You might have thought it was just for socializing, but Capitol Records aims to turn instant messaging into a way to promote one of its upcoming album releases. ActiveBuddy's virtual correspondent responds to natural-language queries, and for the Radiohead promotion, it will provide information in response to questions about tour dates, song lists, artist bios, album credits, and so on. The EMI-owned label is no stranger to trying out new online technologies to market its bands. And in the past, it's launched Web initiatives in support of Everclear, Duran Duran and Megadeth.
Labels often hold online chats to build interest about an upcoming release or performance.
More compelling still about the concept is the sheer reach of instant messaging services. By doing it through instant messaging, which is already an incredibly popular way to communicate, fans can get information about their favorite band as easily as chatting with friends. The work for Capitol Records is the first from Alley-based ActiveBuddy, which said it hopes to continue the effort to other companies for promotional and CRM purposes. The Radiohead interactive agent is a great early example of how companies like Capitol Records can leverage IM to extend their relationships with their customers into the fastest growing segment of the Internet. Corp. All Rights Reserved.