Case Study: Vince Vanguard

​​“I couldn’t imagine releasing my debut album without the help of Cyber PR. The quality and effectiveness that Ariel and her team delivered rivaled the passion and energy that I put into making the album. There wasn’t a moment throughout the process that I felt ill-equipped to maximize the potential reach and quality of impressions I made with my music given the team, tools, and resources that were provided to me.” 

About Vince Vanguard

Vince Vanguard, the stage moniker for singer-songwriter Eric Plein, is a well-seasoned musician, artist, and student of life who spent a decade helping others bring their songs through his artist collective before deciding to release his own music. 

Vince writes modern-day folk music that chronicles his spiritual journey while simultaneously offering musical empathy and common ground with his listeners. 

Vince came to us with a finished album, but a need for guidance when it came to establishing himself online and he needed a release plan and marketing guidance. 

Throughout our time with him, Vince had incredible follow-through, accountability, and work ethic which makes him the perfect artist partner and client.

What Vince Wanted  When He Contacted Us:

Creating and cultivating the brand, identity, and to some degree aesthetic of Vince Vanguard – I have a graphic and web designer to execute those things once the brand has been defined.

Finding out who my audience(s) are and the best way to connect with those demographics

Leverage the above to lean heavily into placements for playlists, interviews/press, radio, video on appropriate channels – any kind of exposure that can help gain traction with algorithms/SEO

Single and album release strategy / Getting the most mileage possible out of the 10 songs on my debut album

Before He Came to Cyber PR 

Vince was no stranger to creating music and working with other creatives, having run an artist collective in Boulder for years before moving back to the East Coast. However, he had never seriously considered releasing his own music. He needed guidance with goal setting, creating his online presence, spacing out his singles, and crafting a release plan that honored the work and skill that had gone into his art. 

The Process We Guided Vince Through

Foundations and Bio

Vince gave us plenty of information to work with on his foundations questionnaire. He was honest and vulnerable, which allowed us to craft an outline of his plan that resonated with him. 

Because Vince purchased a professional biography with our veteran bio writer, he also had the opportunity to read a few drafts of the artist persona we were creating for him, and he was available for feedback throughout the process. Vince gave us access to his finished, unreleased album as well as thoughtful answers about the musicians who had inspired him. 

Intake

As his team, we spent a lot of time with his music, reading through his responses and learning where his priorities lay. We identified his brand pillars, fan personas, and targeted social media themes plus honed in on specific areas of his career that we felt he needed to prioritize. 

Presentation 

We scheduled a call with Vince where we could read and present our vision for his future. This was a valuable opportunity for us as his thinking partners to make sure we were on the same page, clarify his release dates so that we could accurately build his timeline and, and ask him questions about what he felt he needed the most help with.

Total Tuneup Creation & Delivery

We took over 25 hours researching and writing his TTU. After we delivered it he was encouraged to read it, come up with any questions or thoughts, and identify what he was ready to tackle most immediately, and where he wanted us to dive in. We gave him time to process and not put pressure on himself to implement everything at once. 

Howe Vince Implemented His Total Tuneup 

The reason Vince’s TTU was successful is twofold: he tackled one job at a time, and delegated other tasks to his implementation team. We had monthly check-ins with Vince to make sure he was on track. Furthermore, we were able to help Vince as he identified the parts of his TTU that needed to change over time. Our artist services are always meant to be flexible and fluid based on the changing nature of an artist’s career. Our contact with Vince – as well as his willingness to meet the task at hand – allowed him to change his website template, bio, and release dates as needed. 

Vince’s Successes:

A sleek and usable website that effectively conveyed his brand without being cluttered

Expressing himself on social media in a way that communicated his values to his fans without overwhelming him as a social media user

Connected with a booking agent and touring coach

Formed lasting relationships with several bloggers and playlisters for future releases 

Garnered over 40 placements on blogs, podcasts, radio shows, and music publications.

including Stitched Sound + Zone Nights

“Broken Bones” got a premiere on Americana Highways and was featured on UK Independent’s radio show

Spirit Blues was featured on Americana Rhythm Magazine and was interviewed on their podcast.

Placed on dozens of Spotify playlists

Tackled the “nuts-and-bolts” side of releasing music that can sometimes feel overwhelming to artists, such as adding Spotify canvases to his releases and using MusixMatch so his lyrics are now featured on Spotify 

With our assistance, learned how to use Mailchimp and now has an effective welcome series to help nurture his growing fanbase 

Amplified Vanguard’s social media efforts. 

The 3 areas we focused on were:

TikTok and Best Practices

Optimizing Vince’s YouTube page 

Instagram’s insights and how to use them to his advantage

Vince Vanguard – Case Study