An opportunity to inspire a new generation of Clash fans under 30 was identified during the consumer insight and planning stage of these releases. This became a key objective of the extensive digital marketing plans put in place and various channels and initiatives were employed to engage with this younger audience.

‘This Is Radio Clash’ Spotify campaign

Built around the concept of a radio show and called after one of their hits, this bespoke Spotify content was integrated into the band’s website and featured seven exclusive 30–40-minute documentary-style podcasts presenting Mick Jones, Topper Headon and Paul Simonon in conversation with Johnny Green, their tour manager, discussing their influences and sharing their favourite music via curated playlists. The podcasts were accessible for a period of 20 minutes on theclash.com without being logged into Spotify and were also available in a tabletoptimised format.

Twitter

A Twitter account @TheClash was launched to reach out to a new, younger demographic. The account has built up 14,299 followers since its launch in May. An ‘appointment to view’ was created every Friday with the use of the hashtag #ClashFriday. A new Clashrelated topic was chosen each week (e.g. discuss your favourite Clash album cover) and the fans were encouraged to tweet throughout the day with the chance of receiving recognition via a retweet. The page was effective in engaging established and new fans alike.

Facebook

We interacted with fans by running engaging daily content and competitions on the band’s existing Facebook page whilst generating additional conversation via the creation of the #MyClashCollection Facebook gallery. This simple mechanic allowed fans to upload photos of their merchandise collections to the Facebook page and these were added to a gallery that currently holds a growing collection of 268 photos. The gallery received 9,889 shares, 65,970 likes and 876 comments.

Google Play documentary series

Audio Ammunition was an exclusive fivepart YouTube documentary about the band, featuring never-before-seen footage of the late Joe Strummer and new interviews with Paul, Topper and Mick as they explored their careers, inspirations, lasting legacy and reflected on the writing and recording process for each of their classic albums. Google Play worked with the band and Sony to produce this exciting content for fans around the world and to celebrate the digital release of the five remastered albums on the Google Play store. The documentary was also designed to appeal to younger YouTube and Google Play users and featured exclusive cover versions by contemporary artists Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, Surfer Blood, Kurt Vile and Slipknot’s Corey Taylor. These covers from London Calling were made available as free downloads for a limited time on Google Play.