Digital Marketing Social Media Paid Media Content Strategy

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Secretly Distribution · Music · 2021

Brief

Full-service digital campaign for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's 'New Fragility' album — social strategy, paid media, content coordination, and multi-platform rollout.

Results

NACC Top 200: #10. NACC Non-Comm: #14. NACC Next: #12. Spotify Desktop Homepage Takeover in Germany. Critics called it "one of the best to come from the group's 15-year career." A self-released album that gathered global consensus — proof that strategic digital support can rival major label campaigns.

Overview

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — the indie rock project led by Alec Ounsworth that defined a generation of mid-2000s independent music — was preparing to release ‘New Fragility,’ their first album in years. As a fully independent, self-released record distributed through Secretly Distribution, the campaign required strategic coordination across social, paid media, streaming platforms, and traditional press.

We were brought on by Christoph Storbeck at Striker Entertainment to lead social media strategy, digital marketing, and campaign coordination — working alongside the distribution team, radio promoters, and PR agencies to ensure a cohesive global rollout.

Challenge

The campaign faced several interconnected challenges:

Re-engage a fanbase that had been dormant while attracting new, younger listeners unfamiliar with the band’s legacy.
Coordinate a complex release timeline spanning singles, videos, livestreams, and an album launch across multiple territories.
Balance streaming metrics with direct-to-fan channels like Bandcamp, email, and limited-capacity Zoom shows.
Align multiple stakeholders — management, distribution, radio, PR, and the artist — around a unified strategy. The goals were ambitious: grow Spotify followers from 140k to 200k, monthly listeners from 380k to 400k, and Instagram followers from 5k to 10k — all while maintaining the authenticity that defined the band’s independent ethos.

Approach

We embedded ourselves in the campaign as a strategic partner, not just an execution layer. Weekly calls with the core team kept everyone aligned, while daily coordination ensured nothing slipped through the cracks.

We developed a content calendar that balanced promotional moments with authentic storytelling — highlighting Alec’s songwriting process, his passion for books and film, and the Philadelphia scene that shaped the band. Each platform received tailored content: long-form for Facebook, visual-first for Instagram, conversational for Twitter.

Paid Media & Advertising

We built cold funnel campaigns to reach new audiences, using video teasers and track previews to drive interest. Retargeting campaigns kept engaged fans moving toward pre-saves, streams, and purchases. Smartlinks via Feature.FM connected fans to their preferred platforms and local record stores.

Content Optimization

We maximized every asset — turning 30-second video teasers into 15-second story cuts and 8-second Spotify Canvas loops. The ‘Home’ playlist curated by Alec became a fan engagement tool, while Spotify HPTO (homepage takeover) placements in Germany drove visibility at key moments.

Multi-Platform Coordination

Beyond major platforms, we coordinated releases on Bandsintown, Community, and Bandcamp — where a pre-release livestream show drove direct sales and fan connection. Radio tracking reports informed our timing, and PR wins (like RTE Arena in Ireland) were amplified across channels.

Creative Solution

The campaign treated ‘New Fragility’ not as a one-time release, but as an ongoing conversation with fans. We balanced the metrics-driven demands of streaming platforms with the relationship-building that sustains independent artists long-term.

Key initiatives included:

Weekly Zoom shows featuring deep dives into each album from CYHSY’s catalogue.
Reddit Indieheads AMA to connect with the core fanbase.
Smartlinks populated with local record stores in UK, Germany, and France.
Live stream signing events that turned promotional moments into genuine fan experiences.

Results & Impact

#10 on the NACC Top 200 Chart, #14 on NACC Non-Comm Chart, #12 on NACC Next Chart.
Spotify desktop homepage takeover in Germany for ‘New Fragility.’
Critical acclaim: described as “one of the best to come from the group’s 15-year career.”
Global consensus for an independent, self-released endeavor.
Coordinated campaign across 10+ stakeholders spanning management, distribution, radio, and PR. The campaign demonstrated that independent releases can compete with major label machinery — when strategy, coordination, and authentic fan connection work together.

Partners

Striker Entertainment (Management) · Secretly Distribution · Tiger Bomb Promo (Radio) · Big Hassle (PR) · Silver PR · Farewell Transmission PR · Undertow Music (Newsletter)