DRAGONS GET TARGETED

The industry is abuzz over the innovative setup for Imagine Dragons’ Smoke + Mirrors (KidinaKorner/ Interscope), masterfully orchestrated by IGA Vice Chairman and marketing guru Steve Berman.

The centerpiece of the rollout was the audacious four-minute live performance of “Shots” that served as Target’s biggest look during the Grammys telecast. By dropping the artfully filmed piece into the middle of Music’s Biggest Night, Berman and Target did the impossible—transforming a commercial into a bona fide Grammy Moment.

The partnership, which required a massive outlay of cash from the numero uno physical retailer for the four minutes of airtime, also involves a Target-exclusive deluxe edition of the album containing four additional tracks.

Concurrently, a newly created video for “Shots”—not the performance footage from the commercial—has premiered on Vevo.

“Shots” has just been serviced to Alternative. First single “I Bet My Life,” meanwhile, is #33 at Top 40, #1 at Triple A and #3 Alternative.

Smoke + Mirrors has just hit retail and will compete with Drake for #1 next Tuesday. Our very early read has the album hitting the 150-175k range. The band’s first album debuted 83k on 9/4/12 en route to an eventual 2.4m in straight album sales and 4.14m TEA.

In a related note, we frequently imagine dragons when the bong is nearby.