The objective for Blood Red Roses was to cement Rod Stewart’s status as a rock ‘n’ roll legend at 30 studio albums in and deliver a #1 album.

Extensive insight was carried out into our key demographic (females 55+), revealing they look for new, exciting experiences, wanting to feel part of something – but need familiarity too. To engage our audience with marketing that felt energised and excited, yet comfortable at the same time, we focussed on two angles:

• Energy & Art (to position Rod as an icon and the album, a celebration of art)
• Personalisation

#TheWordOfRod was used across tools to nod to Rod being of iconic status and, in a fun way, bringing out the energy in the campaign. This also linked to the personalised approach.

We commissioned an illustration for the album cover and renowned photographer Rankin for a shoot in Rod’s home, so that imagery felt aspirational yet personal.

We launched in July, allowing time for the campaign and pre-orders to build. Phase 1 focussed on a content strategy online to hit our core fanbase.

We launched a ticket pre-sale with HMV, driving 9.5k pre-orders. Bespoke content was filmed with Rod, using personalised messages tailored to fans in the touring cities. We tested the geo-specific personalised creative on Facebook, driving 72% CTR above benchmark.

We ran a competition where fans were nominated by loved ones via a call out on socials to receive a personal message from Rod. The messages were aired as adverts on ITV in the winner’s region. Relatives filmed their reactions, which were then shared on Rod’s socials, delivering his highest engagement on a post throughout the campaign.

We used Rod’s iconic voice to create native-feel audio ads, with Rod discussing the album and creative process. Ads ran across Acast’s podcast network, achieving mass reach across a non-traditional audience.

We developed a messenger bot concept where the user is prompted to enter their name and choose their favourite album track. The Rod-Bot spits out a bespoke piece of artwork based on the album cover, with their name and song choice, giving them something personalised to share on their socials.

The above was supported with heavyweight TV, statement OOH, radio and print advertising.