The Drake versus Pusha T diss track battle has dominated social media and editorial conversations over the past week – but if you take a step back and examine this rivalry through a marketing lens – you’ll see brand building gold. Their individual brands have never been hotter and the continued momentum each garner is certainly due in part to the other. Whether they realize it or not, they are helping build each other’s brand – and in turn selling/streaming more music – with every Tweet, Instagram post and of course new track. WHAT IF you took this diss track concept and applied it to your marketing battle with your rival? I’m certainly not suggesting a literal diss track, insulting your rival or taking low blows but WHAT IF you borrowed this point of view to infuse new heat into your rivalry communications, with appropriate shade levels? Whether that is a fun billboard or a confident newspaper ad, you will not only highlight your own program’s brand, but elevate your rivalry to new heights. From a brand POV, Pusha wasn’t on Drake’s level in terms of notoriety or cross-over pop culture appeal, but this rivalry elevated him to Drake’s international status and thus increased his brand strength in conjunction with his new album releasing. Marketing gold.
