Pink Friday, Nicki Minaj’s upcoming debut studio album is set to be released on November 19, and, in an effort to promote this album and to boost sales, the rapper engaged in what savvy marketers would describe as a brilliant PR campaign. No doubt, the artist hopes that this year’s Friday November 19 will go down in history as the Pink Friday. But the Harajuku Barbie gets bolder, and attempts to transform the Black Friday itself into a pink fantasy.
It’s all an effort to raise awareness for breast cancer, and in fact, it’s an event organized by CompUSA and TigerDirect for the forth consecutive year. This time, the raising star, whose debut album is suggestively titled the same as the charity event, gives her name and a quote to support, yet no mention of any percentage resulted from album sales going to charity has been made. In fact, the whole PR gig comes from CompUSA and TigerDirect who used the artist to open a press release announcing an event with no chances of going unnoticed.
A mutually beneficial strategy, that brings Minaj in the news for reasons other than her album launch, or partnerships with fellow performers like Eminem, Kanye West and Rihanna. On November 26, Minaj will be the special guest of a live 12-hour Webcast that will be available on www.CompUSA.com and www.tigerdirect.com, from noon to midnight. The 12-hour Webcast will feature an interview (via Skype) with Nicki Minaj and her “Your Love” video from her debut album, Pink Friday, breast cancer survivor interviews, informational videos and the sale of thousands of products at 50 percent off, with 100 percent of the proceeds donated to Komen.
In fact, CompUSA and TigerDirect’s choice is not so bad, since Minaj’s songs are usually about female empowerment. And this is exactly what Pink Friday wants to achieve.
“I fully support the efforts of Pink Friday and the goal of raising funds to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure and their charge to bring an end to breast cancer,” said Minaj. “I am pleased to be associated with the Pink Friday initiatives and to raise awareness amongst fellow African American women who are often the hardest hit by breast cancer.”
For once, Black Friday news that are not all about shopping, although what drives the event is shopping after all. The event organizers expect to raise more than $100,000 from a portion of online sales and from customer donations to Susan G. Komen for the Cure(R), the world’s largest breast cancer organization.
Ms. Minaj is represented by Amanda Silverman of public relations firm 42 West.
