How Donald Glover used Cameo to promote Swarm
How Donald Glover used Cameo to promote Swarm
Swarm is a satirical psychological horror thriller series created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers. If this tv series has not caught your eye, you may want to check it out. It follows young super fan Andrea "Dre" Greene (Dominique Fishback) and how her obsession with a pop star, Ni'Jah (Nirine S. Brown), takes a dark turn. The series has received much acclaim for its message, cinematography and soundtrack, but how did Swarm gain so much attention?
The answer? Celebrities. Donald Glover paid celebrities on a platform called Cameo to promote the new series; and fans have been raving about the show ever since.
Upon the release of Swarm, Donald Glover completely wiped his Instagram account of old posts and began posting the Cameos on his stories. And in case you missed it, one TikToker took it upon themselves to release a compilation of the best Cameos, where we see the likes of Phill Lewis, better known as Mr Moseby from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck, and other stars such as Carole Baskin and Flavor Flav.
Many have dubbed Donald's tactic as iconic, with some even giving praise such as, "I'm watching it just because of this" and "Donald Glover is literally both so hilarious and genius. This is so funny". Fans also quickly recognised the pop culture icons that he approached, excitedly chiming in, "IS THAT MR MOSEBY" and "NEW YORK TO FLAV?!?"
Donald utilised a new and trending form of marketing that appealed to his audience. While gimmicky, his tongue-in-cheek marketing method of using Cameos aroused excitement and launched conversations about Swarm. Having already generated a fanbase, Donald cleverly used his personality and brand to his advantage, knowing exactly how to excite his fans.
This much is clear. Donald Glover is a multi-talented creative who has achieved much in film, comedy and music. With all this in mind, it is easy to see why Donald Glover is being dubbed a 'Marketing Genius'.
So, what should marketing professionals take away from this? Glover has shown that it all comes down to knowing your audience, and showing them relatable and engaging content that they would be excited to share.
