Marketing and licensing one’s music is more important than ever,

CMJ Music Marathon

conversations with the publishing and advertising worlds

“Clearly, in the past year or two, there’s been a major change not only in regard to bands being willing to take on sponsorships, but also sponsors being the new consumers of music,”
said Robert Haber founder and CEO of CMJ Network.

 ”It’s fascinating because they’re just as enthusiastic about emerging acts as fans are.”

Wednesday morning’s panel, “Sponsorship: A Futuristic Music Industry Strategy,”

“The most important strategy is knowing who you are and communicating that philosophy to the brand,”
Maurice Bernstein, president-CEO, Giant Step,

 ”You need to make them want you. Create your own buzz through MySpace and your web page.

Using marketing lingo like “branded entertainment,” “metrics” and “ROI”

Moderator Marcie Cardwell, president, MAC Presents, cited a change in musicians’ attitudes with pop star John Mayer, who had resisted brand campaigns for years until he struck a tour sponsorship deal with Blackberry.

Ms. Cardwell played a promotional video for the deal wherein Mr. Mayer spoke about his love for the Curve device, which prompted a few attendees to murmur the familiar epithet “sell-out.” Afterward, Ms. Cardwell acknowledged the sentiment, shrugged it off briskly and moved on.

Mr. Bernstein:
 ”Brands have to understand they’re getting in bed with the rock n’ roll business.
There’s a possibility thsoe brands could get burned by behavior of people in the rock n’ roll business.
Artists also need to understand they’re getting involved with corporate America, and it’s a very tentative marriage.”

tour sponsorships

entertainment marketing

pockets of resistance from artists

advertisers are in an enviable position. Not only can they outspend labels’ marketing budgets by a wide margin for relationships that consumers seem to be responding favorably to, but they’ve also got a glut of options at their disposal.

Panelists told prospective bands to hit up music conferences to hawk their records to music supervisors and marketers, but also acknowledged that there were thousands upon thousands of bands looking for deals with just a handful of marketers.

Deconstructing Boundaries: Hip-Hop Media Co. Goes Old School - Songs For Soap - Advertising Age

“Our whole model now is to figure out how to incorporate what we’ve developed with our music and entertainment relationships and apply it to branded content to connect with the youth market,” Mr. Bittenbender says. “We want to use brands as a launching pad for our talent and vice versa.”

In the past year, agencies and record labels have gotten cozier;

in April, lifestyle marketing firm Cornerstone partnered with ad-supported digital label RCRD LBL,

in July Euro RSCG Worldwide grabbed a majority stake in The:Hours.

In April, Sony BMG (soon to be Sony Music Entertainment) performed a move similar to Decon’s (but on a much larger scale) when it formed an in-house agency, Arcade Creative Group, which has since landed general-market campaigns and utilized its parent company’s music catalog in creative executions.

Decon has been involved in commercial production for years; it’s most recent projects include

Most of Decon’s projects, explains Mr. Goldwatch — who admits he shuddered when the company introduced the word “brand” into its vocabulary — tend to begin as creative endeavors, not ad campaigns.

 ”We want to do the projects we think would be great and try to attract a brand to them,” he says. “I want to make new media weird alchemist shit, and whatever brand is savvy enough to be like ‘That’s killer,’ we’ll work with them.”

Mr. Bittenbender says Decon’s track record as a hip-hop label makes the shop more authentic than other agencies or labels when it comes to engaging younger audiences.

“Myself and others in the company are in the age demo to know what’s happening,” he says.

The record label side gives us insight and credibility into what’s happening. If you can sell records, you can touch an audience, and that’s pretty important.”

From the start, Decon has been committed to a multimedia experience of hip-hop.

At the same time, Mr. Bittenbender says, having working relationships with marketers makes his label more attractive to extraordinary musical talent.

He wouldn’t name names, but he says that artists on his roster picked Decon over major labels with bigger pockets because of the insight and diverse creative talent he can offer.

These resources allow Decon to offer what it calls “DCN360,” an approach that provides support for a musician in almost every stage of his or her career.

“DCN360 is something we can do that’s absolutely a dug-in, hands-on approach,” says Mr. Goldwatch. “Sign to our label, we do all your videos and design work, we take out ads, put together your tour, and then put you in the middle.”

