????已經好久沒有一首歌能像《Hello》一樣火爆了。

????自從10月23日首播以來，這首失戀主題的流行歌曲就像圣誕節早上迫不及待地撕碎禮品盒的孩子一樣，撕碎了音樂界的各種紀錄。到目前為止，這首歌曲取得的部分成就包括：上線24小時之內在Vevo上的視頻點擊量最多（頂掉了泰勒·斯威夫特）；5天內在YouTube上被觀看1億次（將麥莉·賽勒斯擠到第二）；第一首發布首周下載量就過100萬的歌曲；登頂Billboard百大單曲排行榜榜首等等。據《娛樂周刊》報道，《Hello》創下了音樂界最近15年以來最大的單周銷量。

????這一系列耀眼的成就充分說明了英國女歌手阿黛爾的當紅程度，以及人們對她的新歌的期待。但這一切也離不開阿黛爾和幕后團隊實施的一整套極其高明的營銷手段。下面我們就來揭秘這架營銷機器是如何高速運轉的。

????輝煌的開始：營銷曝光很重要

????這首歌曲最初亮相時還籠罩著一層神秘的面紗——歌曲片段首先出現在英國熱門真人秀《X-Factor》的一段30秒鐘的廣告中，但這支廣告只出現了歌曲開頭幾句，既沒有確切說明這就是阿黛爾的新歌，也沒有泄露她的新專輯《25》即將發行。這支廣告播出幾天后，即便各種猜測開始滿天飛，阿黛爾和她的經紀人仍然保持沉默。

????僅僅這樣一則撲朔迷離的廣告，已經足以令社交媒體嗨到癲狂，更將蟄伏三年之久的阿黛爾直接拉回輿論中心。

????對于這次復出亮相，來自研究公司Midia、專門從事音樂行業分析的馬克·馬利根給出了極高的評價。他認為，“這是針對現代音樂營銷手段的復雜化而祭出的一劑解藥。他們說，‘我們不會搞那些花里胡哨的東西，不會發布空洞浮夸的視頻什么的’。”

????一首為粉絲群寫的歌：瞄準你的客戶

????不知有多少阿黛爾的歌迷曾愛上過專輯《21》的悲傷與心碎。《Hello》的直接受眾就是這批歌迷，因而迅速地將他們吸引了回來。只不過這次，歌曲的主題做了些調整，阿黛爾貌似開始責備自己，而不是和她分手的戀人。

????如果阿黛爾想讓新專輯重現或接近《21》所達到的1100萬張銷量，重新吸引她的粉絲群無疑是非常重要的。阿黛爾和泰勒·斯威夫特這種藝人不一樣，泰勒·斯威夫特擁有非常集中的狂熱粉絲，很容易就能動員起來，而阿黛爾的歌迷更加分散和碎片化，這就要求新專輯的營銷必須繼續抓住重點。

????馬克·馬利根表示：“阿黛爾有一些非常特殊的情況，這也給她帶來了挑戰。泰勒·斯威夫特的粉絲群體要比阿黛爾狂熱得多，比如說現在有‘泰粉’，但沒有‘黛粉’。很多人喜歡阿黛爾，并且愛上了她的上一張專輯，但并沒有一個核心的歌迷群體會明確地把自己認定為阿黛爾的粉絲——就像斯威夫特的粉絲們那樣。”

????不同的渠道：零距離接觸客戶

????馬利根認為，阿黛爾的上張專輯《21》的成功，很像一場立足草根階層的總統競選——阿黛爾這次可能依然會走這個方向。新專輯可能會通過多種不同渠道向粉絲進行推廣。比如，在Facebook上發布的帖子，上文中提到的神秘廣告，進一步發布MV和可下載單曲等等。

????讓上個月月末，阿黛爾還現身《周六夜現場》，并在紐約市的無線電城音樂廳舉辦了一場名為“僅此一夜”的演唱會。

????而最新的線下渠道是，BBC已經開始炒作這首歌曲的首次現場演出。

????There hasn’t been a song as powerful as “Hello” in a long, long time.

????Since its Oct. 23 debut, the post-breakup ballad has torn through music industry records like an eager child goes through presents on Christmas morning. Among its achievements so far: Most video views in the first 24 hours on Vevo (displacing Taylor Swift), 100 million YouTube views within five days (knocking Miley Cyrus down to number two), the first song to be downloaded 1 million times in its first week, and a debut at the #1 spot on Billboard’s Top 100. “Hello” had the biggest sales week of any tune in 15 years, according to Entertainment Weekly.

????It’s a remarkable series of achievements that demonstrably show the popularity of and demand for new material from the British songstress, but it’s also due to some incredibly savvy marketing by Adele and the team behind her.

????A Brilliant Beginning

????It started with mystery – a 30 second commercial during the U.K.’s X-Factor, that featured the opening lines of the song, but nothing else. There was no confirmation that it was the singer. Nor did it let on that her new album 25 was imminent. And both Adele and her representatives stayed silent for days after the commercial aired and speculation ran wild.

????That ad alone was enough to whip social media in a foam-mouthed frenzy and put the singer squarely back in the center of the conversation after a three year hiatus.

????“It was the antidote to the complexity of modern music marketing,” says Mark Mulligan, a music industry analyst at research firm Midia. “They said ‘we’re not going with something fancy – no bombastic video or things like that’.”

