Eminem: Marketing Genius – Tom Adams

Eminem: Marketing Genius. –

Tom Adams. 06/12/17
Eminem: Marketing Genius – Tom Adams

Summary

My direct point of how Marshall Mathers is a pioneer lies directly on his use of
marketing and ways of connecting to his audience in ways that are second to
none. I have gathered information about him and taking in what he himself has
talked about, listening to all eight of his current studio album releases, his two
“Shady records” compilation releases, watching “8 Mile” his Hollywood debut
motion picture, reading his auto-biography “The Way I Am”, and watching many
interviews of his. He uses marketing and controversy better than any other Hip-
Hop artist.

Introduction

When you hear the name Eminem, pioneer probably isn’t the first thing that
comes to your head. In this report I will show to you exactly how influential and
important Eminem’s tactics to the top of the game were and still are. I've been a
fan of Eminem since I was five years old since my mother showed me his CD
“Curtain Call”. I feel like my background knowledge of Eminem as a subject is
more than enough to explain him as an artist, a person and a marketing genius.

1. Early Life

Born and raised in Detroit to Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr. and Deborah R. Nelson-
Mathers, Marshall Bruce Mathers III had a particularly hard upbringing. His dad
left the family and moved to California having two children with another woman
while his mother stayed home to raise Marshall on her own however they were
always moving house and rarely stayed in a single home for more than a year.

Which he talks about in the song “Groundhog Day” with lyrics such as: “So we
moved back to Missouri from Michigan, from Missouri back to Michigan”

During his upbringing he was a victim of Muü nchhausen's Syndrome, as his

mother would make people believe he was sick in order to get attention. He also
brings up this topic in the song “Cleaning out my Closet” however in 2013’s
“Headlights” he apologises to his mother for the slander over the years and
brings up “Cleaning out my Closet” as an example of where he went too far.
Eminem started listening to Hip-Hop when he was eleven years old after his
uncle Ronnie played it to him. He then started freestyling over the beats that
were playing through the boom-box which is what sparked his love and passion
for Rap culture. He met his best-friend “Proof” at age fourteen and this was the
same age he knew for sure he wanted to be a rapper which he mentions in the
song “Yellow Brick Road” and from there they would battle rap people in Proof's
school and bet on Marshall to win, which of course no one thought he could as he
was white. This was in a time where white people in the Rap game were frowned
upon. He gained a reputation through battling and people became more open
about him rapping.
Eminem: Marketing Genius – Tom Adams

2. The Rise to Stardom

Marshall was competing in L.A. for the “Rap Olympics” which was a series of
battle raps for underground MC's to show off their skill. He lost in the final round,
however someone who was working at Interscope records as an assistant in
Jimmy Iovine’s office asked him for a demo tape. Dr. Dre ended up hearing “The
Slim Shady EP” which had a buzz on the net. The idea for the persona “Slim
Shady” came from a series of conversations with Proof. Proof wanted to have a
group called “Dirty Dozen” (Later shortened to D12) however they could only get
six rappers together so they decided to all have secondary personas. When Dre
and Em' were making “Slim Shady LP” together Dre and Jimmy Iovine knew that
Eminem had to have a particular image but they didn't know what yet. One day
Marshall randomly bleached his hair while high on drugs and they loved it. This
is the first sign of using marketing to his advantage in a way that no one in Rap
had done before. He used his image to blow off steam while writing ridiculously
vile lyrics.

“I used to use Slim Shady as an excuse to rap pissed off” - Eminem in the book
“The Way I Am”

3. Backlash

People started to fight back against the nature of Em's lyrics, trying to get him
banned. Marshall won against these protesters with the argument of free speech.
So in the end Marshall decided to fight back by saying even more offensive and
vile lyrics exercising his right to free speech. However, this public outcry whether
they like it or not, brought heavy attention to his name. I think Marshall saw this
and decided to use it as a form of gaining listeners and selling records. I.E all the
protesters who burn his albums in rage will have had to buy them first. He was
the first to use this as a marketing tool as no one at that point was so successful
with such a high level of intensity surrounding his lyrics. His lyrics were taken to
congress and discussed as part of a hearing about the marketing practises of the
entertainment industry. His most recent affair of controversy came with a
freestyle he did for a BET Cypher where he speaks out against current American
President Donald Trump.

