ODESZA's Album Scavenger Hunt
There's just one week to go before electronic duo ODESZA release their next album 'The Last Goodbye' via Foreign Family Collective / Ninja Tune. Over the past few months, ODESZA have rolled out more than just singles and social media posts to keep their fans on their toes ahead of the release.
The Scavenger Hunt
On July 6, ODESZA shared a cryptic message via their social media which read, "Phase 1 begins this week, join our Discord if you want in… ". Two days later, they launched The Maze website, where fans can find the tracklist for ‘The Last Goodbye’ album.
The Maze site also includes riddles, questions, and prompts, and it rewards users with access to exclusive content, once they respond correctly. This week, fans have been treated to prizes like an unlisted behind-the-scenes video on YouTube and stems for ODESZA's 'Better Now'.
ODESZA encouraged fans to use the Foreign Family Collective Discord to work their way through the scavenger hunt together. United, fans scoured ODESZA's website metadata, traced their Snapchat posts, and backtracked their way through their Instagram to crack the scavenger hunt's codes.
As of this week, the website has had more than 20,000 unique sessions and more than 5,000 users have successfully completed Phase 1 of the hunt. The most eager users cracked all the codes within an hour.
ODESZA's Deliveries
Before they rolled out their scavenger hunt, ODESZA delivered some other cryptic messages to their fans to kick off the release campaign. Earlier this year, the duo sent our signed postcards and disks in the mail - sending fans into a flurry on social media.
The postcard first teased 'The Last Goodbye', back in February. It included a QR code that directed fans to the duo's revamped site, which invited users to sign up for SMS notifications.
Some fans realised the site included more content than met the eye. As they flexed their tech skills, they uncovered a link to a teaser video embedded within the site's coding. As the investigations continued, fans were able to track down secret passwords and instructions within the site's metadata, allowing them to access further exclusive content. In June, fans also received disks that held content that could later be used as a clue during the online scavenger hunt. Talk about a well thought out campaign!
ODESZA have spent the past few months fostering a sense of community amongst their fans and building a significant sense of excitement around their new music. By releasing a chain of singles, targeting their most invested fans, crafting detailed challenges, and encouraging fan-to-fan interaction, ODESZA have created a 5-month long narrative around the album, before its release. We couldn't be more excited to see what they roll out next.
Last week, IFPI shared the Engaging with Music Report 2022, which features a collection of data sourced from 44,000 respondents, aged 16-64.