Top 5 Reasons why Soca Kingdom is Branding Gold

Friday night someone shared the sound of Machel Montano and Super Blue’s, Soca Kingdom. The first thing that hit me like a big truck was the horn, the kind that most revelers have experienced on the streets of Port of Spain and immediately I envisioned the revelry to come in 3 weeks. I was ready for the road. Since then I’ve heard the song at least 50 times on the radio and a few more in my bedroom and it’s still Road March material. Of course I have to dissect the hype around this anti-Iwer gem and here is the top five reasons it’s branding gold;

1. Tribal

I had to throw away my whole man because of this same reason #socakingdom https://t.co/ch23U5bneb — Gabriela (@TriniGabby) January 20, 2018

I’ve seen so many brands on social media trying to incentivise their audience with a short term approach of a prize for their attention, when all we want is to be part of something. Facebook is seeing this value by priotising their Groups, while their Pages will be playing second fiddle. How many of you reading this are members of those second hand Facebook Groups? I’m even certain you have the notifications on for those sites. The same can be applied to this song. Machel already has a strong brand, but to include Soca as part of his Kingdom, genius!

2. Digital First

It irks me that most Soca artists rely on the Youtube user JulianspromosTV to promote their music. Not only is that user monetising their music through Google but they have centralised our music industry to the outside world. In recent years Machel has seen the light (or his new management) and they started using Youtube more heavily. This time around this song was released to his Youtube channel first.

3. Nostalgia

via Wikimedia.org

That horn was definitely reminiscent of Machel’s classic, Big Truck and for a 90s kid, memories are so in right now. We didn’t have facebook or smartphone back then, so there is no On this Day reminder for the day I cried watching the Lion King. Hollywood is definitely guilty of regurgitating old ideas, cue Star Wars, Will & Grace and IT. Brands are relying on Millennials to stir a conversation for the next generation to jump on board and I’m here for it. Do you hear that Super Blue? Do you?

4. Behind The Scenes #BTS

A post shared by machelmontano (@machelmontano) on Jan 19, 2018 at 4:49pm PST

Although I see room for improvement with Machel’s Digital presence, I can still appreciate this video on Instagram. I’m jumping with them!

5. Traditional Media

Every car that pass playing music.. guess what song they playing.. #SOCAKINGDOM — WINE THIEF 🕺🏾 (@DJJLava) January 20, 2018

The Machel brand expanded to events a few years back and the timing of this release fits perfectly with ticket sales. Due to the size of Machel Monday, traditional media is a must for the event’s success and radio is the best fit. Outside of the strength of his network, listeners want to hear this song and it was obvious when most of the DJs were receiving requests to hear it.

Machel’s brand can be polarizing for some Trinis but when you breakdown the business of Soca, he understands the ecosystem of his environment. It’s time for us to take notes and join the Kingdom.

#Youtube