Marketing Happy Hour - How Taylor Swift Builds Loyalty and Hype (and What Brands Can Learn)

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

Taylor Swift isn’t just breaking records—she’s redefining what it means to market in the digital age. In this episode, Cassie and Ally unpack the marketing brilliance behind Taylor’s Eras Tour and beyond, exploring how she uses storytelling, connection, and innovation to keep her audience engaged. From live Easter eggs to building anticipation through mystery and intrigue, we break down the strategies Swift uses to create loyalty, spark excitement, and make every launch feel like an event. Whether you’re a podcaster, creator, or brand, this conversation will give you actionable ways to infuse your marketing with the same magic that keeps Taylor fans coming back for more.Key Takeaways:// Drive connection with your audience through storytelling in unique channels.// Tease content live with your audience to build mystery and intrigue through emerging media types.// The importance of giving every campaign or product launch its own unique spin.// How to engage your audience continually, even when you’re not in the middle of a “big launch.”// Lessons from The Life of a Showgirl and how podcasting can serve as a hero content engine.// Strategies for blending personal brand and professional brand to connect more deeply with your audience.____Say hi! DM me on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - I can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join our FREE Open Jobs group on LinkedIn: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest from MHH, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

People are attracted to stories. They want to know her story. They want to feel like they're a part of a story that she's telling. And she does a really good job at inviting the audience in to be a part of that. Welcome to Marketing Happy Hour. I'm Cassie, consultant, podcaster, and your host. Every Thursday, you'll hear episodes packed with insights from brand leaders on an array of topics from crafting effective marketing strategies and hitting career goals to building leadership skills and launching your own. business. Inspired by those unfiltered happy hour combos with peers, this show is all about practical empowering chats to support your professional journey. So grab your favorite drink and let's get to the episode. Hey, Ali, welcome back to the show. I should just stop welcoming you at this point because you're all right here. But what's up? How's it going? It's going well. It's been a busy season. I feel like for both of us. But things are really exciting. and I am super, super grateful for that.

Yeah, no, seriously. I'm literally in Philadelphia right now at a conference. So it absolutely has been crazy, but excited to chat about this. I mean, we're going to talk about Taylor Swift, which is really funny because I feel like both of us are kind of moderate fans, but I think there's so much from a business and marketing sense that we can learn from Taylor Swift. And so we're going to kind of dive into that. This is a very timely episode.

We are releasing this the day before the Life of a Showgirl releases October 3rd, 2025. And there's been even things that have come up through that release as well that we'll dive into. So I'm very curious, like, what everyone else thinks of this. I feel like I personally, like, think in business. Like, I'll go to do something non-business related. And I'm like, how does this work? And what can I take away from this? and maybe that's not a good thing all the time.

I feel like that's like a marketing course. Like I have the same thing. I feel like I will see an activation that someone is doing, whether it's like one of our favorite like Disney small shops or like someone that popped up at a different event. And like I'm thinking in terms of like business and marketing and how they're showing up. And so what I think sparked this episode for both of us is the way that Taylor Swift went

about talking specifically about life of a showgirl, but just how she kind of re-emerged is entering this new quote-unquote era. And so I'm super excited to chat about it because I agree. I think there's a lot we can learn from her, particularly around personal branding, using podcasting. And so very excited to dive in. Yeah. Well, first, what's been in your glass lately?

Do you have anything fun right now? We're recording this, by the way, pretty early in the morning. Early for me. I think it's coffee time right now. I have a, we love, if you're on video, I love my espresso machine and I have converted Cassie as well to an espresso lover. And so I have one of the blue bottle, New Orleans, Nespresso pods with some vanilla protein from owned because that is the best way for me to get some protein in first thing in the day. So I put it directly in my coffee. Coffee lovers will hate that because it dilutes it. like cream creamer or anything else um but for me it's it's a nice way to get some protein in

how about you hey you know what no i just have water right now but i was i was just going to say um i was at starbucks yesterday which i'm going to hit up after this recording because i need some caffeine but um they have protein cold foam now like they i think they just released it like this week i'm running and i thought of you and i meant to send it to you but yeah i think that's going to be more of a thing like how can we make coffee like almost not a meal but like kind of a meal you know in a way like some more nutrients and it's really helpful and I just like the own that I drink is like 32 grams of protein like first thing in the morning which is like yeah that's good um and so I love that we are trending that way that is that is super exciting yes absolutely um well let's let's

let's dive in to this conversation um it's so funny like speaking of thinking in like business and marketing sense um 2023 i guess is when i went to the heiress tour which is insane how is that two years ago that's wild um that's terrifying uh anyways i i digress but it's so funny like i found myself even going to the airs tour and like thinking in this way so i remember right after i think i went to the show i recorded two videos on like business and marketing lessons from Taylor and that's part of kind of I think what sparked this episode but just kind of want to recap obviously that was like such a huge time in culture it was everywhere I mean for however long she toured what like a year and a half plus

