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Band Branding: Arctic Monkeys

England has been the indie rock haven of the world since its conception in the mid 1980’s. With an indie scene so massive and vast, how can one band make enough noise to be heard above the crowd?

The Arctic Monkeys, with lyrics just as angsty and guitar solos just as smooth as the next band, gained traction just as quickly as lead singer Alex Turner did attractive in the eyes of 14 years old girls worldwide.

Their debut album, Whatever People say I am, That’s What I’m Not, released in 2006 gained significant amount of traffic on the platforms and websites they deemed best fit to serve as distribution channels, such as MySpace and BBC Radio.

Once strategically aligned with the best means to reach their target audience of emotionally charged teens, the Arctic Monkeys began to generate enough traction to form a “strategic alliance” with a record company.

The Sheffield native band signed to Domino Records solely because of their “DIY ethic”, which is very reminiscent of the band’s emphasis of creative freedom evident in their unique and unparalleled lyrics, vibe, and sound.

After the release of their first album the band had to strategically choose their “placement” (tour stops and venues), “Product” (which songs they would perform), “Price” (what would be the most reasonable amount to charge for a relatively new band, but cover travel expenses), and last but certainly not least, how they would “promote” their tour.  

After applying the four P’s of the marketing mix to the execution of their debut album and tour, the record was released in America and charted No. 24 on the Billboard album chart and sold 34,000 units in its first week. Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not quickly became the second fastest selling debut indie album in America and the rest was history.

The band continued to chart records, sell millions of albums, and headline some of the largest festivals worldwide. Their rapid stardom can only be attributed to their identification of the correct target market, best distribution channels, strategic alliance formation, excellent product placement and promotion, and widespread word of mouth marketing (WOM).

Much like the title of a track on their newest album, AM, Arctic Monkeys will soon have the “No. 1 Party Anthem” and it’s in a large part thanks to the marketing strategies employed to establish such a large following in such a short amount of time.

For a closer look on the Arctic Monkeys' utlization of marketing in the music world, be sure and check out Don Roy's: What the Arctic Monkeys taught me about branding.