Sandbox MUSIC MARKETING FOR THE DIGITAL ERA Issue 102 | 12th February 2014 INSIDE… Platform & function: music and branding’s next stage Campaign Focus The relationship between PAGE 5: brands and musicians is getting Tinie Tempah’s rap app >> increasingly intricate and complex, Campaigns but as more partnerships are struck, standing out has never PAGE 6: been harder. Brand spend is now The latest projects from the happening more cautiously and digital marketing arena >> getting the best results for the (often Tools heavy) financial outlay is the focus. Beyond the obvious endorsement PAGE 7: deals, digital services are being FanSparks >> tapped to reach an already engaged Behind the Campaign audience and find new marketing PAGEs 8 - 11: routes though established platform/audience relationships. Goldfrapp >> This is also carrying across to the Charts live sector and how brandings deals PAGE 12: work there. How can this approach Digital charts >> work more effectively and where should both brands and the platforms themselves be focusing their efforts? Issue 102 | 12th February 2014 | Page 2 continued… This year there appear to be two key trends ranging from iTunes and Spotify to Red Bull brings its brand identity to the table added benefit of long engagement times and in the brands and music space. One is that SoundCloud and Mixcloud. and Mixcloud brings the platform and fit. less competition from other brands for ‘share brands are being more pragmatic in their Not only does it bring a licensed platform to of ear’.” The Red Bull Thre3style DJ contest is a good approach and more cautious about their Red Bull, it also brings with it a community of example of this. Now in its fourth year, it is He adds, “We believe a playlist on its own is spend. We’ve got used to haloed partnerships active DJs and mix fans who are used to the a multi-territory contest run in partnership not an effective form of branded content. where brands spend large amounts of money platform. between Red Bull and Mixcloud. DJs are The rules of branded content are to create on celebrity endorsements – Pepsi’s 2012 invited to take part in local live mixing “We act as a platform where brands can and connect with original, unique content deal with Beyoncé was worth $50m – which contests and the winners go to the grand focus on distributing branded content that that reflect the values of the brand.” carry with them a risky element of hit and final. All mixes – from the initial online exists in an audio and music form,” says miss. Some are very effective but others can It’s the choice of curators and DJs, the submissions to the live contests and world Mixcloud’s co-founder Nikhil Shah. “There misfire or lack true fit. context around the playlist, the sonic finals – are hosted on a Red Bull Thre3style are a number of brands that have identified branding, the activation points and the The other is that, in order to be effective in branded page on Mixcloud, creating a large music as a core passion point to engage their fit between the platform and brand that a cluttered consumer marketplace where and engaging pool of exclusive content for consumers. Delivering music content is an make the efforts of the brand effective and digital noise is getting louder and more the brand. intuitive and effective way to do this, with the meaningful to the target audience. problematic to rise above, brands must embed themselves in consumer culture and How do brands view the partnerships? bring a badge of authenticity to the table. They must be a trusted voice for consumers In order to understand how a brand shapes in their target markets. Even better, they its approach and spend on a partnership with must establish themselves as the channel for a music platform, it should be viewed as how the content that the consumer wants. a brand looks to spend on radio, rather than how they pay for music content, as Cliff Fluet As Carli Kapff (founder and MD of music from Lewis Silkin explains. agency Genuine) explained to us, in the food and beverage space this could mean “You need to look at the value exchange a popular recipe book or app; in the music in radio,” he says. “Simply buying radio space this could mean exclusive content advertisements gives you repetition, but the or playlists. It also means planning and value is seen as lower than that provided by executing effective campaigns with several sponsorship. It’s about achieving synergy touch points and activations which cross with a programme – or a genre or style of from online to offline. programming – rather than being based on interruptive advertising.” In order to achieve this in the music space, brands are turning to service platforms, Issue 102 | 12th February 2014 | Page 3 continued… He continues, “Brands will see the playlist supposed to see it become the underlying featuring 50 popular songs from any given artist series, sponsored by Schwarzkopf’s or playlist experience as part of the overall music technology platform for the soft drink year since 1938. Got2B haircare product range, and Xperia message. Not many big brands would just brand. However, there hasn’t been a major Access or Lynx Summer six in the UK. In the Apple tradition, iTunes Radio is buy a radio campaign; it’s part of the bigger technological development in this regard focusing on big brand advertising buy-ins. Toyota is the headline Vevo platform sponsor mix. What streaming services will want to do aside from the Placelists Spotify and iOS When it launched in September 2013, its in the UK, having committed a seven-figure is be a part of the overall mix, so brands will apps. four advertising launch partners – PepsiCo, sum in May 2013 to advertise its Aygo car be chasing a more radio-like dollar rather Part of the win for streaming services is McDonalds, Nissan and Proctor & Gamble brand to a younger audience. It benefits from than [a pure] music dollar.” physical product placement and Spotify has – paid more than $10m each in order to be premium advertisement placement as well as benefited from being featured on Coca-Cola exclusive advertising partners until the end its own ‘YNOT’ hub on Vevo itself. What’s happening in the streaming bottles in various campaigns around the of the year. In early 2014, advertising was music service space? world. offered openly to clients with a rumoured Festival and digital music platforms The major streaming services all have brand minimum buy-in of $1m. In November 2012, for example, Spotify was Festivals are huge brands in the music partnerships and strategies in place. Spotify advertised on 100m Coke bottles and cans iTunes’ partnership with PepsiCo brought space themselves and it serves digital music has received a $10m strategic investment in Australia, featuring QR codes and URLs more exclusivity which saw it become the platforms well to align with them. The typical from Coca-Cola in a partnership which was for consumers to access a Spotify playlist only brand with its own dedicated channel approach is for a music service to integrate on iTunes Radio, which featured a range of and power the music features in an official curated playlists from its musician brand festival app and for the app to contain a ambassadors at launch and added NFL stars guide to the festival including line-up, artist in its second phase approaching the Super bios, samples and some other features. Bowl in 2014. Sony Music Unlimited sponsored this year’s Meanwhile the just-launched Beats Music Bestival app and integrated its music service has arguably the strongest natural brand while WiMP partnered with Roskilde in leverage of all in its Beats By Dre parent 2012 to power the music features in the brand. official Roskilde app. This included powering samples of the acts for non-subscribers. In terms of advertising partnerships, Vevo is one of the hottest digital music platforms Perhaps the most complete example of a in the space. It brings two key properties to music service and festival integration we’ve the table: its large and active user base, as seen so far is the Sónar 2013 app which was well as a host of Originals shows tailored for built and powered by Deezer. It contained a each territory and which can be individually free festival radio station, which users could branded. These include its Lift emerging stream without being Deezer subscribers. Issue 102 | 12th February 2014 | Page 4 continued… Apart from the free festival radio, users could monitor listening data to test their popularity campaigns. Based on manipulating Spotify’s the show is set in. stream tracks of artists playing at the festival, and help it shape its over-the-air playlists in APIs, it can auto-generate or extend playlists In conclusion, brands (from FMCG companies limited to 30-second samples unless users order to attract new users. depending on user input – either user to festivals and events companies) are were Deezer Premium subscribers; or they submitted playlists or manual choices – or getting smarter and more pragmatic could sign up for the free mobile trial period analyse playlists and react according to Innovation in the brand and music about digital engagement using music, all in which case they could stream the full attributes. service platform space in the name of bringing an authentic and tracks from within the Sónar app. One company doing interesting things in For example, One Direction recently asked meaningful voice to the consumer table. An extra feature was a music quiz which this space is music advertising agency F#.