it was just almost two years all of it but the way that she promoted the tour the way that she, you know, sprinkled different things within the tour. It was absolutely crazy. So just a couple things I want to recap here. And then, Ali, I'd love to get your thoughts on this. But I think number one is audience storytelling. I mean, if you know anything about Taylor Swift, you know that she is a master storyteller. It's not only with her music, but it's in a live setting and the way that she curates this experience that tells a story across the board, across three hours. hours. And that is something that she is absolutely fantastic. And I think part of the reason why she is so captivating is because of that. Like people are attracted to stories. They want to know

her story. They want to feel like they're a part of a story that she's telling. And she does a good job at inviting the audience in to be a part of that. And creating music that's super relatable that people can feel like they connect with. You know, so that's kind of my first point there that's almost an obvious one but it's just something to remember as a brand how can you tell really captivating stories and then how can you invite the audience in in a very relatable humanistic way one thing too that comes to mind and and as you mentioned at the top of the episode like I would consider myself like more of a moderate fan however I did the last time I saw her was actually on the red tour and I would say that she had the same audience storytelling then than she does now like a lot of the

same things and the same threads are connected through her performances. And I was, again, read as my favorite, uh, while we're talking about favorite albums. Um, and so for me to be able to, to see that and connect to the different, the different songs and the different ways that she is telling the story through her lyrics, um, on site. And particularly through her live shows is incredible. And that is, that is not new for her. Like she has been doing that. And I think is leading the leading the way for a lot of artists to emulate that kind of style because it is a it is an incredible uh incredible way to connect with the audience and I think that's uh that's kind of our next point too. Yeah. Yeah. It's that consistency too. I think even though you're re-inventing yourself

essentially like how can you still have that through line of consistency and theme or the way that you're showing up or whatever. Um, but yeah, yeah, driving connection with audience. I think it's a big one like the thing i you know actually at this conference that i'm at digital summit one of the speakers was talking about how she allows the audience to be kind of the hero or the main character of the story like she's always talking directly to the audience it's you it's your it's whatever like when she posted her uh engagement it was your i'm going to butcher this your um gym teacher and whatever she called herself are getting married yeah and it's like that that is so genius. Like it's so simple, but it's allowing the person to feel like they have like a stake in the situation or they're kind of a part of that. And again, I think that is so huge for just building this fandom and this community. So again, I think this just goes back to again, in a marketing sense, how can you connect with your audience one to one? Like it's a one to one relationship with each consumer, making them feel like they are kind of a part of that story.

and just building connection over time. And there's a number of different ways to do that, but always thinking about how can we bring our community and our people together. I'm thinking back to the day she got engaged. Not only was like I had 1,300 group chat messages. I will say a lot of the things that I saw on social media that were interesting. And again, like just taking a giant step back as like just sort of a moderate fan, but someone who's like values pop culture and is excited for her in general.

A lot of stories that I saw on Instagram, particularly said, like, I'm so happy for my close personal friend, Taylor Swift. And, like, people, like, genuinely believe that. Like, they genuinely feel like she is speaking directly to them on one-on-one. And that is something that is so unprecedented as it relates to, like, from a personal brand perspective, that she has done such a great job starting from the beginning of her career till now, where she has had all of these albums and all of these releases. and all these secret sessions and it's incredible that people feel so deeply connected and called to her. And she continues to raise the bar, I think, for marketers and other artists as well. Yes, absolutely. The next thing, I'm going to kind of combine the next two points here, but Easter eggs and just teasing content live to build mystery and intrigue through emerging media

type. So she does a fantastic job at this, whether it is, you know, the door, for example, at the end of the tour, I feel like everyone kind of saw that, especially once this album was announced and everything. And she is so masterful at just sprinkling little nuggets and things to kind of pick up on that come to life later. And people are drawn to that. Like, they want this sense of mystery. They want to try to figure out what is going on and what she's telling. And she knows that. And she does a really good job at, like, like infusing that and as she said in in the podcast episode on the new heights which we'll get to in a minute she's like you know it's not as much as you all think however it is there so you know

the audience has taken it kind of to an extreme level in a way but it's so cool to see that she it's almost fan service like she knows exactly what the fans want she's giving them what they want um you know there there's so many different things there that she's done or even like announcing new albums live during the show i think she announced um was it 1989 taylor's version or one of the no speak now taylor's version she announced at the airs tour so again she's using this live audience this like intimate setting quote on quote to share something with the fans that is just for them as well um so again i think just being creative with the way that you are teasing things um building mystery building intrigue, especially around like product launches, I think is a really good thing to

