Fandom and Audience Engagement M6.2 Laura McHugh

THE BAND PERRY A country music group consisting of siblings: Kimberly Perry Reid Perry Neil Perry They came to fame in 2010 and haven’t stopped

GO BIG OR GO HOME ALBUM 1: “The Band Perry” (2010) ALBUM 2: “Pioneer” (2013) TBP started at the bottom and rose to the top United as a family to bring their love of music together and share it with the world : “We Are Pioneers” Their first world headlining tour

GETTING PERSONAL WITH THE PERRY’S Music is their passion, it’s what they love. It’s not a career or a paycheck. The simplicity of this love is all you need to understand them as people, and as a band. “Daddy rocked us to sleep with the Rolling Stones; Mama woke us up with Loretta Lynn. So we get it honest” – KP

TWEET Active twitter voice It goes both ways: TBP follows you back. They’re real “We’re The Band Perry and we play Country music” – so simple, so honest, so real. Other ways to engage: Instagram, website, Facebook

SOCIAL MEDIA IS SINGIN’ TBP is most active on Twitter but fans can also interact with them through other social media platforms including: -Instagram -Facebook -Website

THE FANS is a separate twitter handle for fans to engage with other fans This platform enables two way communication between fans and The Band Perry It allows fans to feel recognized and creates a personal connection

FINDING FANS, KEEPING FANS In order to maintain fans and keep them engaged with The Band Perry on social media and in the physical world (ie: buying cds, going to concerts), it’s important to be active with the fans, to be real and to be open. The Band Perry exceeds all expectations of fans by doing all of these things. They retain fans through their friendliness and sincerity both online and in the physical world.

COUNTRY MUSIC CRAZY The Band Perry knows their audience: country music fans. Age, gender, social class don’t matter. A country fan is a country fan. They sing from the heart, they do what they love, and they succeed.

REAL PEOPLE, REAL POSTS To engage in meaningful content through social media, The Band Perry has to know their audience. Since they know their audience, they can deliver content online that engages fan and resonates with their online fan community. So…how do they do it?

MAKING MEANING (beyond the lyrics) tweets about their American pride and shows support for the Olympics Regular Joes: these tweets, along with other commentary remind fans that Kim, Neil and Reid are regular Joes, just like you and I Photo Sharing: posting personal photos that go behind the scenes of their performances and show their true character resonates with fans

DOING IT RIGHT Twitter: they are the people behind the tweets – not their management or PR people Instagram: sharing peaks into their real lives with fans shows their transparency and realism this is a great way to keep fans engaged and feel active Concerts: the energy and personality that comes across during performances is refreshing

CONCERTS I have been to two of The Band Perry concerts. Each time I was blown away. 1.The first time I saw them in They performed in a casino in Michigan. 2. The second time I saw them was in They performed at the GM Centre in Oshawa.

FLASHBACK January 28, 2014: We Are Pioneers Tour (Oshawa, Ont.) Kimberly Perry spoke to the crowd with a true sense of emotion to share the meaning of their song “Pioneer” which is also the theme of the tour. She quoted the lyrics “Where are we going? What will become of us?” to explain the daily struggle the band went through professionally and personally. The Band Perry connects with their audiences by reminding them how similar they are all through life’s daily struggles. This openness from The Band Perry resonates with so many of their fans.

WHAT THEY CAN DO Although The Band Perry is very active with their fans both online and in concert, it would be great to receive more direct acknowledgement from them. We all have the desire to “know a celebrity” and to be directly targeted by The Band Perry would shock me in an amazing way. However, with so many fans The Band Perry is doing great with the time they do have to acknowledge everyone.

PIONEERING THE PEOPLE The Band Perry delivers a clear consistency between their concert performances, appearances, social media presence and music releases. The character representations of Kim, Neil and Reid create admirable, inspirational and relatable identifications. Without the consistency across all of their public platforms, The Band Perry would not have such a strong presence among fans and online communities.

But without you My only plan is to be free With or without you I’m still me -I’m a Keeper