Jay-Z “Decoded”: Amazing Viral Marketing

The new campaign for “Decoded”, the memoir by the hip-hop/entrepreneur Jay-Z, promises to be an unseen in the world of advertising, all those thinking of getting an advertising or marketing degree, pay close attention. According to a post from SirLinksalot, for the launch of his autobiography, Jay-Z partnered with Bing and (one of) the best creative agency on the market Droga5. They turned the marketing for a book into interactive art and even a scavenger hunt that rewarded his most die-hard fans. Starting yesterday the reproductions of entire pages of the book will appear unannounced in locales referred to in those pages.

“If in certain pages Jay-Z is talking about something related to Times Square, then those pages might be on billboards in Times Square,” said David Droga.


Pages appears on tablecloths, plates and mirrors at The Spotted Pig in New York (one of Jay-Z’s very own business ventures)


Jay-Z shook the borough of Queens with his pages dedicated to Run DMC. A 1982 vintage Cadillac Seville, decked out in pages 8 & 9, was showcased as a tribute to the hip-hop OGs.


A custom Nets jersey, complete with the content of page 86, was hung with the famous sports memorabilia lining the walls of the 40/40 Club, Pus Banners at the Nets Games.


A clear, freestanding page made of Plexiglas, overlooking the downtown NYC skyline was located on the Brooklyn piers in Red Hook.

Jay-Z stunned his fans by revealing a black leather Gucci for Decoded jacket. The masterfully stitched page handcrafted by Gucci’s lead creative, Frida Giannini, is custom-tailored to Jay-Z’s measurements and holds song lyrics mentioning the Italian clothing icon.


As part of a scavenger hunt they hid all 320 pages of Decoded in plain sight in 13 cities: on a rooftop in New Orleans, a pool bottom in Miami, cheeseburger wrappers in New York City, and more. Fans who found them all got a chance at two tickets to any Jay-Z concert anywhere, for life!

Buy Book Here – Images Credit Droga5 – More info on FastCompany (slideshow here) & Ny Times




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