take away from this. And you can get super creative with this. Like I think she has made it very proven that you do not have to play safe with this stuff, but just get creative and see how the audience and fans react. And I think, again, Taylor's was a unique example, right? Because, you know, she has a lot of like budget and things like that at her disposal. But I think if we're relating this to smaller to mid-size to large brands, you know, there are other things that you can do that are more like, quote-unquote, stumpy, to get your brand out there and start to tease different things. Maybe it's placing a couple of balloons around a city that have a specific campaign slogan on them or messaging on them that you want the public to find and start to talk about

on social. I think there are ways you can do that with, you know, stencils on the sidewalk. Like, we've seen that quite a bit, I think, particularly in New York, is getting sidewalk stencils or stickers or things like that that start to tease that campaign messaging that kind of create that mystery, that intrigue, that buzz. And that is what ultimately carries her through Taylor, specifically through these launches, right? Because you get this sort of social reaction in the interim from that audience talking about Speak Now Taylor's version. And that's how it's launched. So it's completely launched through the audience feedback, which I think is just an incredible way to do anything, is that the audience is like driving that excitement and that buzz from from that live moment specifically. And I think, you know, thinking about the sort of emerging media types, like how can you as a brand get creative with how you're teasing an upcoming product launch or say you have a celebrity partner, like what are the ways that you can think about?

leveraging that celebrity partner or something that's hyper-specific to that celebrity partner to gain excitement and gain traction from their already loyal fan base. So there are a couple things there that are layered in, but I do think thinking outside the box when it comes to these, and I use emerging media, I think kind of loosely because like some of it may not be considered traditional media, but I do think there are ways to really get creative with that and it's exciting to see different kinds of media types step into into the mix. I think I recently saw that New York cabs are doing holograms on top of their on top of the cabs instead of the actual taxi-toppers.

You can actually put a physical hologram on. That is incredible, right? That's a new media type that we haven't had in the past. And I think, you know, doing your research and kind of seeing what's out there as a marketer is always really important to see how you can tap into that. Yeah, I also want to point out to, you know, even just using live medium is a really cool tool like Severance. When Severance, the new season came out, they did that pop up in Grand Central Station and that was absolutely genius. Like Apple hadn't done a ton of crazy promotion and advertising in the past. And the one time

they really did it, they went out with a bang and they used the act. and they use this kind of like very simple setting in a way to create this intrigue and it went viral and it was it was so well done and so I think you can kind of go outside the box um Matthew McConaughey for example is doing these like live readings of his new book and he's sitting I don't know if you've seen this he's like sitting behind I'll send you a video but he's like sitting behind a glass wall and he's reading poems from his new book and like random cities yeah that's crazy yeah so like again that is an extreme example because it's like hiring talent and all of this stuff however like you could do something as a brand similar to that is using people or using talent that you hire to like illustrate a product or something so um yeah i'll send it to you it's pretty cool i like again like that to me is is so um so buzy and so exciting that like what a great what a great yeah absolutely so let's talk about the life of a showgirl we already talked about easter eggs and just storytelling and driving connection with the audience um i i got to say like when she announced this album on a podcast i was thrilled i'm like we are putting power into podcasting yes please like obviously this helped um Travis and jason's show uh you know it helped her obviously kind of tap into this new audience and this market that she's kind of tapped into in the past. but to really like build a connection with them and show them that she is this normal person.

And so long form content, I think just in general is really powerful. It allows people to get to know you on a deeper level, a longer level and just really hear your story. And she did a really good job at just very much humanizing herself and talking about a number of different topics and showing people who she is through that. So I thought that was genius. It was amazing to see her use podcasting. And I think, you know, it's a huge win for podcasts in general. And I will say since that moment in time, I have seen a lot of bigger names, like, go on podcasts. Like, there was a four-hour podcast with Emma Watson and Jay Shetty that launched.

Again, kind of taking that mystery and intrig kind of away from that. And Emma hasn't really been on the scene in anything in years, right? She took a break from acting, et cetera. but she wanted to open the door to her life and her mindset. And she used podcasting and long form content as a way to do that, which I think is incredible. And I think this example with Taylor is also amazing. I think one thing that strikes me as exciting about this particularly around long form is what are the other ways that we can take pieces of that long form content and then

put it in other places. So for example, I think what you and I saw after the long form episode because it was, I think was it about two hours, it was somewhere around there. We started to get the individual like short form clips out of that. So the content ended up having a longer lifecycle because we were able to take different pieces from it and chop it up and make it into other assets, which I think New Heights did really well across their social media channels. Yeah. But I think using using a long-form podcast as a tool to kind of launch that, that hero message for you is something really unprecedented. I don't, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I've really seen any other brands or particularly artists do that. And as per usual, like she is leading the way when it comes to thinking outside the box and in announcing something as big as the life of a showgirl. Yeah. Yeah. It's a huge win for the medium. Again, I was so thrilled to see that.

