For anyone else who grew up listening to the angst, at times immature, punk/pop/rock of Blink-182, you’ll recognize the name Mark Hoppus (aka the bass player).
Ever since Blink-182 took a hiatus in 2002, Mark embarked on a few side projects that have since then become big hits in the music market (well, the indie/punk scene in any case). He started his own blog wittily entitled “Hi my name is Mark” that was accompanied with a weekly podcast where he interviewed new artists/bands and generally talked about music/posted new music for the world to share. Since its inception, the Hi my name is Mark blog/podcast has grown with Hoppus becoming a bigger name and trendsetter in the music industry; doing more and more interviews and effectively using his blog as a way to promote his personal music endeavours (his bands +44 and Blink-182). When Blink-182 came off a hiatus and rumours began circling of a possible reunion tour, sneak-peak snapshots of the trio were put up on his blog, generating a great deal of buzz amongst Blink fans.
Recently, Hoppus’ hobby of interviewing musicians has been taken to the next level as he has partnered up with Fuse to start his own talk show entitled “a Different Spin”. Using his blog as a key marketing tool, he’s posted up teaser photos , blog posts and multiple Youtube videos; all with the same tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic and witty humour that Hi My Name is Mark followers are used to. These promotional videos have definitely set the online community a buzzing and Spin has been able to continue this buzz through their effective integration of social media within their marketing campaign. On the A Different Spin website, fans can have their tweets shown on a live feed and can play interactive games/quizzes that can be linked to their Facebook.
So far all of his promotional spots have revolved around Mark’s personality and I think this will be the key to his success with the show. It’s his humour, personality and general attitude towards life, exemplified in the show’s tagline “Trust me, I’m in a band”, that really reaches out to his target audience.
Overall, with its integration of social media tools, the personality of Mark Hoppus and Spin’s ability to really stay on-top of current social and music trends, as its been proven on their website, this show definitely has promise. I’m sure other Hi my Name is Mark followers and blink fans will be eagerly tuned and waiting to see the direction a Different Spin will take us in.