Making your own #Lemonade: The marketing genius of Beyonce and how you can duplicate it

Lemonade- Beyonce Marketing

Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade allowed us to savor the flavors of adultery, lies, broken hardheartedness, feminism and maybe a touch of craziness. Nonetheless, the taste is lingering on our palettes and making an impression on our minds.

No matter what Beyoncé puts out, almost everyone has something to say about it. Even her critics get caught in the whirlwind of commentary. The “BeyHive”, the unauthorized PR crew comprised of her biggest fans, has nothing but great things to say about her work. The internet has gone amuck pondering Lemonade’s truthfulness. One thing’s for sure, the marketing behind Beyoncé’s brand is straight-up genius.  All of the buzz behind the Queen Bey makes us take notice of her brand.

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Instead of wondering how she does it, it’s time to learn how to make your own marketing “lemonade”.

  1. Embrace the bitterness: Take the bitter with the sweet. If your brand has had its share of bitter moments, don’t treat it as a complete failure. If you’re savvy enough, you can use these moments to showcase your brands growth. Get feedback to gain insight on and learn from your mistakes. By treating your bitter moments as opportunities for improvements, you can prevent repeating the same mistakes and get sweet success.
  2. Stir things up a bit: Beyonce’s previous albums showcased her passionate love life and feminist prowess. Listeners grew accustomed to her ballads backed with pop beats and a southern drawl. However, with Lemonade, she switched it up. By creating a musical melodrama reminiscent of scenes from the Young & the Restless and Fatal Attraction, Beyoncé taught her audience to appreciate something new. You can do this too. Don’t dilute your brand. Add new flavor to what you currently offer. It’ll help you appeal to a new audience while building momentum from your existing one.
  3. Figure out your recipe: Lemonade is refreshing, but when it’s unbalanced (either too bitter or too sweet) it doesn’t quench your thirst. Don’t make your audience feel like you’re too plain or too exaggerated. In other words, don’t become so technical that your personality doesn’t shine, or too over-the-top that you’re considered excessive. Finding balance with how you engage and educate your audience is what develops your unique selling point—your recipe for success. For instance, Beyoncé balances glam with sex appeal and pop with soulful ballads. We haven’t seen this recipe anywhere else—thus she quenches our musical thirst.
  4. Let it chill: Once you have your recipe, stop tampering with it. Let it settle with your audience. Space out your marketing initiatives and observe them. Avoid making changes too soon because it could create brand confusion, which leaves a bad taste in your audience’s mouths. Beyoncé releases epic stuff on what appears to be a whim, but her calculated timing creates anticipation. By letting your brand chill, you allow time for your ingredients (brand identity, customer relationship management, etc.) to mix together and produce something delectable.
  5. Share it with others: Share your brand with more than your target audience. Sharing positions your brand for more exposure. When Beyoncé released Lemonade, she made it exclusive to Tidal and HBO. Initially, only subscribers to those service providers got to taste Lemonade. However, Beyoncé opened up her lemonade stand to others as she released snippets of Lemonade via her Facebook page. More fans were created and they were compelled to buy her goodies.

Try out these tips and let me know if the recipe is working for you.

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5 Comments

  • Jessica
    May 31, 2016 at 2:25 PM

    Great article!!! I love Beyonce as a singer but I absolute applaud her as a savvy businesswoman!!! Definitely have her in mind as I go through my journey of success!!

  • Michelle Matthew-Calloway
    May 31, 2016 at 7:39 PM

    Christine,

    Thanks for this superb article! I love the 5 points you made, yet “Stir Things Up A Bit” and “Let It Chill” especially resonated with me. We’re doing some different things with our brand, and paying attention to the strategies of those who are hugely successful is in itself a smart strategy. Thanks for the reminder and the practical tips!
    Michelle Matthew-Calloway would like you to check out…Loving Day Celebration – And A Podcast First!My Profile

  • Tanya B
    June 8, 2016 at 5:29 PM

    I really enjoyed this! The correlations to the process of making lemonade was AWESOME!

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