Another Win For Timberlake

Justin Timberlake is back. It’s been 7 years since JT’s last album FutureSex/LoveSounds was released in September of 2006 but that has not slowed the musical momentum of Timberlake one bit. His new album The 20/20 Experience is projected to have sold 800,000+ albums in its first week when numbers are released this Tuesday. That would rank Timberlake’s album as the best selling album of 2013 so far. There’s no surprise to me that he’s projected to do this well coming off of such a long hiatus. To really understand Timberlake’s musical success one must first realize the successes of his branding skills across the entertainment spectrum.

This is not the first time Justin Timberlake has made a big return to music. His 2006 masterpiece was the follow up to his debut solo album Justified released for years earlier in 2002. Since releasing his second album in 2006 Timberlake has starred in ten movies, has made repeated appearances on Saturday Night Live and has stayed relevant making guest appearances on a host of television shows.

The way Timberlake wins with his music is using two strategies: building anticipation, and seizing the moment. Timberlake unveiled his plans to release a new album back in January with the release of his debut single Suit & Tie featuring Jay-Z. The song is currently sitting at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. He followed that up with a performance at the 2013 Grammy’s in on February 10^th. Finally on March 9^th Timberlake made his fifth hosting appearance on SNL to build momentum-heading right into the release of his latest project last week.

In the absence of his music Timberlake stays relevant with great roles in films, and popping up on the TV every once in a while. The fact that JT has been in the industry since an early teen doesn’t hurt either. Timberlake has been groomed for success since a young age and the branding strategy has allowed for him to achieve success in almost every endeavor.