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Background

Since being discovered on The X Factor, Zayn has been thrust into the spotlight as one of this generation’s biggest stars. From One Direction, to his standout solo career, wooing fans and creating hit records has been nothing out of the ordinary for him. With a massive public following and a new upcoming album, Zayn and his team were looking for a new channel to leverage his audience. While social media and streaming services have made his music more accessible than ever, it still comes with major drawbacks for an artist. Fans can feel disconnected and mass targeted, while artists are left in the dark from knowing their biggest supports. For an album that he called “his most personal project to date,” it was only right to use a personal experience to invite fans on his journey.

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‍Campaign Details

After releasing two singles off of his upcoming third studio album, “Nobody is Listening”, Zayn and his team began the task of drumming up excitement before its release. For an artist who savors his privacy and sparingly shares on social media, releasing his number for a call-in campaign felt like the perfect way to peel back the curtain and connect with his fans. When a fan called in, they were immediately greeted with a voice message from Zayn telling them his album release date and to press any button, one through nine, to hear a preview of his album. Each number contained a snippet of the remaining nine tracks on his album. Even international fans were able to call in to ensure everyone got in on the experience. Once the call was ended, they would then receive a text message from Zayn asking that they add their info to his phone to stay in touch. This way, each fan felt as if they had received a personal experience from their favorite artist. On the flip side, Zayn and his team were able to collect valuable information such as the first and last name, email address, phone number, and the location of every fan in his contacts. This information can then be used for retargeting during tours, merchandise drops, and music video releases.

‍Release

On January 11th, Zayn publicly released his number via Instagram and Twitter to his entire fanbase. A simple message, “+1 (323)-991-ZAYN” was all it took to send social media into a frenzy. Fans from all over the world began to freak out that Zayn had actually posted his number online. His tweet alone received over 800K reactions, causing it to trend as high as number three on Twitter. Fans weren’t the only ones as Gigi Hadid got in on the action as well. She tweeted out “ext. 6 ! ext. 8 !” and “oh also 2. But honestly they all slap” to promote her favorite snippets. Media outlets including Billboard, Elle, and Uproxx covered the campaign urging fans to call in to hear a preview of his new album. As if that wasn’t enough, two fans who shared the same birthday as Zayn even received a surprise text wishing them Happy Birthday on January 12th. Overall, Zayn’s campaign prompted over 300K people to call in and collected over 120K contacts. While his album may be titled “Nobody is Listening”, this campaign showed that everyone is still listening to Zayn.

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