With the release of 2019’s This Is How You Smile, Helado Negro (Roberto Carlos Lange) positioned himself as one of the most exciting indie/alt/Latinx artist. 4AD wanted to capitalise on the momentum from the past album with a campaign around his new record, Far In, that could highlight Roberto’s playful demeanour and his interest in connecting with his fans more directly.
With the launch of the first single, ‘Gemini & Leo’, Jacob Escobedo’s highly creative and vibrant animated video served as the perfect primer for additional marketing opportunities and connections.
Helado Negro launched the Zodiac Playlist generator shortly after the video’s release for a second push of the single and to give fans a glimpse at his musical influences. The generator allowed the fans to input their personal details to receive a playlist curated by Roberto himself that corresponded with the user’s zodiac sign. Tarot cards focused on the characters in the video were also made and distributed among retail stores and other direct accounts, given to fans and included in album orders.
The second part of the fan engagement campaign happened in early September through an IRL activation in NYC and Mexico city, the Helado Negro Ice Cream Tricycle. 4AD produced a custom ice cream tricycle and partnered with local ice cream makers to offer an official black ice cream flavour. For one day in September, the bike rode through the streets of Mexico City and Brooklyn. The destinations were announced on socials the week prior and fans were able to meet the trikes for an early listen of the album and get some free ice cream and exclusive merch giveaways.
All of the pre-release fan engagement activity resulted in additional moments for the album campaign. All of these alternative moments coupled with the more traditional approach of music video releases, advertising, live sessions and other press moments allowed for fans to engage with the project in a more playful manner. The tricycle made additional appearances leading up to the campaign, serving as the official merch popup shop at the artist’s release week show in Brooklyn.
The Zodiac playlist generator campaign captured email data for us to build the project’s email newsletter. Over 350 sign-ups came in from the campaign, resulting in a significant bump to his overall numbers.
For the ice cream activation, 4AD had the opportunity to connect with fans on a personal basis at the scene. The campaign was centred around Instagram Stories, focused on promoting the #heladonegro hashtag. The artist connected with fans by reposting the fan’s experience onto his page while also taking over the 4AD label socials.
All of the campaign activity helped the record see the highest pre-order for the artist in his career, resulting in the best first week sales in the US with over 2,700 scanned EA.
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