WEEZER SAYS YAHOO!
The band, best known for their 1995 hit "Buddy Holly," hasn't had an album out since 1996's "Pinkerton," was inherited by Interscope from Geffen and faced an uncertain future when frontman/songwriter Rivers Cuomo took time off to get his university degree.
Nonetheless, thanks to the band's aggressive efforts to keep in touch with its online audience, the demand for Weezer music has stayed strong.
Capitalizing on this interest—and on Weezer's cross-generational appeal—Yahoo! and Ticketmaster stepped up to the plate with an array of online promotions, resulting in 17 sold out dates on the 20-city tour, with two others moved to larger venues.
Key to this promotion, says Yahoo! Brand Manager and entertainment liaison Tiffany Hein, was "creating an affordable, positive experience that's all about being sensitive to the college student's budget." To this end, low-cost tickets were made available for pre-order.
"The response to the specially priced online ticket promotion far exceeded our expectations," declared Ticketmaster Chairman Terry Barnes. "We look forward to working with Yahoo!, Weezer and venue promoters in the future."
This economical approach extended to the promotion itself. "We sold out over 90% of our shows online without spending a single dollar of offline advertising," Hein told hitsdailydouble.com. "It really exceeded everyone's expectations.
"Yahoo! is a giant global media company, but we wanted to extend ourselves as a music brand to college students, who are the largest wired demographic," Hein added. "The best way to reach them is through music—over 40% of the online community visits music sites daily—and college students love Yahoo, but they primarily think of it in terms of search and e-mail. We really want to get beyond that and show that Yahoo! is about entertainment."
Music area Yahoo! Outloud provided online content such as digital music clips and behind-the-scenes tour footage so the promotion extended beyond the reach of the tour itself. "This really extends the band's relationship to their fans," Hein explains.
The tour kicks off Feb. 21 in Austin, TX and concludes March 5 in New York.