????A Song That Spoke to Her Base

????The song, too, spoke directly to the legions of fans who fell for Adele’s focus on heartbreak and misery on 21, quickly bringing them back to center. Only this time, the singer’s focus is tweaked – with Adele seemingly turning the blame on herself, not her departed lover.

????Reengaging her fan base is critical if Adele hopes to post album sales anywhere close to the 11 million copies 21 sold. Unlike a performer such as Taylor Swift, who has a tight concentration of enthusiasts that can easily be mobilized, Adele’s audience is more fragmented and widely distributed, which will require the marketing of this album to continue to be on point.

????“There’s something very different about Adele that makes it a challenge,” he says. “Taylor Swift has a much more ardent fan base. You’ve got Swift-ettes, but not Adele-ettes. Lots of people like Adele and fell in love with her last album, but there’s not a core group of people that identify themselves as Adele fans, like Swift.”

????Different Channels

????The success of 21, he says, was much like a grass roots presidential campaign – and that seems to be the direction the singer is going with again. It reaches out to fans in the mainstream audience in a variety of different channels (the Facebook post, the mysterious commercial, the simultaneous release of the video and downloadable single).

????Later this month, she’ll appear on Saturday Night Live and put on a one night only concert in New York City at Radio City Music Hall.

????And the BBC is already teasing the first live performance of the show:

????拒絕“潛規則”：堅持差異化

????但不要指望阿黛爾會徹底改變她對名氣的看法。除了渾厚的嗓音和一貫的曲風，她“不按套路出牌”的個人風格也是出了名的。

????阿黛爾不喜歡出席音樂節和大型場合，相反更喜歡小范圍的場館。同時她也不喜歡把自己的音樂與廣告掛鉤。另外，阿黛爾除了會在歌里透露一些個人情況，她非常注意保護自己的私人生活，嚴格限制采訪——哪怕是在推出新專輯的時候也不例外。當然，還有一些事情是無法掩蓋的，比如生孩子。

????是否開放流媒體播放：留足發展懸念

????還有一個目前仍然不知道答案的問題，那就是阿黛爾是否會允許她的新專輯《25》在流媒體音樂服務上播放。大多數藝人一般不會介意，因為這樣做有助于提高歌手的曝光率。但一些最暢銷的藝人，如阿黛爾和斯威夫特，可能會擔心流媒體播放會影響實體或線上銷量。比如，泰勒·斯威夫特去年就從Spotify上撤掉了自己的歌單，并且要求蘋果公司在其流媒體服務上試播時也要支付版稅。

????據《紐約時報》報道，阿黛爾會直接參與這個問題的決定，不過她的立場目前仍不明確。

????阿黛爾這次還面臨著一個比較大的風險：盡管粉絲們對《Hello》的曲風比較熟悉，但新專輯《25》的其它歌曲可能會采用不同的曲風。

????阿黛爾自己也曾經暗示，新專輯的曲風可能不會那么傷感了。她上個月在Facebook上表示：“我的上張專輯是一張分手專輯。如果非要我給這張新專輯打上一個標簽的話，我愿意將它稱為一張‘和解’專輯。與自己和解，與失去的時光和解，與我做過和沒做過的事情和解。”

????隨著兒子的出世，加之上一張專輯取得了巨大的成功，阿黛爾這次處于更有利的位置上，這或許有助于吸引那些日益變得更加成熟的歌迷，但也有可能會嚇跑不少歌迷——畢竟他們還是在阿黛爾身上期待著某種特定的曲風。

????馬利根表示：“藝人出唱片經常會有這種情況：第一張專輯肆意宣泄青春時期遭受的最大打擊，往往會收錄他們在這段痛苦期寫下的所有歌曲，其中有些風格會延續到第二張專輯，阿黛爾就是這樣的例子。而等到發布第三張專輯的時候，你的人生已經改變了。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：樸成奎

????審校：任文科

????Refuses to Play the Game

????Don’t however, expect Adele to radically change her philosophy toward fame. Beyond her big voice and the universal themes of her song, she achieved notoriety by not playing by the typical rules. She doesn’t headline big music festivals or giant arenas, preferring intimate venues. She refuses to associate her music with advertising. And, beyond what she reveals in her songs (and cannot hide, like the birth of her son), she keeps her private life private, restricting interviews – even when there’s a new album to promote.

????The Spotify Question

????And there’s still the lingering question of whether she’ll allow 25 to be played on streaming music services. Most artists wouldn’t hesitate, as it increases exposure, but top-selling performers like Adele and Swift risk sacrificing sales of physical media or downloads. Swift, last year, pulled her catalog from Spotify and convinced Apple to pay royalties during trials of its streaming service.

????The New York Times says Adele is directly involved in the decision, though where she stands is still unclear.

????The big risk this time is that while “Hello” is familiar territory for fans, 25 may veer in different directions.

????The singer herself has hinted that this outing will be less maudlin. “My last record was a break-up record,” she said on Facebook last month, “and if I had to label this one, I’d call it a make-up record. I’m making up with myself. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did.”

????And given the birth of her son and the tremendous success of her last album, it’s safe to assume Adele’s in a better place – which could either further engage fans who have themselves matured or scare them off, since they expect a certain kind of music from her.

????“There’s often this thing with albums for an artist to sing the greatest hits of their adolescence and all the songs they’ve been writing as they’ve gone through that pain on their first album,” says Mulligan. “With some that carries through to the second album and that’s the case with Adele. By the time you get to the third, your life has changed.”