But one topic of the show caught my attention: Mariah Carey, who is re-releasing her album Merry Christmas and especially the flagship title of this opus: All I Want for Christmas is You . She has understood everything, the diva, using the vein since 1994.
But why does it work, how does it continue to make money spain whatsapp from its star product, and what marketing lessons can you learn from it?
Mariah Carey's star product
The BCG Matrix
To better understand, let's look at a little marketing theory. Don't go, I said "a little", just to understand what a star or featured product is .
We should look at the BCG matrix, which does not take its name from the vaccine but from the Boston Consulting Group. It is a strategic analysis tool that can be useful for a company.
It takes into account two dimensions: the company's relative market share and the market growth rate.
The products sold by a company are then distributed on the matrix according to their potential:
Cash cow products: these are products that ensure a high profit in a market with low growth or even in recession. They are advantageous because their communication costs have generally been amortized for a long time. These are the essential products of a brand, which are still present years after their launch (the Longchamp folding bag, the McDonald's Big Mac)
Star products: these are products that ensure a significant profit in a still developing market. Their destiny is to become cash cow products. They can bring in a lot of money but the company generally still has to invest in their marketing and communication (Apple's iPhone for example)
Dilemma products: they do not bring in much profit but are positioned in a fast-growing market, hence the dilemma they pose to companies (Coca Cola Life). Should we continue to produce them or stop them?
Deadweight products: At the bottom of the ranking are deadweight products that are losing ground. They are only kept if they still allow a certain profit to be generated, otherwise, it is better to oust them.
But what does Mariah Carey's song have to do with this BCG matrix story?
All I Want For Christmas is You was released in 1994 and since then, every year at Christmas, it has been one of the most listened to songs. It breaks all records at the end of each year:
Highest-charting year-end title on the US Hot 100 by a solo artist
The most streamed track on Spotify in 24 hours by an artist
The title surpassed one billion streams on Spotify in 2021
The longest-running Christmas song in the UK top 10
The song is even in the Guinness Book of Records, no less!
According to experts, the title brings in no less than 2.5 million dollars per year to the singer and would have generated more than 70 million dollars in revenue since its release...
If this isn't a star product, I don't know what is!
Is this a cash cow product? The difference is sometimes subtle, but for me, the singer is still investing in marketing and communication in this title so I would rather classify it among the star products. What do you think?
Read also: Why do you need to have branding?
Marketing: How Mariah Carey Becomes a Must-Have Every Christmas?
But how did she manage to achieve this feat of returning to the forefront every year?
With a well-honed technique!
The song was a huge success when it was released. It quickly became a cult classic and reappeared every Christmas. The singer (and her label, no doubt) decided to exploit the vein to the fullest .
She is the first singer to have established a Christmas tour . Every year, thousands of people flock to her concerts, waiting for only one thing: the diva's flagship title.
She reinvents her piece regularly:
re-recording new versions with current stars (Justin Bieber in 2011)
revealing unpublished images from the filming of his first music video
accepting covers by other artists like Shania Twain and in films like Love Actually (by Olivia Olson). With the film itself having become a Christmas staple, success is assured for many more years!
In 2023, she is partnering with The Children's Place for Christmas clothing.
Take inspiration from Mariah Carey in your marketing!
Okay, so you don't have Mariah Carey's career or worldwide fame, but you can take inspiration from her success with All I Want for Christmas is You for your own business.
Identify your star product and use its success to develop it, adapt it, reuse it while limiting marketing and communication costs to gradually transform it into a cash cow product .
We could give the example of Le Slip Français and its briefs which are constantly reinvented: new models, special operations (personalized embroidery)...
In an online business, you can take a successful feature article and turn it into multiple articles, videos, and social media posts to achieve even more success and make yourself known on the web!
So, what is your star product?
