Case study: Measuring marketing lift around a holiday release
Our Music Marketing Playbook explains how CONNECT can help marketing teams plan, track and measure promotional campaigns in the music industry.
Recently, Warner Music Group and Luminate put those strategies to work on a seasonal campaign fit for a legend. Here’s how we used CONNECT to measure marketing effectiveness for an A-list album promotion.
Situation: Cher’s First Christmas
On October 20, 2023, Cher released her first-ever holiday album, titled Christmas. Warner Music Group supported the high-profile release with a promotional and publicity campaign that aligned with peak holiday shopping season.
W47 2023 - W2 2024
October 6 Lead single “DJ Play a Christmas Song” released
November 23 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Performed “DJ Play a Christmas Song”
November 29 “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” tree-lighting special
December 8 iHeartRadio Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden
Dec 8 - Jan 5 Christmas Roblox event (4-week virtual event)
Action: Tracking consumption and YOY growth
The Cher Christmas promotion ran from Week 47, 2023 to Week 2, 2024. We compared Cher’s total on-demand audio and physical (CD and vinyl) consumption growth during this period to that of the broader holiday music industry.
In CONNECT, we used Dashboards and Analysis to measure Cher’s activity against industry benchmarks and make YOY comparisons.
Artist Dashboard > Activity Over Time
On Cher’s Artist Dashboard, we set the Time Frame to include the span of the Christmas promotion, then used Data Controls to isolate On-Demand Streams (Audio) and Product Sales (CD and Vinyl).
Cher’s U.S. On-Demand Audio Streams during Christmas promotion* / Same period previous year
Cher’s U.S. Product Sales (CD, Vinyl) during Christmas promotion* / Same period previous year
Analysis > Activity Over Time
Above, we found that Cher’s Dashboard showed increased activity during the campaign. But how did her holiday-season consumption compare to the rest of the music industry? CONNECT’s Analysis feature helped us find out.
Then, we isolated On-Demand Audio Streams and Product Sales (CD and Vinyl) using the same settings we applied to the Artist Dashboard.
Analysis, Holiday/Seasonal U.S. On-Demand Audio Streams during promotion* / Same period previous year
Analysis, Holiday/Seasonal U.S. Product Sales (CD, Vinyl) during promotion* / Same period previous year
Results: Significant growth for Cher
All in all, the results point to a highly effective marketing push.
Industry benchmark: +11% YOY
Within the broader music industry, On-Demand Audio consumption grew +11% year-over-year from 2023 to 2024. Overall physical sales (CDs and vinyl) declined -10%.
Cher: +230% YOY
Cher’s total On-Demand Audio consumption rose +230% over the same period. And physical sales (CDs and vinyl) surged +1,894%. While this includes activity from her full catalog, the spike in consumption coincides with the Christmas album and its promotional efforts.
This outsized growth in streaming and sales suggests that Cher outperformed the music industry over the 2023 holiday season thanks to the Christmas campaign — even when accounting for the broader scope of her catalog.
More to know
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Migrating from Music Connect: Overview for legacy users
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