Kaizers Orchestra have built their career as one of Norway's biggest bands by remaining true to their unique sound. When they were to release the album "Violeta Violeta Volum III", they faced two challenges that are rapidly becoming more imperative for every artist that wishes to reach a wider audience.
The radio stations are becoming more commercially oriented, and the chances of getting vital exposure through air time are getting slimmer and slimmer. "Violeta Violeta Volum III" was recorded with a symphony orchestra, without the traditional radio hit in mind. The launch would therefore have to be successful without help from radio. In addition to this, streaming has changed the way we find and listen to music. With all the music in the world easily available, the struggle for attention between arists and new music is harder than ever.
Based on the (for fans of the band) already well known term "The Kaizervirus", we made a promotional tool that could give fans the power to decide who would get access to the music. Through the iPhone and Android app "The Kaizervirus", we launched songs from the forthcoming album as different types of viruses. To access the songs you had to be infected.
With the use of GPS and map functions on your phone, you could find fans that carried the different viruses. When you were less than 50 metres away from a contaminated source, your phone would get automatically infected. One could also seek out the ones that were not yet infected to gather points and thusly achieve a higher status.
The first part of the campaign was meant to present the concept of "The Kaizervirus", and thusly create a sense of anticipation for the album release. In addition to this we also aimed to find the band's seventh member, who would be the first carrier of the virus.
This mini campaign consisted of a microsite, viral movie clips and a large application process, where the fans of the band were encouraged to apply through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. In this process the hashtag Kaizervirus was established.
Through the application process we found Kaizers Orcehstras biggest fan, Steffen. The first virus was released in his home, right outside of Bergen. Shortly thereafter, the virus started to spread quickly around the country. The big "jumps" happened via airports, and the biggest cities in Norway were reached quickly.
In addition to releasing songs and other exclusive material, we also promoted surprise concerts through the campaign period. The app was therefore a way to get into exclusive and intimate concerts with Kaizers Orchestra.
One of the viruses was launched through Instagram. The fans were encouraged to post a picture of the place where they wanted to hear the songs for the first time, and then to hashtag the photo with "kaizervirus" and tag the photo on the map. The area in question was thusly infected with the new virus.
The cover art for the single "Siste Dans" was printed in a large format, split into four pieces and placed in different spots of Stavanger, Kaizers Orchestras hometown. When the fans had found the four pieces, they could put them together and post the photo on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to make the area they were in infected by the Kaizervirus.
A mini documentary made by the band themselves was launched as a virus on the campaign site, kaizervirus.com. When 10 000 had been infected with the new virus, the video was published on the site.
To celebrate the launch of the new album, a secret release concert was to be arranged in Oslo. The tickets were hidden around the city, with hints of their whereabouts shared through the app. In addition to this, the fans who had spread the most viruses during the campaign period recieved a personal invitation.
Engaging the users by creating tasks and puzzles to launch the campaign.
By using the kaizervirus hashtag you could have a new song sent to your location.
And by following Kaizers Orchestra you could find exclusive tickets that were hidden in Oslo.
During the campaign period the different viruses spread to over 50 countries.
The Kaizervirus got over 200 media features in local, regional and national media.
The app, The Kaizervirus, was the most popular app in both App store and Google Play.
The fan activity on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter increased with over 400% and thusly increased the number of followers by 20% (80 000 before the campaign started)
The album "Violeta Violeta Volum III" reached the number 1 spot on VG-lista (Norway's answer to Billboard) two days after its release.
A noticable increase in concert ticket sales during the campaign period.
