Ep. 17: Cowboy Carter & The Beyhive Bag: How to Market to a Specific Tribe Like a Pro

Episode 17: How to Market to a Specific Tribe Like a Pro

In this episode, Ponchitta Sashawoo describes the steps that entrepreneurs should take to market to loyal fans and communities like the Beyhive.  She uses Beyonce's Cowboy Carter tour as an example of great marketing and ideas that entrepreneurs can use as opportunities to reach these markets.

PONCH Cosmetics is the Sponsor for this episode!

PONCH Cosmetics Lip Collection Promo

PONCH Cosmetics is a proud supporter!
PONCH Cosmetics is a plant-based beauty and skincare brand that provides plant-based solutions.

PONCH Cosmetics is a proud supporter!
PONCH Cosmetics is a plant-based beauty and skincare brand that provides plant-based solutions.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:54

Welcome back to the Punchline Podcast, a show about the perils and pitfalls of starting a business. And today we're talking about marketing, but not just any marketing. We're talking about the genius that is Cowboy Carter. Because this time going around, Beyonce did not come to play. Beyonce created business. a cultural phenomenon that is an opportunity, if you will, for all entrepreneurs. So if you've been paying attention, especially with the drop of her new merch, her Sacred line and then her Sir Davis line, all of that has been incorporated into her show now. So we're going to talk about it and if you're an entrepreneur and you're not taking advantage of these marketing opportunities when Beyonce comes to your city, then what are you doing? You're missing out on a lot of coins that you're leaving on the table and we're going to talk about it today. Let's get into it. So Beyonce, she didn't just drop an album. She gave us a cultural moment. And now that Cowboy Carter is basically galloping worldwide to a city near you, we're going to talk about that for just a little bit. We're going to talk about the fact that she started her tour, I believe at the beginning of May, and it's going to go all the way to the end of June. And she is traveling. She started in LA. She's doing five days in LA. She's going, she came to Houston. I'm in Houston, by the way. I just went to her show and this is what inspired me to make this episode about the marketing because I saw so many phenomenal opportunities for people like me who are entrepreneurs who need to be taking advantage of these opportunities. So we're going to talk about it. But She's going to be, she was in LA. She's been in Chicago. She's good. She's in Houston and she's going to Atlanta. She's doing five days in Atlanta. She's going to DC. She went to New York and she went to Paris and London. And then she's going to end in Vegas. All of these opportunities for people who live in these cities are endless. And we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about how you can turn her presence or other opportunities like this into a profit for your business. And I think it just goes without saying that these are things that these are opportunities that if you ever wanted to know how to market yourself, your business, your product, Take some notes from Beyonce. Take some notes from the Cowboy Carter tour and also other opportunities, even, well, we'll get to that. I'll talk about that in just a few minutes, but we're going to use Cowboy Carter tour as our point of reference. So I'm going to just give you guys some tips and information about how you can take advantage of Of the fact that she's coming to your city. Okay. So first off, with Beyonce coming to all these different tours, the marketing in your city, that's just going to set the stage. for opportunities that are going to be available to you. You need to start off with a geo-targeted content. That means that Beyonce in New York or Cowboy Carter in New York. These are your hashtags, of course, but that's how you target your audience for the people who are going to be interested in what you're selling I think that is the most important thing that needs to be said and understood, that Beyonce has created your target audience for you. All you got to do is study them. You know that Beyonce fans do not care about cost. They don't care about rain, snow, sleet, or shine. They're going to support because she has a loyal fan base called the Beehive. So you need to be marketing to the Beehive. You need to be thinking about event partnerships that you could take advantage of in that city. You need to consider pop-up placements. And I'm going to tell you about things that happened in Houston. In Houston alone, everything was created around Beyonce's coming. Luckily, Two things were happening. It was quite a few things because Pride was going on in Houston as well. There was a Pride festival. But also, Houston, there was a very popular DJ called DJ Screw, and there is a DJ Screw Day in Houston. It is June 27th. Well, Beyonce was coming June 28th and then 29th. That's Saturday and Sunday. On Friday, was DJ Screw Day. So if in fact, you know that Beyonce is coming during this time, this is the time that you can create events and opportunities. If you have a restaurant, you need to have a Cowboy Carter night, day, event, menu, drink, something that commemorates the fact that Cowboy Carter is coming to town. And that is Just your marketing should be all around that. And then you need to, if you have a restaurant, of course, you need to have a special drink. And you need to, if you have Sir Davis, you need to