We don’t exactly fall into the category of people who enjoy doing their taxes — even though, according to the Pew Research Center, one-third of Americans do. But, this year, H&R Block is trying to change our attitude about tax season. Those ads urging you to “get your billion back” are ubiquitous at this point, but the tax prep company is doing more to get us excited about filling out those forms — or, more accurately, paying one of its employees to do it for us.
And, that’s where Billion Back Records comes in. Yes, H&R Block has courageously broken into the music and social-media industries and created a record label — ahem, “record label” — to get us psyched about our refunds. It commissioned 10 famous YouTube artists, like Pomplamoose and iJustine, to produce original songs and music videos for Billion Back Records. It's releasing a song a day, and so far there are two online.
Not inspired yet? The company is also giving away some sweet prizes to Twitter followers who tweet about what makes them "a rock star.” Among the prizes you could win (and these descriptions are straight from the Billion Back Records’ site): “bangin’ Bluetooth speakers,” a “moneylicious custom guitar,” and “high-quality cans” — in this case, "cans" are headphones.
All jokes aside, we’re impressed with H&R Block’s enthusiasm and unconventional marketing approach. But, will it be the viral sensation it hopes for? (Fast Company)