iHeartRadio’s Marketing and Communication Strategies Under Covid-19

A Bankrupted Media Company’s Reaction to Unexpected Pandemic

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.210806.161How to use a DOI?

Keywords

marketing strategy, streaming service, iHeartRadio, celebrity effect

Abstract

For iHeartRadio, from a worldwide international online streaming service to a bankrupted radio station and bouncing back as one of the most extensive music streaming services in America, marketing strategies surely are extremely crucial to maintain their competitiveness in the market. Under the circumstance of the coronavirus outbreak, iHeartRadio, as the dominating corporation in the industry, rapidly responded to the situation by adjusting the current strategies and releasing more adaptable coping solutions. In this essay, we discuss the various strategic approaches the company employs to combat the negative effects the coronavirus pandemic could bring about. One major issue originates from the cancellation of the annual iHeartRadio music festival and live concert due to the banning of offline events during the pandemic. The company chose to display an online concert instead with artists performing at their homes for the iHeartRadio music awards, and fans were even able to interact with their idols through virtual displays. Numerous viewers were attracted for the ingenious online performance strategy, and thanks to the celebrity effect, the audience’s active engagement made it a huge success. Meanwhile, the launching of the iHeartRadio app for the Apple Watch grants users more freedom and convenience to use the app in a more flexible device without carrying their phones around, encouraging people to avoid a sedentary lifestyle during the pandemic. Those strategies combined to contribute to the continuous development of iHeartRadio’s stable operation during this special circumstance and spark more possible ideas for long-term benefits.

Copyright

© 2021, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yixiao Huang
AU  - Andy Kaiyuan Shi
AU  - Xinyu Yuan
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/08/09
TI  - iHeartRadio’s Marketing and Communication Strategies Under Covid-19
BT  - Proceedings of the 2021 5th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 849
EP  - 853
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210806.161
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.210806.161
ID  - Huang2021
ER  -