Target Sponsors Lyric-Writing Promo to Push Exclusive Album

With its bullseye on its teen fan base, Target has teamed up with pop/R&B group Mindless Behavior in a Facebook contest that asks fans to write their own lyrics for a verse of a special edition of the song, “All Around the World,” that will be available exclusively through Target.

Submissions for the contest, “Your Lyrics, Their Voices,” will be accepted February 18 to 25 on Mindless Behavior’s Facebook page.

As of Friday, there were no hints of the contest from either Mindless Behavior or Target on Facebook. A Target rep says a link will go live on Monday.

According to Target, Mindless Behavior will record the winning lyrics and the song will be available for free download via an access code available with purchase of the Target exclusive album. The winning fan will also travel to Los Angeles to meet the band and attend the premiere of the upcoming Mindless Behavior movie, “All Around the World,” which will be in theaters March 15.

The winner will be announced the week of March 4. The album comes out March 12.

In addition to the album and exclusive download, Target will have four bonus tracks and four exclusive album covers. This isn’t the first time Target has teamed up with a music act. Target is also using Facebook and Twitter to push a Justin Timberlake album with two exclusive tracks. Previous partnerships include Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift and Pink.

“We’re really excited to partner with Mindless Behavior,” the Target rep says. “[Mindless Behavior’s fan base of 13-to-20-year-olds ] is an important guest segment for Target and it’s a fun way to connect with them in an authentic way.”

Target says fans can use the hashtag #TeamMindless to follow the conversation about the contest and album. #TeamMindless is a popular hashtag among Mindless Behavior fans. To wit: As of Friday, there was no mention of the contest on Twitter, but plenty of use of the hashtag.

Promotion will include TV spots, as well as marketing efforts on Pandora, Vivo and Target’s social channels, the rep says.

In addition, the Mindless Behavior site has a banner ad for the Target album, as well as a promo in which one of the band member’s Target-exclusive album covers is revealed day by day. As of Friday, one album cover remained.

According to a tweet on February 12 from @MindlessBhavior, Seventeen Magazine was also involved in the album cover reveal.

@MindlessBhavior has 817,000 followers on Twitter and 1.5 million likes on Facebook. For its part, @Target has 527,000 followers on Twitter and 21.7 million likes on Facebook.