Promo - July 2008 - (Page 25)

Music Why should a brand back an unknown? Because of the constant hunger for new celebrities. “I think that the cat’s out of the bag now,” Stoute says. “Music is more popular than ever. A new artist is a ringtone away from being a tech superstar.” PURE PROMOTION The resulting campaigns are a promotional marketer’s dream. Specialty women’s retailer Wet Seal struck a deal with Geffen Records to promote Prima J with an online sweepstakes. The winner gets a makeover and a barbecue with the duo. Prima J’s MySpace page features a shot of them in Wet Seal apparel. Tracks from their debut CD will be played in 400 Wet Seal stores around the country, where the disc will be available for $10.50. Toyota made mileage on a campaign for its Yaris subcompact, bringing rappers Dice Raw and Truck North into the action. It also sponsored local DJ competitions. “You’re often able to interact with them a lot more,” says Toyota spokesman Chad Harp. “These are the true hip-hop artists. You have to do it the right way and let them discover you.” Toyota is considering a similar campaign for the redesigned 2009 Matrix. Then there are the events. AT&T Wireless is title sponsor of the Vans Warped Tour, which includes hip-hop artists in its changing lineup. AT&T is sponsoring the Lollapalooza event in Chicago next month and the Austin City Limits Festival in September. “It makes us relevant,” says Mimi Chan, AT&T’s director of national marketing. “It means we care about what they care about.” AT&T posts concert highlights on its blue room video site, and makes updates available via wireless. Sponsorship spending on concert tours and festivals is expected to top $1 Beyoncé Knowles billion this year in the United States, according to the IEG Sponsorship Report. And urban music will get its share because it’s “clearly migrated to the mainstream,” says David Bell, Zomba’s director of digital marketing. “Urban is pop music at this point.” But there are risks, as Pepsi discovered years ago when it dumped a deal with rapper Ludacris after Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly criticized lyrics by the Def Jam artist. Not to worry. Forrester’s McQuivey suggests that the Madonna method—doing something controversial to attract attention—can work to an artist’s advantage. Either way, these performers will soon start to resemble NASCAR drivers. “At some point, musicians will be the same type of promotional icons that sports celebrities have become,” McQuivey says. And, of course, social media can play a large role. Giant Step CEO Maurice Bernstein notes that his company leverages relationships with IBeam, MySpace and YouTube to “seed” music and information, as it did in a recent campaign for Def Jam band The Roots. “It’s turned into one of the most significant ways to market new recordings,” he says. Years ago, Bernstein recalls, artists were reluctant to “sell out” by striking commercial deals. But now the bands and brands are on the same wavelength. “It gives the brands a point of view,” P he adds. “They look smart.” l 25 PETER KRAMER / GETTY IMAGES Promo / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / July 2008 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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