Leading up to the release of the album, they released a teaser clips on Instagram to a new single, getting the fans excited. After the single was released, the name of the album was released as well as an official date that the fans could expect it. This is a pretty standard format for how musical artists get hype generated around their upcoming works.
However, 5 Seconds of Summer (or known as "5SOS" by fans), took it to another level. When introducing the new single, they spent the 3 weeks before the release ominously tweeting a hashtag, #5OnTheWall, and a link to a website. The website had nothing but six blank spaces where a password was to be typed. Additionally, the website had a countdown timer to a date in the future. There was no context given, leaving fans wondering what would happen when the timer ran out.
At the end of the timer, the band tweeted out the password (which happened to be "hotdog") and the website was redirected to a livestream. This livestream lasted three hours, and it was real-time footage of a masked man painting a brick wall with graffiti. At the time, I tuned in for the first 5 minutes then turned it off.
When I checked back later, the mysterious marks that the painter had been making had come together to form the album artwork for the new Single, She's Kinda Hot.
Being a very avid fan at the time, this whole solving-the-mystery activity felt so inclusive to me. I was messaging my internet friends at the time as we came up with theories as to what would happen at the end of the timer. It created a sense of community and definitely grabbed the attention of the fans.
Another successful tactic used by the band to promote their album was an event called "The New Broken Scene." This event was the second of two events they held, the first being called "Derpcon" (hosted in LA sometime in 2014). Both of these events were meant to promote their newest album and to get the fans to help them do that. In order to be able to participate in the event, fans had to send in entries (varies from state to state and country to country) somehow related to the album (whether it be art, a cover, an outfit, etc). One winner was selected from each country and was allowed to bring one friend. The winners got to meet the band, were given a lot of album-related merch, and got to be front row for a free concert. "The New Broken Scene" was held in our very own Atlanta, at the Tabernacle.
A friend of mine with very serious connections in the music industry got us two passes to go, despite not winning any of the contests (believe me, we tried). Overall, it was a really great day for me and I got to meet one of my favorite bands. All the while, we were being subliminally exposed to various advertisements and posters for the upcoming album.
So, in summation, when I try to think of good marketing for a musical group, this one obviously comes to mind. The amount of effort their team put forth and the amount of money they spent flying people from many countries is crazy. Not to mention, all of this strongly encouraged people to go out and buy the album.
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