Commentary

Engaging Fans In Your Cause: 3 Lessons From Martina McBride's 'Tomatogate'

For most musicians, passion is an intrinsic part of their self and their work. Multi-platinum country superstar Martina McBride is no exception. She pours her heart into her music as well as her global charity, Team Music Is Love. I work closely with Martina to harness her superpower to support causes close to her heart, such as hunger relief, cancer research and helping children in need.

Last year, Martina uncovered an unexpected opportunity to engage her fans in her good works, when scandal hit the country music industry. From this experience, we learned several lessons on cause marketing that any musicians can try. 

Embrace An Issue Your Fans Support 

One of the biggest stories in country music last year revolved around “Tomatogate,” an incident where a radio host told Country Aircheck that in order to get higher country radio ratings, radio DJs should play more male artists than female artists. He compared male singers to the lettuce in a salad, while female singers are just the tomatoes that are sprinkled throughout the salad — the nerve!  

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Clearly, the strong female artists in country music rejected this sexist, discriminatory statement with vigor and passion. Martina was personally frustrated by the remarks and she was one of the first to speak out against it on her Facebook page. After receiving thousands of comments from fans voicing their support, she knew she wanted to do something to gather support for her fellow female musicians. She wanted to shine the spotlight on an issue that female country singers have struggled with for years while also giving her fans something tangible to express their support. 

Create an Outlet for Support

Martina took to on-demand ecommerce platform Teespring where she conceptualized the design for t-shirts emblazoned with the word Tomato and Tomato Lover, and put them on sale to fans, with all proceeds going toward her charity, Team Martina. Creating this limited-edition t-shirt was a great way to give fans an avenue to connect with Martina and wear their support for this issue proudly. 

At the time of this campaign, Team Martina was working on a fundraising project to bring musical instruments and music teachers to a girls orphanage in Guatemala. From this campaign, the team raised $5,000 for the school, helping spread the joy of music to girls. 

Fuel the Fire 

The fan response to the t-shirt campaign was huge with more than 800 shirts sold and $5,000 raised for charity. Martina even re-launched the Teespring shirts due to persistent demand. The campaign worked because it gave Martina and her fellow fans a tangible way to stand by Martina and her fellow female country music stars. 

In this case, we used a simple t-shirt to promote a cause we were passionate about while also giving something unique and exclusive to our dedicated fanbase. This campaign was about more than just the apparel however. Now, whenever a fan throws on their Tomato shirt, they’ll be reminded of the cause they’re supporting and feel proud to be part of changing the conversation around country music airplay. 

Cause marketing can help you connect with fans on a different level and help you develop a brand separate from your music persona. If you’re a musician who is trying to establish your own brand and better engage with your fanbase, one of the best things you can do is show your fans that you’re interested in something outside of your music. If it is for a cause you care about, chances are it is something that will resonate with your fanbase as well.

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