to build relationships. You don’t get sued when you are making people feel special. You get sued when you try to use images to peddle your products. Bon Jovi is a brand that gets it right and understands the need to continually work to foster relationships.
If sports teams, other touring artists and entertainers would like to see more of their events sold out and would like the type of longevity that Bon Jovi has endured, they’d be wise to do the same.
I hope you’re reading this and have noticed how many times I’ve used the word relationship. It’s not by accident. I deal with so many brands and advertising agencies who continually ask about the ROI in social media. Relationship=ROI.
Check out the type of response that’s typical surrounding the #BonJoviMemories hashtag:
