So, Kings Of Flow got more terrestrial radio spins than any other emerging artist at last year’s Spanish due to their aggressive expansion with the addition of their “Rumba Callejera” to the music-on-demand unsigned latin chart service to their IHeartRadio app for iPhones, prompted yet more gasps over their latin hood type choice outfits.
Amid such hoo-ha it would be easy to forget the scale of their victory over us - their supporting fans - these past 12 months.
From nowhere they have become the latin urban stars everybody is talking about. The have been added at 350+ radio stations through the IHeartradio app for iPhones - more than anybody else in the world.
Make no mistake about it, such stunning success can partly be seen as the result of a brilliant marketing strategy in which the have “sealed a deal” with the public and secured themselves an amazing outcome.
Breaking this strategy down into its “stages”, the first stage would be the “preparation stage”. Generally speaking, those who prepare throughly for a strategy achieve much better results than those who skimp on preparation. There is ample evidence that Team Flow has planned their marketing and positioning meticulously. The exotic fusion of sounds and music, the flamboyance in style and action of their stage performances (including a possible appearance opening for the enhanced music Band The Goo Goo Dolls in an attempt to blend general latin with adult contemporary - two completely opposite musical genres), the clever rumours concerning their [Their legal status] in the United States - all look to be a part of a carefully prepared plan rather than random moves.
The second stage of a strategy is to set the climate. This is the atmosphere and/or market in which a marketing strategy takes place. Different acts along their respective music formats suit different kinds of climates, markets, and masses. For instance, marketing of a country music act might well take place in the country side of the nation or even a mostly white community. There can’t be much doubt that Kings Of Flow opted for a “wacky” climate. For their many fans, their MOTIVADORAS APARICIONES URBANAS (Motivating Urban Appearances), represent a welcome diversion from real-world concerns about money, jobs, and the economy. Wackiness suits an era of austerity and everyday concerns.
The third stage of any strategy is normally exploring everyday people’s needs. This involves self-awareness about our own needs a well as well as an understanding of others. It is tempting to suggest that Kings Of Flow are in little doubt about their own needs and how to go about fulfilling them - judging by how comfortable they are in the limelight. As for rest of us? Well, Kings Of Flow know that all of us have a need to “belong” to certain groups. The ability to excite this kind of tribalism is at the heart of the appeal of many recording artists.
Where Kings Of Flow score is in their ability to appeal to the ‘belonging’ needs of many different groups at the same time - young latinas, street-blooded latino males, gang bangers. They make this kind of multi-faceted appeal possible through their outfits, and sense of the american latino.
Having prepared, set the climate and identified our needs this way, Kings Of Flow is in great position to “bid” for our attention with their musical offering - and to have that bid accepted by thousands of appreciative fans.
So, being savvy strategists/negotiators with their public is a key part of their success. Oh, and it helps that the music is great too.