Feather Bed Whiskey Blanket Tour
In February of 2009, The Murder City Devils reformed to do a short west coast tour. The shows coincided with the re-release of the band's four studio albums on vinyl. 51 Eggs jumped at the chance to create a new set of merchandise for the tour and partnered with their friends, On Target Media, to implement an online strategy to market the tour and generate interest.
The band has a well-established identity, but they had been relatively inactive since 2001. Thus, the opportunity was there to revitalize their look and to signal to fans that there was a new energy and significance behind the shows. The new materials were an evolution of the original identity, with a new expression of the well-known brand that added a new layer of depth and intrigue to an already rich visual history.
The band has a well-established identity, but they had been relatively inactive since 2001. Thus, the opportunity was there to revitalize their look and to signal to fans that there was a new energy and significance behind the shows. The new materials were an evolution of the original identity, with a new expression of the well-known brand that added a new layer of depth and intrigue to an already rich visual history.
Special Tour Merchandise
The cornerstone of the project was a limited edition box set for four of the band’s LPs (also designed by 51 Eggs). The band's label, SUB POP, was re-releasing its back catalog of vinyl to celebrate its 20th anniversary, bringing special editions of long out-of-print records back into circulation. We convinced the label to press an extremely short run of the MCD catalog on pure white vinyl to be used in the box set. 275 full sets were printed and packaged in a custom-designed box that wrapped around the albums and closed with a button and string. Each set was individually hand-numbered, and came with an envelope of exclusive additional materials pulled from the band's archive of personal photos and ephemera.
Just underneath the first two flaps of the box is the first coded message of the package, a reference to one of the band's lyrics. Laid out across two opposing panels are the words, "Somewhere between a circle and a square, there's a spiral..." The spiral signifies the groove of the records themselves. On the interior panels, illustrations of different objects are used in reference to the lyrics of key songs from each album, creating a second layer of coded messages within.
To round out the campaign, a limited edition screen printed tour poster was designed to be sold at the shows as well as a new set of t-shirt designs, all of them interconnected, and all evolving the brand to new levels.
Just underneath the first two flaps of the box is the first coded message of the package, a reference to one of the band's lyrics. Laid out across two opposing panels are the words, "Somewhere between a circle and a square, there's a spiral..." The spiral signifies the groove of the records themselves. On the interior panels, illustrations of different objects are used in reference to the lyrics of key songs from each album, creating a second layer of coded messages within.
To round out the campaign, a limited edition screen printed tour poster was designed to be sold at the shows as well as a new set of t-shirt designs, all of them interconnected, and all evolving the brand to new levels.
Web Presence & Online Campaign
A new website was designed as a platform for the band to communicate directly with its fans as well as to list show dates, post video and photos from the shows, and to feature stories and photos submitted by the band. A contest was hosted on the website, where fans could register to win a box set or combinations of other pieces of merchandise from the tour. Over 3,000 people signed up for the contest and a vibrant dialogue opened up, speculating what the contents of the set would be.
A Flickr account provided another venue for the band to post hundreds of photos from their personal collections as well as live photos from shows spanning The Murder City Devils’ entire career. The sets were posted incrementally to keep a steady flow of traffic moving through the different sites. People from around the world commented and sent photos to be a part of the stream. Using Twitter and the blog together, fans were able to receive constant updates about what was happening on the tour and could view photos and videos from each show daily. The entire campaign lasted for approximately six weeks and had approximately 45 thousand unique visitors to the different sites.
A Flickr account provided another venue for the band to post hundreds of photos from their personal collections as well as live photos from shows spanning The Murder City Devils’ entire career. The sets were posted incrementally to keep a steady flow of traffic moving through the different sites. People from around the world commented and sent photos to be a part of the stream. Using Twitter and the blog together, fans were able to receive constant updates about what was happening on the tour and could view photos and videos from each show daily. The entire campaign lasted for approximately six weeks and had approximately 45 thousand unique visitors to the different sites.
