The Brilliance Behind Justin Timberlake and How He Won Us All Over Again

Guess whose back with a vengeance after a 6 year album hiatus? If you guessed Mr. I’m bringing “sexy-back” you are absolutely right. With 968,000 copies sold in his first week, many doubters have been silenced – but how exactly did he do it? Look no further than the incredible marketing push and media blitz of JT’s comeback album, “The 20/20 Experience”.

The campaign behind the release was a barrage of media. Justin Timberlake was in commercials for Bud Light Platinum and Target, and made a breathlessly promoted appearance at the Grammy Awards. iTunes streamed the album before its release, stoking huge advance sales. Then there were his performances around the Super Bowl and South by Southwest, his fifth time hosting “Saturday Night Live” and a full week as a guest on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.”

Please see below for comments from Stephanie Hoffman, a branding consultant at Vivaldi Partners, a global strategy consulting firm that helps companies achieve breakthrough levels of profitable and sustainable top-line growth through identifying new demand opportunities, formulating strategies for innovation and growth, building strong brands, and developing actionable marketing strategies.


· “The genius behind the release of Justin Timberlake’s new album was the “sneak peak”. With his charisma, good looks, and stellar ability to ‘turn on’ any audience when he takes the stage, Justin Timberlake enchanted new and old fans alike weeks before the album was even released.”

· “We grew to love the songs from seeing him perform on ‘Saturday Night Live’, from his week-long stint on ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’, from his secret show at SXSW, and from his concert special on The CW – just to name a few.”

· “A smart move in a time when album sales are at an all-time low. Now we all have a reason to buy the album – the songs are all attached to memories: his ‘bromance’ with Jay-Z on SNL, the “History of Rap” on ‘Jimmy Fallon’, his undeniably classy big band orchestra – making us fall in love with him over and over again.

· “Businesses can take a page out of the “Book of JT”: Create memorable experiences for us to store in those over-crowded brains of ours. Products come and go, but unique and fun experiences make it clear why we should love your brand - a ‘20/20 Experience’, if you will. “


Disclosure: I did not receive any products nor was paid for this post. Any opinions expressed in my review are my own personal and honest thoughts. No other compensation was given.