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“El Madrileño”: How to build a massive, relevant and contemporary brand?

03/11/2021| Camila Mohr y Juan Ibañez| 10 min

IN A NUTSHELL:

The recent release of El Madrileño, the new album by C. Tangana, reflects the strategic considerations that we must take into account today when building a contemporary, relevant and mass brand.


THE GREAT STRATEGIC TAKEOUT:  

The album consolidates the new “hows” of communicating, innovating and activating in the contemporary market: global collaborations, inclusion of diverse generations, hybridisation of categories, a fluid perspective on origin, a way of segmenting by interests and a new look at innovation.


Why should I read this?

Because we are facing a new reality in which people demand changes, truth and value in the way brands do things. It is no longer enough just to say something, instead it has become imperative to act differently and relevantly.

What are we talking about?

El Madrileño, the new musical proposal —not merely an album— by C. Tangana is a success story about the new “hows” for brands and companies in any industry and category, as the artist managed to get seven of his songs into the Top 10 and the album as a whole into the Top 50 in Spain in just 24 hours.

  • Global partnerships: an album with collaborations that highlight a subjective view of the essence and truth of Madrid as a multicultural city and that enable a credible entry into different markets through the local “collaborator”. Each song presents a different contribution, with various artists representing the reality of Madrid and the world: Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico, the United States and France, among others.
  • Transversal across all generations: it involves transgenerational inclusion, with contributors of all ages. In fact, the album combines collaborations from artists that bring freshness and novelty, such as Ed Maverick and Omar Apollo (20 and 22 years old, respectively), with those of established musicians who offer a perspective based on their experience and consolidated style: Kiko Veneno, Eliades Ochoa, José Feliciano, Toquinho and Andrés Calamaro, among others.
  • Category hybridisation (genres and sounds): just as a brand decides to explore and innovate in other categories beyond its usual territory, El Madrileño does this through a multiplicity of genres and sounds. From trap (the artist’s roots and the genre most familiar to him), to folk, pop, flamenco, rock and roll, bossa nova, bachata, funk, son, copla and paso doble.
  • Fluid perspective on origin: it creates a new perspective on what origin means. It is no longer about “place of birth”, but about the space in which to share, coexist and identify with a single place: “Madrid belongs to everyone”.
  • A way of segmenting by interest: a summation of careful decisions that build an equally attractive comprehensive proposal for very diverse audiences. The collaborations, the sounds, the audiovisual, the graphic expression and the diffusion are replete with nods to those more niche consumers, while continuing to be a value proposition with ambition and massive results (dominating the most listened to playlists on Spotify in Spain).
  • Innovating on innovation: a new perspective on the importance of proposing new things, not as something exceptional and static in time, but as a constant, agile proposal without fear of getting it wrong.

In short, a lesson on strategies that demonstrate the importance of having a solid positioning and a brand truth that serves as a compass for thinking of new “hows” when innovating, communicating and extending a value proposition in a contemporary way.


Links and what to pay attention to:

C. Tangana – Demasiadas Mujeres (Official Video)


  • The “behind the scenes” of everything that went into creating the final result are shown: musical discussions, inspiration, ideas, etc.
  • Always speaks in the plural and mentions the “team”.
  • Vindicates the importance of audiovisual content with a video clip for each song.
  • The importance of controlling a “brand space”: The Hotel Riu Plaza España becomes almost like the artist’s house, where brand experiences start to be generated to connect with consumers

WHY YOU SHOULD BE INTERESTED:

Because as brands we can meaningfully innovate in less traditional ways to ensure relevance in the current climate.

What tension does it resolve?

Audiences’ search for authenticity and truth that offers “tangible” answers they can believe in.

From a strategic perspective:

How to adapt positioning to the new reality and activate it at all touchpoints with consumers and audiences.

Who might be interested?

Any category. Mainly brands and companies that want to reinvent themselves, reconnect with new generations and think of new ways of doing things.

Where do I implement it?

In the implementation of communication, activation and innovation.

How do I implement it?

With an agile, authentic, valuable response that represents the essence of the brand not only “externally”, but also to all internal audiences.

How innovative is it?

Categories such as music, theatre, cinema and fashion —which have been impacted the most by the new reality— are the ones that are proposing meaningful, profound and transversal evolutions and changing the rules of the game.

Key concepts:

Innovation, marketing, strategy, generation Z, millennials, content, experience, collaborations


I WANT IT FOR MY COMPANY/BRAND. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

Who is using it already?

Fashion has reinvented its “hows” in a swift and inspiring way in terms of designing and presenting its proposals: fashion shows that are streamed videos/audiovisual content, digital as the principal channel in the face of the loss of thousands of physical stores, launches and innovations detached from seasons and immediacy becoming smaller and more conscious, and design that is inexorably more connected to consumer data.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Innovation must play a clear and coherent role: it is about innovating with a strategic sense and in line with the essence of the brand.
  • Freedoms for creativity: it is about giving freedom to the collaborators so that the result is representative for all.
  • A symbiotic and horizontal relationship between creator and brand: both sides enhance their truth and benefit from it (it is not a transactional relationship).

How do I get a clearer idea?

  • Listening to the album on YouTube (focusing on videos, collabs, environments).
  • Spotify: “La experiencia del Álbum” (focusing on what happens behind the scenes, comments, exclusive videos, etc.)

How do I share it with my network?

“Are we taking into account all the “hows” of the new reality to enhance the value proposition of our brands at all touchpoints with the consumer?”



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