“No one man should have all that power.” – KanYeWest
Kanye West does it again! The world’s most interesting artist took it back to the streets and offered his mobile fans an opportunity at an exclusive sneak peek at his latest video for “New Slaves.” This guerrilla marketing tactic is a part of a larger 66-show campaign across the globe. There were several shows in New York City alone.
I found out about it via Twitter and jumped up out of bed to get to SoHo. Someone tweeted about a live Kanye performance up the street in Williamsburg and I quickly found out that there were other shows going on in the New York area. I threw on some clothes and hopped on the train. You can already guess that it didn’t start on time. I struck up small talk with another guy there commenting on how we’re all suckers and even joked about leaving, but we both knew the truth: Neither one of us was going anywhere.
Being there was literally like being a part of a huge social experiment. People flocked like sheep to each rumored video location in the city and any suspicious shadow in a building window or especially bright light in an alley attracted nearly every attendant to see if Kanye himself would pop out. It was sheer genius in my eyes. I envisioned some experimenter in a high rise building on the corner hurriedly jotting down notes about our behavior and I laughed to myself. As soon as the truck pulled up with the mobile show, everyone’s phone came out as they rushed to share the experience with their followers. Personally, I was active on Twitter, Instagram, Vine, and YouTube. That’s what marketers call a Social Media Grand Slam! (Actually, there is no such term, but if you see it out, you know where you heard it first.)
This is definitely not the first, nor the last, posting you will see about Kanye West’s, “New Slaves.” Enjoy.