Word of Mouth blogHip-hopA quote from the rapper about his favourite fruit has taken on a life of its own – are there any lessons here for businesses who want to target that elusive hip-health demographic?“Shout out to all the pear,” rapper Rick Ross says in a Vine clip that has gone viral and boosted the fruit’s profile.
“I eat pears now and shit like that,” Ross tells DJ Tim Westwood in the interview clip where he explains the role the fruit played in his recent weight loss. The effect of the “shout out” endorsement has been impressive. Finally, people are able to use the pear Emoji with good reason, fans now get Ross to sign the fruit, “Rick Ross’s Pear” has its own Twitter account and hip-hop’s relationship with growers of the fruit looks like the start of a beautiful friendship. “We could not be more pleased with our message being delivered to a new, young and hip demographic,” USA Pears spokeswoman Kathy Stephenson told Modern Farmer. They haven’t reported any increase in sales yet, although it’s worth noting that Waitrose reported a 38% increase in UK sales after a slightly less urban shout out from The Great British Bake-Off.
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Allow and continueThe pear-effect might be a once-in-a-blue moon thing – an offhand remark goes viral, becomes a meme and generally becomes part of the internet landscape – but this desire for a product to reach the elusive “new, young and hip demographic” is what marketing dreams are made of. Teaming up with a hip-hop act can make a brand “seem vibrant and youthful, especially if the artist is relevant and credible,” says Katie McQuater, features editor of marketing magazine The Drum. From a rapper’s perspective, endorsement deals are viewed as pure marketing opportunities, and food is a logical road to go down. “If you think about The Sugarhill Gang’s reference to ‘hot butter on our breakfast toast,’ rap has always referenced food,” says Ralph Miller, editor of Rapper’s Delight: The Hip Hop Cookbook. While products such as cereal have a strong reach with non-white demographics in the US, a team up with a hip-hop act is logical – Usher and Nelly have both featured in ads for Cheerios, for example.
“Hip-hop was born out of a necessity to make money and there’s no shame in that,” says Miller. “Look how heavily involved Jay Z is in the corporate world.”
Eminem is taking a different approach with SHADYXV, his own bespoke ice cream. It’s being sold exclusively at hipster New York gelato Mikey Likes It Ice Cream. “We paid homage to Slim Shady’s hometown,” operations manager Pete Rosado tell us. “All of the ingredients were sourced from the greater Detroit area” he adds, noting the Michigan cherries, Vernors ginger ale and Sanders hot fudge in the recipe. “We put our signature New York spin on some of the Motor City’s best products.”
With this DIY sensibility (or just a very clever bit of marketing) Eminem has brought it back full circle to hip-hop’s communal beginnings when, according to Miller, “friends would eat together and rap together.” Great. Now, I’m just off to find a pear.
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