Promo - July 2008 - (Page 23)

music About 20 years ago, Run-DMC stepped onto the stage at a sold-out Madison Square Garden in their signature white Adidas Shell Tops. Then, with Adidas executives watching, they performed the tune “My Adidas” and asked fans to hold up their Shell Tops. Smart move. Months later, Adidas signed a $1.5 million marketing deal with Run-DMC. And that was just the start. Urban music, of which hip-hop is a subset, has since overcome its antisocial “gangsta” image to become a crossover phenomenon. Marketing partnerships with hip-hop acts can cost from $500,000 to $10 million, depending on the artist’s reputation. But there’s a huge potential payoff: African Americans, who constitute the core audience for urban music, are expected to have $1.1 trillion in buying power by 2012, according to a recent study by Packaged Facts. Then there’s the buying power of young Hispanic and Caucasian fans. “Companies have embraced hiphop because they want to get cool artists next to the brand,” says Steve Stoute, CEO of Translation Consultation and Brand Imaging. Case in point: Lexus. It recently shelled out big bucks to sponsor Alicia Keys’ 32-city “As I Am” concert tour. “There was a natural shared DNA between Alicia and Lexus,” says Steve Jett, the brand’s national marketing communications manager. “She represents something special from an artistic perspective. She represents the highest quality in styling.” But there was more to it than that. Keys gave Lexus an opportunity to address upscale African-American consumers it hadn’t reached before. The brand made an impression without doing a hard sell. Its vehicles were displayed at concert-venue entrances and listening lounges were stocked with brochures. In addition, there was signage onstage and complimentary parking for the first 100 Lexus drivers who arrived. “We don’t want to force the product story on them,” Jett adds. “We want it to be ingrained in the environment.” Lexus also worked with Keys to create a “Keys to Innovation” campaign. It recognized 10 schools for their green programs, awarding $2,000 grants and a chance to win $10,000. when combined with the rise of digital media, he says. Stoute should know. He brokered a landmark deal for rapper Jay-Z in 2002 with another mega shoe brand— Reebok. “The Steve Stoute (l.) brokered licensing deals for Jay-Z. Brands need one-to-one relationships like this in an era of increasing media fragmentation, says Aaron Walton, principal of Walton Isaacson, which brokered the sponsorship. And it’s not only about money. “Brands can reach a much bigger audience than some of the record labels could on their own,” he says. “And the brands aren’t changing the artist.” In fact, urban music lends itself to commercialization, adds Forrester Research media analyst James McQuivey: “The bling and self-promotion of a hip-hop artist is consistent with the promotional side of things.” But there’s a bigger change going on—what Stoute calls the “tanning of America.” As he sees it, African Americans, Hispanics and other ethnic groups are finding common ground under the urban music tent. And this is having “a cultural effect on marketing brands and products,” especially ‘THE FACT THAT YOU COULD SELL SNEAKERS THROUGH A LIFESTYLE FIGURE WAS A BREAKTHROUGH.’ —STEVE STOUTE fact that you could sell sneakers through a lifestyle figure was a breakthrough,” he says. And he later scored another milestone by linking Jay-Z and Hewlett-Packard. Recently, Stoute landed Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé Knowles for McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign. To date, the daring brands have been automobile makers, apparel companies and wireless carriers. But this pool is expanding—for example, Continued on page 24 ALICIA KEYS: THIERRY LEGOUES; JAY-Z: DENISE TRUSCELLO / GETTY IMAGES Promo / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / July 2008 23 http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - July 2008

Promo - July 2008 Contents Editor's Note Shelf Help Beautiful Bovines Rest Stop Who Let the Dogs Blog? A Helping Hand Commentary Solid Gold Q and A: Mighty Mattel Flying the Coup Putting E-mail in Motion Resource Center The Agency Center The Young Prefer Mail Index of Advertisers

Promo - July 2008

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