Drake Projected Giant QR Codes at Concerts for Branded Merchandise Drops

Brendan Menapace

If a marketing method is good enough for Drake, one of the most marketable and famous people on the planet, it’s good enough for any business or commercial entity.

Drake is really hitting all of the sweet spots of modern-day promotional marketing by combining QR codes and kits for a really cool campaign he’s doing in conjunction with some of his concerts, including for people who can’t even get into the show.

During some concerts, Drake would project what Narcity called a “bat signal” QR code, which fans could scan in the hopes of scoring items like branded Nike sneakers, T-shirts, or even fully branded Nocta outfits. Some lucky winners even got $1,000 CAD on top of the items, which came in branded boxes with a label that says “Congrats on scoring an exclusive gift form the Shop App courtesy of Drake Related,” as the whole promo was done in conjunction with Shopify.

The promo extended beyond just the concerts. Shopify told Narcity that there would be more QR “bat signals” around the venues for fans to scan to try to get the merchandise.

We’ve come a long way since concert merchandise was only available at the merchandise table in the venue. For one thing, artists started bundling merchandise and the music itself as a way to boost album sales and climb the charts (until that loophole was closed). In the streaming era, platforms like Spotify and YouTube have made it possible for artists to sell items directly in the app as fans stream the music.

And during the pandemic, brands came to fully understand the potential of the QR code, which had been around for years but remained underused. More than just a way to bring up a menu without having to touch a piece of paper, QR codes were printed on apparel to allow for changing ad copy or social media integration. They were pivotal in all sorts of campaigns ranging from sports jerseys to drinkware to just about anything else you could think of.

Heck, Drake even used a QR code printed in the newspaper to advertise his new album.

In an era where apparel is most effectively released in seasonal drops or limited quantities, Drake combining hype for his concerts with a scavenger hunt of sorts hits all of the buttons of what a music promo (or any event promo) can look like today.

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