Hardstyle DJ and producer Brennan Heart has a large dedicated fan base. CM.com ensures that he reaches his fans in a personal and unique way. We spoke to Tom van den Tillaer, manager of Brennan Heart and organiser of I AM HARDSTYLE: "CM.com's tools provide a unique and personal conversation with fans all around the world."
Brennan Heart is a Dutch hardstyle DJ and producer. He also has his own record label, I AM HARDSTYLE Music and creates the event, I AM HARDSTYLE, which also has a merchandise line.
For years Brennan Heart has been based in the DJMAG Top 100, an election that takes place every year and, based on submitted votes, chooses the best DJ in the world.
Multilingual SMS campaigns sent to more than 35 countries
More than 100,000 emails sent
Increase of thousands of registrations on the On Demand Platform
More than 25 one-click segments based on language and interest
Brennan Heart uses CM.com's Customer Data Platform (CDP) to expand its fan database. This allows him to get in touch with his fans more easily and quickly. He can convince them to buy merchandise or an entrance ticket for I AM HARDSTYLE.
Tom: "There is a question from every artist to know who his fans are. Your fans come to your performances, and they buy your tickets. Previously, we had several boxes in which the fan data was stored. We couldn't put all that data together. Now we have the option to put all the collected personal data in one container thanks to CM.com's Customer Data Platform (CDP). From this CDP, you can create relevant segments. It's very easy to see who your biggest fans are, for example."
Brennan Heart's On Demand membership platform allows fans to log in for exclusive content after registration. Here fans can, for example, hear extra music material or be the first to see the new music video. For some actions on the On Demand platform, extra information is requested from the fan, such as their telephone number or home address. In this way, the fan database is enriched, and fans can be reached with more tools. Fans are willing to leave data for a new track or a nice giveaway. Tom: "This data gives access to exclusive content. Put CM.com's CDP next to that with their smart data tools, such as SMS and the Facebook bot, and you have a win-win situation for both artist and fan."
Only if you know who your fans are can you communicate with them. Preferably as personal as possible. Tom: "The great thing about CM.com's CDP is that you can easily segment. For example, you can select all Spanish people in just two clicks. Then change the language in the email or SMS you send and give information about the tour in Spain. This makes communication more personal and unique. By choosing a segment, you also exclude all irrelevant people."
Thanks to the tools from CM.com, communication with fans is proactive and less one-sided. Tom: "It's automated two-way traffic. The Facebook bot, for example, is designed to provide an automated answer to a fan's question. So it feels like a fan is conversing with Brennan Heart." The more automated answers are processed in the Facebook bot, the more personal the answers to fans' questions are.
CM.com's database also shows who is really interested, who responds to posts, and so on. Tom: "In this way, we can pick out those people who want to contact Brennan Heart. I think it's important to use the marketing in such a way that it adds value to the fan that we use his data." For example, data was used to offer discounts on a ticket for I AM HARDSTYLE. In this way, a fan gets something tangible in return for leaving his data behind.
The line-up of the I AM HARDSTYLE event may be partly determined by the Spotify playlist of fans in the future. Tom: "When we see that Brennan Heart fans also listen a lot to a specific other hardstyle artist, we try to book that artist for I AM HARDSTYLE. Making such connections and thinking smartly really has a lot of value for us." The use of data from the Spotify playlists is still under development. Brennan Heart is involved in CM.com's Spotify early access program. He is one of the first to use this tool, but the tool is still being worked on. Tom: "It's very nice to be involved!"
Brennan Heart wants to collect data from all its fans online so that the fan database is as complete as possible. In Austria, for example, the tickets for I AM HARDSTYLE were bought offline. This results in no data at all. Therefore, all I AM HARDSTYLE 2018 ticket buyers in Austria could order a free wristband for the event. In this way, data was still collected. These fans could be contacted directly and be convinced to buy their tickets online via the I AM HARDSTYLE website in the future. This ticket sale provides new data linked to the CDP of CM.com.
Collecting as much fan data as possible and applying actions to it is the ultimate goal for Brennan Heart and I AM HARDSTYLE. Tom: "CM.com advises us about the new technical tools. The starting point for everything we do now and in the future is: enriching each account. Every tool that we can use is one extra."
Brennan Heart uses Campaigns, Email Campaigns and the Customer Data Platform from the CM.com Mobile Marketing Cloud. Our Mobile Marketing Cloud is an omnichannel marketing automation tool focused on mobile and built specifically for B2C marketers. Collect data from multiple sources and build 360° unified customer profiles. Create segments and workflows for personalised marketing campaigns, remarketing ads and be compliant.
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