Blondie – Panic of Girls

Brief.

Debbie Harry is a true music icon and synonymous with the punk sound of the 1970s.  Debbie started her incredible career in the 1960s and has sung as part of numerous bands, but is most well known as the lead singer and songwriter in Blondie, as well as single handedly elevating the role of women in rock and pop to the heights we see today.  Blondie hits like Heart of Glass, Call Me, Rapture and Hanging On the Telephone are icons of pop but the band had not released any new material since their previous album, The Curse of Blondie in 2003.

Launching their ninth Blondie LP, Panic of Girls in 2011, along with a tour of the UK, the press strategy was to create a major buzz for the brand and to re-introduce Debbie into high-end fashion and lifestyle media titles.

Debbie, Chris and Clem once again united to create a brand new album as Blondie, produced by Jeff Saltzman (The Killers) and Kato Khandwala (My Chemical Romance, Papa Roach). The new album promised to encapsulate the true character and spirit of the legendary sound of Blondie. The album was written and recorded in a number of locations in the US, including New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles.

Strategy.

We delved into the archives of the band to be able to understand and connect with the key journalists and target media.  This included hosting a media event at The Somerset House gig, as well as Debbie personally hosting an evening at The Ivy Club which acted as a playback session.  We also put Debbie forward for the bill of the Concert For Killing Cancer at Hammersmith Apollo, alongside the likes of The Who, making sure media could quickly witness her perform and providing a focal point for early interviews. The Sunday Times Magazine with Lynn Barber, that kicked the campaign off in style, started here. A cover of You Magazine (Mail on Sunday) followed and further coverage was featured in lifestyle and fashion titles Grazia, Time Out and Stylist as well as key music titles such as NME, MOJO and Stool Pigeon and many more.

Results.

Creating such a prolific campaign contributed to the band’s sell out tour to coincide and the album being highly successful.  Our ambition of maintaining Debbie’s status as a true icon was cemented when she was awarded the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Icon Award in November 2011.  Major recognition in the mainstream media was also secured as the album, Panic of Girls, achieved incredible sales.  Most of all, Debbie and the band were properly positioned as music legends and style icons, pioneers for much of today’s pop culture landscape.