And I think brands can easily translate this. Like, don't be afraid to put your founder on a show and talk about a new product or something that you're working on or, you know, the director of marketing or whatever. And so using these platforms to really expand a message is huge. Kind of, you know, we already talked through just making that personal brand relatable. I mean, she talked about making sourdough. and like her experience with football growing up and all of this stuff. So I thought that was that was really huge, of course. And we just always talk about humanization and transparency and authenticity.

And that continues to be important in something that she really excels at. And the other thing, too, I think that this did is it's continuing that innovation around keeping your audience engaged and excited. Like how can you think outside the box? It doesn't have to be around a big. campaign launch or whatever or era change but just how can you continue to show up for your audience in different ways and be in front of them and I think again podcasting is a great way to do that and also this movie that she's coming out with which we'll talk about in in a minute is another good way to do it it's giving the fans more it's it's keeping her story and her human side in front of the

audience. And I think that is just people crave connection. And so how can you kind of lower that veil for consumers overall? I really like that that people crave connection. I think she is able to or she has been able to open up the door to give fans access to her life completely controlled by her, of course, right? Which I think is also the real balance for her. Yeah. Wow. The real balance for her. And what I've seen throughout her career is, and she's talked about this in, music in interviews that, you know, she's struggled with how much do I share versus not. And I think she's coming into a phase of her life where she is sharing a little bit more. And one, she's using podcasting to do that. But two, she's keeping, she's keeping her audience engaged and

excited because she is doing this and sharing her life, pieces of her life in a new and unique way. And I think what I'm already getting sort of from the life of a showgirl is there are new and unique ways that she is telling her experience of touring for two plus year, you know, almost two years. And getting engaged, falling in love again. I think there are, there are so many pillars that are laddering into this album and this story that she's trying to tell with the visuals, with, with the sound. I think she's, I've heard she's returning really to her pop roots, which I personally love

and I'm super excited about. I think there is, there is just so much to be. be excited about because she is innovating on herself. She uses herself as the benchmark versus anyone else. And I love that. Just like from a personal standpoint, I think it's one-uping yourself versus one-uping from other artists in other categories. And I think she sets, she sets the bar for that. In giving that unique spin to each era change has been why the audience is so excited, right? It's different color merch. It's different color. It's different color emojis it's different nail colors i mean we and we've already seen this i think with a lot of friends too is

that like they've started to adopt the the teal and the orange right as part of the launch of this album um and i i know we will be excited to uh go to the movies on sunday and uh see the life of a show girl movie yeah no i'm very excited too and again just to see how this is coming together and like see how even film is being used to promote this new product that she has. Again, I think you said it perfectly where a lot of brands are always looking at other brands and seeing what can I do that similar and capitalize on on the success. But it's like how can you set your own benchmark? How can you like just go out there do something different and creative and unique and launch it and see what happens? And you never know that could end up turning out better than

just like copy and pasting a concept from somewhere else. So I think just don't be afraid to be authentically you as cheesy as that sounds. But it's so important. And I think that's really what has set her apart from everyone else. She's really home that. She has done things that are unique. She has broken molds in a number of different areas. And that is something I think all of us can learn and apply in our campaigns and our brands in general. For sure. And so I think I would consider film also long form right like she's also taking another long form medium that most artists have not leaned into like i think eras tour was also in theaters correct me if i'm wrong so she had she had already started to kind of test like the audience excitement around will my fans go to the theater to see this

and of course the answer is yes yeah because again she has historical uh brand sort of context from how she's been doing this from years prior so she knows audiences are engaged and excited and will show up to the movies. And so I think this particularly, it's a new and unique way because it's not technically a concert. It's different. We're watching lyric videos. We're hearing her side of the process of why and how she's making this and what each song means to her. And that's what we're actually going to the theater to see versus the actual concert. So it's even a different way to show up it with long form content in contrast to something like a podcast. right but it's doing the same thing yeah it's still taking that veil down and making herself more

relatable by bringing us and giving us access into her process which i think is beyond yeah beyond cool and and different and uh in only in in a fashion that only taylor swift can do so i am super excited to see it and we'll have to update everyone uh after we've seen it with our thoughts yes yes amazing um this has been great i'm very curious you know reach out to us our lincoln link are below. Let us know what you thought. Let us know if there's anything that we're missing in terms of like what you have taken away from Taylor. Just over the years, I'm so curious. I love like dissecting things like this. And so let us know what you think. And happy the life of a showgirl launched all who celebrate. Thank you so much for tuning in to this

week's episode. If you enjoyed this conversation, I would love your feedback. And if you're ready to take things to the next level, sign up for my weekly newsletter in the show notes. you'll get weekly career and marketing insights straight to your inbox. And if you have an idea for a future marketing happy hour episode, shoot me an email. Hello at marketing happyhart.com. Thank you again and I'll see you next Thursday.