incorporate Sir Davis. You need to have Sir Davis there. And these are things that Beyonce did at the concert. That's what makes it even more amazing. Let's say you want to have an event for yourself. The number one thing you need to do is build your community. This is a way that you're going to. And if you haven't already created that community, loyal fan base, this is the time you do it. You start planning your event and you start creating FOMO around that event to the point to where, one, people do not want to miss and they are not going to forget and they're going to sign up, they're going to follow, and they're going to get involved. You need to have some type of event interest. You need to create something that gets the people interested so that they want to come to your event And you could do that with some type of theme, whatever your theme is. Cowboy Carter could be your theme. Okay, so now that you know you're going to start geo-targeting, you're looking at partnerships within your city for Beyonce or it could even be Chris Brown concert, the Boy's Mind Tour is coming. You should have something. You should be working on something. And you got plenty of time to plan that. That's all the way in a few months. So you could be thinking about what you're going to do. Even for Essence, if you're going to Essence Festival, you need to have something ready. to get people interested in whatever you have going on if you're in the city of New Orleans. It should be Essence Festival New Orleans, and you should be telling people where to eat, where to go, what to wear, what to bring. You could be telling them where not to go. You could be telling them... about places that they should avoid, all those type of tips. You should have reels created around that and videos and all type of content that you can create regarding Essence Festival. If you're going to be in Essence Festival, you need to be telling people. You need to tell them that you're coming. You need to tell them where they can find you and what you're going to have. And you should be Telling them that you have a limited edition something that they can only get either for Cowboy Carter, Essence, or the Boy's Mind Tour. That's how you create The community that you're in for people to see what you have and to test it out. You need a QR code for your stuff and you need something that you're going to give them. You need to be thinking. And I think what a lot of entrepreneurs forget, and this goes along with networking as well. What reason does a stranger have to connect with you? If you're offering them nothing, you have to have a mutually agreed upon item for, I mean, in order for a mutually agreed upon situation to occur, you need to have something that's going to entice the people that you want to try your stuff. If you don't have that, what reason do they have to try your stuff? They're not going to be interested unless you have some type of phenomenal product that you can just say, hey, come over here and try this. You're going to love it. I mean, and they may try it, but to get them to come and try it, you need to at least give them something. So with these pop ups, too, there were different pop ups in the city. For when Beyonce came to Houston, her show is going on right now, the Sunday night show. Then she's leaving and she's going to her next city. But y'all need to be ready in the next city. Whatever city she's going to next, and I think it's D.C., y'all need to be ready. Beyonce, you should already have an activation, a product ready. Even if you're introducing a product, you need to introduce it with some type of Cowboy Carter theme. Come get this so that you'll be ready for Cowboy Carter. If you're going to the show, you need this. Whatever the case may be, this is your opportunity to market whatever it is that you have. So I want to encourage you. Get that together. And it should be a limited edition drop. It should be something that they're going to get here. You need some type of travel kit on the go. People are traveling in. So many people were coming to, you know, since Beyonce is in Houston and she ain't in Dallas this year. Dallas had to come to Houston. She's not in New Orleans this year. So New Orleans had to come to Houston. And other people from Louisiana had to come to Houston. So travel kits for those people that are traveling in. There were people that were saying they were coming from New York and D.C. and all these places, which is crazy because there was a New York show. But then people have different reasons why they travel and do these things. But I'm here to tell you that you really need to consider what it is that you're going to offer for these activations. So I would say... That, um, this is the perfect time for your merch. Beyonce has her merch drop, but I'm gonna tell you some of their merch is very expensive. So why would you think of like some other t-shirt? Of course you can't use cardboard Carter cause there's trademarks, but maybe you could use something else that is catchy. That would get people's attention. Um, For a cowgirl or a cowboy, those are generic words and terms that you could use. And you could put on a cute t-shirt and sell those for a little bit cheaper. And you probably would get some people who don't want to spend$50,$60 on merch or$100 on merch. Some people do. They don't care. But some people just need something. Like me, when I saw the prices, I thought I was going to get me a$25 t-shirt. And when I saw them merch prices, I