Lessons Learned From Kid Rock’s Charity Tour
Acclaimed rocker and self-proclaimed “American badass” Kid Rock has his sights set on a charitable undertaking that’s not only worthy of huge Karma points, but also worth examining from a marketing and promotions perspective.
Beginning in mid-November at a gig in Silver Spring, Maryland, The Kid Rock Foundation will begin donating money to local charities, causes, and individuals within each market the tour makes a stop in.
And he has some help…
The foundation has assembled some of Detroit’s most prominent businesses and personnel to help with the donations including the Detroit Pistons, Compuware Corporation, The Suburban Collection, Quicken Loans Inc., and Fathead. Additionally, they’ve enlisted the help of local radio stations in each market to help determine who will be on the receiving end of each donation.
Rock cites the inspiration for his charitable escapade from lyrics taken from the single “Care” off his new album, Born Free. “The song says ‘the least that I can do is Care’ – and I want to put my money where my mouth is. Everyone knows that Detroit is hurting,” Rock said in a recent statement.
“But I want to show that even though we don’t have a lot on our own plate, it doesn’t mean the people of my hometown don’t have compassion to share with others all over the country. At the end of the day we’re all Detroit, we’re one country, one family.”
The Music Meets Your Mission
Rock is also doing something that many music artists need to take note of. He’s taking his music and turning it into something real – real beyond traditional mediums of audio, video and print, and real beyond any line of merchandise.
From a marketing point of view, he’s taking a title track that was going to receive a significant amount of push by his label anyway, and is using a non-traditional avenue to empower it.
By going through the various charities, local radio stations, and by aligning himself with power-players from Detroit (Rock’s hometown), his music now reaches an entirely new demographic of potential fans. These are people who may not have necessarily liked any of Rock’s previous material, but that doesn’t matter because they’ll be far more likely to enjoy his new material with this charity campaign. In essence he’s using “Care” to fuel his mission, and a man on a mission cannot be stopped.
Another benefit to this charity concert series is that Kid Rock has expanded his brand. He’s no longer pigeonholed to any one stereotype of “rocker” because he’s shown us that he’s evolved. He’s reached a stage in life where one has made it past survival and has already surpassed success – significance.
Do Well by Doing Good
By aligning your music with a greater good, fans and non-fans alike will be more inclined to support you because you’re representing something higher than yourself. Socially conscious activities raise awareness to issues that many people might initially assume that most musicians, particularly rock stars like Kid Rock, don’t typically care about.
If your mission is focused and your cause is worthy, other organizations and potentially mission-critical allies will want to allign themselves with you (and your music) by contributing to your mission. It allows them support an issue you’ve simply brought awareness to, which in turn makes them look good by having the public associate them and their brand with notable and charitable causes, like you and your music.
The takeaway?
Make your music real by living what you preach, and seek to give to a greater good through a clearly defined mission and purpose behind your music. It's not only a good business practice, but you'll also expand your brand to a higher stature while earning Karma points along the way.
This post is by regular Hypebot contributor, musician, and music marketer Hisham Dahud (@hishamdahud)
