By: Julia Knaggs
I was one of four members of the Slide Nine team who attended Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour in Cincinnati, and I think I speak for all of us (and other team members who attended shows in Philadelphia and Denver) when I say it was an experience we’ll never forget!
If you haven’t been to The Eras Tour (or haven’t spent an embarrassing number of hours watching clips from the tour on social media), you may be wondering, “What makes this concert different from any other?” To start, this is Taylor’s first time touring since 2018—meaning it’s her first time touring since recording four brand new albums and beginning her journey to re-record and own the masters for her first six albums. This tour is a celebration of the music that’s made Taylor the artist she is today and a reflection on every iteration of who she’s been as a performer, from an up-and-coming country star to one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
It’s also estimated that The Eras Tour will contribute a whopping $4.6 billion to local economies by the end of its U.S. leg. Leading up to the Cincinnati shows, Cincinnati Regional Chamber and Visit Cincy estimated that The Eras Tour would have a direct economic impact of $48 million on the city. Moreover, hotel occupancy in Cincinnati on June 30 and July 1 hit 98%, and the city also took the #1 spot on AirBnb's list of top destinations that weekend. Anecdotally, these stats check out—it was virtually impossible to walk into a restaurant or round a street corner on Friday or Saturday without seeing a group of Swifties.
However, what’s most impressive about this tour is Taylor’s ability to connect with her fans and bring people together. Seeing a stadium full of Swifties in their best Taylor-themed outfits trading friendship bracelets before the show, and then singing and dancing along to every single song during Taylor’s three-hour set, is a one-of-a-kind experience.
For those taking notes in the marketing, public relations, and communications world, The Eras Tour shows us that cultivating meaningful relationships and experiences is a smart business decision. Taylor is an absolute pro at generating buzz through social media, careful branding decisions, and unique fan experiences. Most of us will never know what it's like to perform for a stadium of 60,000 people, but we as communications professionals can take Taylor’s lead in keeping our finger on the pulse of what our audiences need and not letting the details go unnoticed.