was like, oh, no. I was looking. I was at Walmart looking for me just a Houston T-shirt. You need to find a way how whatever it is you're selling, you can connect with somebody and partner with them so that you guys can work together to market those products to get it out. influencers, different influencers. You need to create some type of photo op. I don't know. For those of you who don't know, there's a new mural of Beyonce here in the city and it's at this club and this club has this great happy hour on Friday nights. Well, they created a photo op for Beyonce. the beehive to come over there. And do you know, it created an opportunity for those people after they took their photos, they could go right into their club if they wanted to get drinks and or food or just hang out or whatever the case may be at that event. That's what I'm talking about. And they had a mechanical bull outside of there. All of those photo op opportunities so that people can create Instagram Instagrammable moments and also photo reels for their social media. These are opportunities guys that you don't want to miss. And when Beyonce comes to your city this is your chance. This is your opportunity to create opportunities some type of product just for this group. This is your, your target market is the beehive. All you gotta do is study the beehive and you gonna know what it is that they're interested in. Besides Beyonce, you can look at whatever it is that they're need. That's how products are created. You find a need in the market. You feel it and then sell it to the public. So I'm here to let you guys know, basically, let me see, if you're not, if you are not If you're an entrepreneur and you're not looking for an opportunity where you can sell to a specific group, and it could be somebody else's group, so you can make some money, then I really don't know what to tell you. This is the perfect opportunity, and Cowboy Carter did not miss. They did not miss. The merch from the merch. To Sacred. To Sir Davis. Which was all at her show. And. I forgot to tell you this. At the. Her cinematography. In promoting her stuff. I mean that's the whole thing. She gives you this visual. It's her visual storytelling. That is phenomenal. But all these commercials. She never breaks. But all these commercials. with her product placement all throughout her stuff. She has these salon chairs that are set up at the place. And then she has this commercial for Sir Davis. It's just an opportunity that is, it's an opportunity. She saw her, the best marketing is at her shows. So I say this to say, If you host an event, event marketing is my thing because that's how I got started with my business. I hosted an event years ago and I didn't capitalize on it the way I should have. If I did, I would have made sure that I had all my product placement in just the right places. And then I would have told you and sold you on that all throughout the event. That's all I'm saying that you should do. If you have an event, you need t-shirts for your event. You need some type of signage to promote there. But then also it should be with like some type of flyer. Brochure should accompany it that you could give it or some type of bracelet that you could give people. Anything that reminds them of your product. Don't miss that opportunity. Have a special drink at your event that is a theme based on, I mean, that is a name that's based on the theme. So, I mean, people could come up, you know, people come up with all kinds of things. The Beyonce brunch, and then you have a special cocktail at the brunch or whatever the case may be. I'm just making up stuff now. You sell candles. You need to have a special Beyonce candle. Give those people their special candles that they'll have and they'll remember forever. And it's a limited edition candle. If... What else? Makeup. If you sell makeup, I mean, if you do makeup, you need to have some specials going and running just for Cowboy Carter. These are things that you just need to have. And you need to have, if you sell products, there should be a special product drop. And you got to promote it the whole week so that people don't forget. They have to be talking about your product and then trying to get to you and your product. And then make sure you remember to tell those people to tag you while they're trying your stuff. So I just want you to know whether you sell skincare, candles, lashes, or lip gloss, it doesn't matter. This is your moment to sell with purpose and intentionality. Beyonce brought the energy. You got to bring the brand. That's your job. So don't watch from the sidelines. I mean, this Cowboy Carter era is here to stay. It's not going anywhere. Your inner mogul needs to come out and come to the stage. It needs to be front and center. So that's all I got for you today. And I hope that this helps. And I hope that you will take advantage. And this is your chance and your time to shine. Remember all the tips that I told you and use them to your advantage. I just don't understand how anybody can miss this opportunity to promote under these circumstances. So I hope I've helped you. And if you like this episode, please like and share, follow, subscribe. And if I missed anything in the comments, please add any information that you would like. to add to this that would help. And just give me some feedback also. I have a text link where you could text and send your comments. But I hope I've helped. And I would just ask for you to stay tuned for more. Coming soon. Bye.