Fender New Players Initiative

Content Strategy

Armed with research showing that ~50% of all new guitar buyers were first-timers and 45% of guitar sales went to a new players, Fender launched a large-scale digital learning experience: Fender Play.

Fender needed a content strategy that focused on finding, engaging, and educating this potential lifetime audience.

The strategy not only needed to reach beginning players, but also needed to support ongoing product launches and e-commerce initiatives, as well as reinforcing the brand and its legacy without sacrificing the kind of inspirational content that leads new players to pick up a guitar in the first place.

Fender Play Content Strategy Venn Diagram 
RESULTS

  3X   

Increased content PVs 3x over previous site within 6 months, driving thousands of customers to Fender Play.

42%

New content responsible for 42% of inbound traffic within 6 months.

22%

By designing pages to highlight product, content pages drove an additional 22% to total e-commerce revenue.

Execution

  1. In-depth guitar, amp, and effects buying guides lead new players to the gear they need, while supporting new product launches and in-house e-commerce goals and initiatives.

  2. The how and why of chord shapes and scale theory create an easily referenced library of fretwork basics

  3. Articles revealing guitar anatomy and promoting instrument care, along with illuminating control guides, help beginners to understand their instrument and how it functions.

  4. From the many variations of distortion to a reverb review, effects primers help teach beginners how to find their sound while supporting the launch of new Fender pedals and the Mustang GT modeling amplifier.

  5. Encouraging articles detail the art of practice, the myriad benefits of playing an instrument, and the joys of performing with other musicians.

  6. Deep dives into beginner song favorites and how-to articles lead learners by outlining classic artist (Kurt Cobain, Dick Dale, Kevin Shields, etc.) playing styles.

  7. Articles illuminating brand history and interviews with the world’s most-loved guitarists about their learning stories boost brand presence and inspire players to continue engaging with the Fender Play product and improving their skills.

Let’s work together!