Backstreeters Take The Info Superhighway

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Nov 02, 2000 Source: DAILY NEWS, November 1, 2000, Page 42. Submitted By: Caitlin By Denene Millner Daily News Feature Writer Forget the boys of summer. It's the boys of music that are fighting for the championship. The contest pits the Backstreet Boys---the underdogs in the Boy Band World Series--- against archival *NSYNC. The next round begins Nov. 21, when the Boys unveil their new album, "Black and Blue." The underdogs have a secret weapon, though: a massive, Internet-based marketing campaign. Already, more than 13,000 fans have signed up for membership in the Backstreet Boys Official Online Street Team, a volunteer group of Netizens committed to saturating MTV and the Web with all things Backstreet. Their mission: to shatter *NSYNC's first week sales record of 2.4 million for its album, "No Strings Attached." And the Backstreet backers' efforts appear to be paying off. Already, the group's single, "Shape of My Heart," has taken over the No. 1 spot on MTV's "Total Request Live." And record stores have preordered 5 million copies of "Black and Blue," anticipating strong demand. Alex Pappademas, associate music editor at inside.com, says the group's marketing campaign is "ingenious" because its helping to create the fever-pitch interest that Backstreet needs to sell, sell, sell. "It's turning the promotion of the record into part of the fun of anticipating the record's release," says Pappademas. "They go out and disseminate the information through the Web, around the radio, requesting with MTV. They're very enthusiastic and they're bringing everyone together into one cohesive team. "Street teams," of course, are nothing new. For years, they've been a staple for rap acts like Sean (Puffy) Combs, Jay-Z and Master P. But recently, record companies have begun turning to the Internet to do similar promotions---mainly because it's a cheaper, quicker alternative to rap-style street teams, says Jeff Semones, general manager for M80 Interactive Marketing, the firm organizing Backstreet's online campaign. "The offline world is indefinitely more expensive and certainly more time consuming than the Internet," says Semones. "With offline, God only knows how you'd find the fans, and then you'd have to spend money calling them or knocking on their door, or postering. It's just easier to get to the hard-core fans." On the fan site www.backstreet.net, those hard-core fans are encouraged to put up flyers, deluge local radio stations and MTV with requests for "Shape of My Heart," and they encourage everyone they know to become B-Boy believers by joining the street team. In return, volunteers get first crack at Backstreet goodies like signed paraphernalia, one-on-one online chats with members of the band and chanced to participate in meet-and-greets with the group. Comment on this item. Next Item: Response to Editorial Comments Regarding BSB-OOST Prev Item: 2 Day World Tour Changes