“'Cause what we got in office now's a kamikaze That'll probably cause a nuclear
holocaust” – Eminem 2017 BET Cypher

4. Marketing

Soon after that cypher hit viral on the internet almost instantly, Marshall was in
the spotlight again soon after as his manager Paul Rosenberg put out an image on
Instagram showing off Yelawolf’s new album but in the background there was a
billboard showing an advertisement for a pharmaceutical company called
“Revival”. The website was riddled with Eminem nod-ons and quotes and the
phone number they provided had a piano version of “I Need a Doctor” by Dr. Dre
feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey. All of these pointers made fans think an Eminem
album was coming and what a way to promote it.
Eminem: Marketing Genius – Tom Adams

 The album is coming out on December 15th as recently shown in a video

tweeted out by Dr. Dre.

Eminem has been on top of the promotion game for years, using the outrage his
controversial lyrics in the early 2000’s to rise to the top of the rap game. Avid
fans of rap could see past the controversy as he uses amazing wordplay and
interesting rhyme schemes.

 In 2009 Eminem had the first ever music video to premier on a cable
subscriber channel with “3am” on Cinemax.

“Marketing is about myth building. Nobody in the history of hip-hop has handled
it with more consistency than Marshal Mathers. He makes us guess, but never
question.” – Complex Magazine, “Eminem: The Quiet Pioneer” – 2013

This article explains how Eminem’s marketing is leagues above the rest and is
well worth a read. For one of the homes of Hip-Hop culture to talk of Eminem and
show his movement of the culture shows how much he has changed the game.
When Obie Trice was in the run up to releasing “Cheers” his debut album under
Marshall’s record company, Eminem thought of a way to bring in the sales in a
clever and unique way. There was a golden ticket contest where Marshall was
offering an all-expense trip to Detroit for a recording session with Eminem to see
how he records and to meet him. There were three tickets within 500,000 copies.
“Cheers” ended up selling 226,000 in the first week, which for a debut is
impressive to say the least and also proves that Marshall’s tactics of marketing
work very well.

“But it wasn’t ‘til I put the pain in song, learned who to aim it on that I made a
spark” – Eminem, “Guts Over Fear” 2014

In this lyric he is showing he knew exactly how to make a rise out of people and
use it to his gain. He let out his pain and anger on a track and aimed it at the ones
who were against him. This was his first use of direct marketing that put him
above the rest. It wasn’t until he was so controversial that people took notice and
he knew exactly what to do after they did. He upped the controversy, continued
to hold back nothing but on a more personal level. He wasn’t Slim Shady any-
more he was Marshall Mathers, and by his third LP he was Eminem. These
different personas also helped him up the numbers. By allowing him to express
himself on three different levels it gave people a reason to keep coming back.

Conclusion

My reasoning for Eminem being such a force and a pioneer in Hip-Hop is based
solely on how he managed to climb to the top and use his many marketing
schemes to keep a hold of his fan-base. With clever tools and interesting never
before seen ways of pushing his music out he will always be a king. There’s a
reason he’s been the face of Hip-Hop music for so many years.
Eminem: Marketing Genius – Tom Adams

Bibliography

 “Groundhog Day” – Eminem – “Marshall Mathers LP 2” 2013 – Aftermath,

Shady and Interscope.

 “The Way I Am” – Eminem – Autobiography - 2008 - Dutton Adult.

 2017 BET Cypher – Eminem.

 “Eminem: Quiet Pioneer” – Complex Magazine. 2013. Written by Nick

Schonberger.

 “Guts Over Fear” – Eminem – “Shady XV” 2014 – Shady and Interscope.

 “8 Mile” – Universal Pictures. 2002.

 “Curtain Call: The Hits” – Eminem - 2005 - Aftermath, Shady and

Interscope

 “Cleaning Out My Closet” - Eminem – 2002 - Aftermath, Shady and

Interscope

 “Headlights” – Eminem - 2013 - Aftermath, Shady and Interscope

 “Yellow Brick Road” – Eminem – 2004 - Aftermath, Shady and Interscope

 “Slim Shady EP” – Eminem – 1997 – Web Entertainment

 “Slim Shady LP” – Eminem – 1999 – Aftermath, Interscope and Web

 “I Need a Doctor” – Eminem – 2011 – Aftermath and Interscope

 “3am” - Eminem – 2009 - Aftermath, Shady and Interscope

 “Cheers” - Obie Trice – 2003 - Shady and Interscope