Marketing, Mariah and Monitors
- David Edwards
- Jan 2, 2017
- 3 min read
By now, you’ve seen the performance mishap of Mariah Carey on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest (next year’s sponsor TBD). In fact, most of you probably watched it online rather than “live” (no pun intended) on TV. (11.43 million TV viewers – down 9% from last year but still #1 in the timeslot – further illustrating the erosion of broadcast networks.)
Mariah most likely just went with it the way many performers do - not testing and optimizing before the actual “performance.” And why not? It has worked hundreds of times before – stumble out of jet, into limo, into arena, dressing room, hair, makeup, wardrobe, vocal warmup (MAYBE), and at the last moment, in-ear monitors.
But this New Year’s Eve was different, and as Mariah so accurately tweeted herself, “S*%t happens,” resulting in a failed "performance" for her and ABC.
Apparently, Mariah was voicing concerns earlier in the afternoon that her in-ear monitors were not working. She was continually promised by ABC production technicians (she did not use her crew - first mistake) that her in-ear monitors would be working when she went on stage.
They didn't.
The ABC broadcast crew defended themselves after the mishap. They stated there were no monitor problems since the dancers kept the beat from the wedge speakers across the front of the stage. Sorry, ABC, too many people know the mix to the wedges and the mix to an in-ear wireless system are completely separate.
The only people who know for sure what really happened are those who were on stage. All evidence points to the fact that Maria’s in-ear monitors were not working. If so, that’s ABC’s fault. BUT – it’s Mariah’s fault for not insisting her in-ears work before going on stage. As the aftermath continues to come out - it looks more and more like Mimi was being too accommodating to the ABC production crew and it getting a bad wrap for it (no good deed goes unpunished). She has been in the business longer (so dress appropriately) than some of the people on the monitor crew have been alive, and knows “s*%” happens with sound production.
Mariah just went with it. No verification her monitors were working before going live. No optimization of her in-ear monitor mix. The results? A failed performance and damage to her brand.
So, what are the marketing parallels to Mariah’s mishap?
First, any marketing campaign should be structured in a manner to allow for testing and optimization. The media environment, trends, customers and the competitive landscape change - rapidly. I once had a prospective client reject my proposal because I didn’t “just know” what would work best for his business without first testing then optimization. It was not a question of what would work; it was a question of what would work best. We parted ways with a handshake, because he would not hire anyone who didn’t tell him what he wanted to hear. I don’t think he survived the Great Recession.
During the “Mad Men” era, leading marketers would test then optimize through tactics such as direct mail across multiple test markets. It took time and patience, but it allowed for campaigns to be refined on a smaller level before rolling out on a national level. Today, even local businesses can utilize digital tools to test and optimize campaigns more efficiently. The tactics may have changed over the years, but the increased ROI of adopting a sound strategy remains constant.
Mariah Carey is an incredibly talented singer, and this one failed performance will probably not define her career moving forward. But one must ask, how much more powerful an event would this have been if she had just blocked out a few hours to take the 15 minutes necessary to test the monitor mix, report it to the ABC sound production crew, optimize (the in-ear mix) in front of thousands waiting in Times Square - but then crushed it in front of 11.43 million on TV?
Don’t compromise your brand in front of your customers like Mariah did in front of millions. Make the time to test, measure and optimize your campaigns, then market your brand with the impact of a real strategy in 2017.