The recent album promotions by 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg were some of the top marketing moves of the year. That had nothing to do with their music. Let’s take a quick look at some of the highlights.

Item #1 – 50 Cent on Muscle and Fitness Magazine

50 graced the cover of the February 2010 issue of Muscle and Fitness, something that pays homage to the hard work Mr. Jackson puts into his body. It is no mystery that he puts a lot of time into the look of his image and the branding that goes along with it. This interview plays very well into his brand and is a good extension. The issue does mention the CD, but the focus is on fitness, a story line that is outside of the music.

Item #2 – 50 Cent Chelsea Lately Interview

In this 7 minute free for all, 50 Cent and E Talk Show host Chelsea Handler go line for line on 50′s movies, his fragrances, Vitamin Water and some nice flirting. The only major mentions of the CD are in the intro and the cut to commercial plug. 50 has plenty of stories to tell and steps outside of his core audience to find new viewers while still staying relevant to Chelsea’s traditional content. Here is the video of the interview:

Item #3 – Snoop Dogg on Martha Stewart

We all know Snoop is a family man. His recent success in reality tv has shown that softer side of Snoop. This made is a no brainer to hit the daytime circuit with the same audience that watches VH1 at night. On Martha, Snoop got to chat about his homemade language and mix up some special Mashed Potatoes. Check out the video below:

Item #4 – Snoop Dogg on One Life To Live

Snoop made his first appearance on the day time soap last year and is coming back to remix the show’s theme as well as perform his latest single, “I Wanna Rock.” Snoop’s team has created a video promoting the piece and MTV has even picked it up quoting Snoop as saying

“I’ve been a fan of ‘One Life to Live’ since I was a baby, my momma always had it on the tube in the crib growing up.”

This is a great combo with the above Martha Stewart promotion to play to the daytime audience that fell in love with Snoop on his reality show and now has the stay at home income to download his music from Amazon right along with their books, electronics and other items. Here is a sneak peek clip:

How can this type of “story” marketing play into your music marketing?

You need to begin looking at places that make sense for your audience. As an indie artist, I would be hesitant to pull this far away from your core fan base, something indie fans love to call “selling out.”

A great place to start is by sitting in a room with a few beers (or sodas or water or whiskey, whatever) and brainstorming and mindmapping the things your band, your brand and your personalities naturally fit into.

• What are your hobbies?
• What do you do outside of playing in the band?
• What are your favorite brands?
• What is your image?
• What would you like your image to be?

Then start looking for places where you can make the “story” marketing work. This can be on local access tv, podcasts, video blogs, guest posts, magazines and all sorts of other places.

Now it’s your turn. What do you think of “story markeing” and how can you apply it to your music marketing in 2010? Let’s talk in the comments.

-Greg Rollett

P.S. Remember to download the new 100 Resources for DIY Musicians. It’s dopalicious!