By Anneliese Wildermuth
Taylor Swift plays her sold-out “The Eras Tour” at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
While there are certainly many pop stars who have made their mark on the music industry, none have had as much of an extraordinary impact as Taylor Swift.
Not only is Swift an expert storyteller, but the creator of a massive media empire flooded with complex details and easter-eggs that influence her fan base to interact daily.
Taylor Swift’s success is much more than talent — it’s PR brilliance. Swift’s “eras” slogan following each album release allows “easter eggs” to be sprinkled across several platforms, including her music and social media activity. Through easter eggs in each era, Swift turns fan engagement into a marketing scheme. Swift works heavily with Taylor Nation— her official fan engagement and PR engine to have the largest impact possible.
Easter Eggs: Fan Engagement as a PR Strategy
While Swift did not coin the “easter egg” strategy, she sure does dominate in the field. For more than a decade, Swift has strategically placed clues in her lyrics, music videos, wardrobe, and social media posts, especially through Taylor Nation. Although the meanings of the clues vary, they usually point to new music, re-recordings, or special collaborations.
Each “easter egg” is a breadcrumb which Swift’s fans follow and analyze carefully as they become detectives working to reveal the next secret. This strategy allows Swift’s fan base to stay hyper-engaged, prolongs the popularity of her work, and fuels media engagement and speculation.
The Life of a Showgirl’s PR Debut
On the final night of The Eras Tour, Swift broke her wardrobe pattern by wearing a new color: bright orange. After the last song, Swift left the stage through an orange door. Taylor Nation even made posts of Swift and her crew wearing the new color, leading fans to speculate that the new color hinted at a new project.
In fact, the fans were right. Orange was an “easter egg” that indicated a new “era” was ahead of her. Swift appeared as a special guest on the New Heights podcast to reveal that the same color orange, which fans speculated meant a new era, was in fact related to her new album, The Life of a Showgirl.
To increase fan engagement and excitement, Swift and her team organized an immersive three-day experience in New York City where fans could walk into a building filled with giveaways, photos, and of course, “easter eggs”. Swift also hosted album listening parties featuring different “easter eggs” throughout theaters across the globe.
What This Says About Taylor Swift’s PR Practices
Clearly Swift and her team are doing something right, because The Life of a Showgirl broke the record for the most first-week album sales in the modern era, surpassing Adele’s 25. Additionally, The Life of a Showgirl became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day this year in less than 11 hours of being available.
As a part of PR, audience engagement and connections Swift has with her fans are important because it drives longevity, loyalty, and creates advocates for her brand.
Audience engagement is especially vital for brands today. For Swift, it is not just a way to promote her music. It is how she builds her brand, builds trust, and turns her fans into devoted ambassadors.
Swift has such an influence with the help of her PR strategies that UGA has its own fan-run club called The Junior Jewels, dedicated to Swift’s work.
In hindsight, all brands looking for a successful PR strategy should prioritize audience engagement in a fun and unique way, like how Swift does with her “easter eggs.”
