10 Feb 2010
I Fight Dragons
I Fight Dragons was looking for a social media strategy that, well, didn't suck.
I Fight Dragons called Natiiv Arts & Media just after the boxes of their first EP, Cool is Just A Number, arrived at the lead singer's house. Brian Mazzaferri was spinning his wheels using MySpace as the primary marketing vehicle for the band and knew there had to be something more.
After their session, Brian and guitarist Mike Mentzer got to work. The band set aside their old marketing plan, friending 500 people a day on MySpace, and started to look for potential fans on other sites.
"Leah helped us do a complete 180 in our thinking on promotion. Instead of blasting and constantly pushing our message outward (which seems to be the prevailing method these days), we've learned to find ways to form meaningful 2-way connections with fans. Those relationships have been far more artistically rewarding than anything else we've had before, and ultimately they've helped us grow even faster!" Brian Mazzaferri
I Fight Dragons quickly found super-fans on Twitter that came out en masse for a show at Martyrs, which lead to gigs at the flagship Apple store on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, performing in Sleepover 2.0, a sold-out show for the launch of the Chicago Nerd Social Club and winning the Metromix Best Chicago Band of 2009 with over 50% of the vote.
The group works everyday to balance staying connected with fans and writing music. The band includes an exclusive download in almost every weekly e-newsletter and actively responds to fans on twitter. Brian said to a fan, "when you say our name on twitter it's kinda like the bat-signal."
Buzz about this 8-bit, power pop band keeps growing in Chicago and their commitment to the lessons they learned about social media working with Natiiv are keeping the buzz growing around the world.
UPDATE
I Fight Dragons did two coaching sessions with Natiiv. One in February 2009 and a second before their fall 2009 tour with MC Chris. While on tour, they sold 100 lifetime subscriptions to the band that sold out in 28 hours and grew their email list from 1000 to 10,000.
On February 5, 2010, I Fight Dragons announced that they have been signed by Photo Finish/Atlantic Records. The band will be going on their second national tour in the spring and releasing their first LP.