And, although they’d like to remain small, Decon has expanded its staff in order to fulfill its new role as a full-service creative shop.

It’s brought in VP-Strategy Sebastian Eldridge, who hails from traditional agencies such as Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners and Translation, in order to complete a full-service slate with strategy and account services.

new creative agency, which promises to wrap together a footing in multimedia production, hip-hop record label expertise and new-media design

After single-handedly caring about Billy Bob Thornton’s band, Dell is moving some brighter lights into the Dell Lounge. The computer company announced today that it’s sponsoring “Spectacle: Elvis Costello With…”, a 13-part, one-hour program featuring the man himself interviewing various people, whom the press release doesn’t name — we’re working on this detail — but may perhaps include Elton John, who’s the executive producer.

With ‘Fist of Oblivion’ Web Series, Carmaker Keeps Chasing Youth Target That Some Say Can’t Save Brand

By Claude Brodesser-Akner

Published: November 12, 2008

For Scion, Mr. Roman Coppola has produced a live-action, nine-episode puppet series called “The Fist of Oblivion” that will appear on its marketing website, Scion Broadband.

In “Fist,” kung-fu-fighting puppets seek to exonerate a cop who has been sent to prison for murder; new episodes will launch every Tuesday through the end of December.

To date, the Toyota sub-brand has chosen to live or die by its guerrilla marketing, forgoing broadcast TV advertising and favoring billboards, online marketing and the odd cable TV ad, begging the question: In such a yawning recession, can a struggling, neophyte marque really stick with chop-socky puppets as its brand message and hope to survive?

Adrian Si, Scion’s interactive manager, said Mr. Coppola’s edgy fare will “resonate with our audience and stay true to the culture of the brand.”

Empty-niche syndrome
“The fundamental issue facing Scion is that it is perceived as a niche brand, not a household name”

 ”In times of economic uncertainty, we see consumers making safe choices, taking to familiar things. You’ll never be questioned as to why you bought a Honda Accord or Toyota Corolla.”

“coming back to the Scion Broadband site again and again.”

Mr. Coppola had also recently directed a string of commercials for Volkswagen that aired over the summer, wherein celebs like Heidi Klum, David Hasselhoff and Bobby Knight were interviewed by “Max the Beetle,” a 1964 classic VW Bug.

Coppola also directed this VW spot that features Heidi Klum.

demographic to show up with cash in hand

No incentives to buy
“They’re sticking with the one-price selling,” said Mr. Toprak. “It’s ‘If you’re interested, buy it, but we’re not going to give you any other reason.’”

directing their efforts at an audience that is out of the market, currently

 You can spend all sorts of money marketing edgy stuff, but the reality is that that’s not converting many people to a new car acquisition, and certainly not 18- to 30-year-olds: Even as high as [age] 25, parents are controlling the purse strings now.”

felslut

attempt at branded entertainment

…content that people will want to watch for the entertainment value alone. We can take a brand and create a concept that will directly appeal to the target audience. That concept could be anything from a TV programme through to a short video for an online newspaper site. In our experience branded entertainment is most effective when supported by a campaign around the content. For example video content on an online newspaper website could be backed up by editorial, links to the brand’s website, prizes, interview with presenters, banner ads etc.

 As audiences become increasingly fragmented through the proliferation of TV channels and the use of the internet, branded entertainment is only going to grow and grow.

Branded Entertainment?

While the answer to this question can be complex, its influence on the advertising and entertainment industries is simple: it is changing everything.

Technological advances in the last five years have provided audiences with unprecedented control of how they enjoy their entertainment options.  Where advertisers once could rely on tried-and-true commercial breaks to reach consumers, the proliferation of DVRs and on-demand viewing has made the already daunting mission of a 30-second spot even more difficult. 

Companies and their products are now seeking fresh, innovative ways to reach audiences by merging commerce with creative content. 

The result is Branded Entertainment. 

Rink Entertainment has created and perfected a serial story vignette format utilized in commercial pods. 

A company or brand is attached as a sponsor for each series of vignettes with special care taken to integrate their product organically into each scene.  The result: an entertaining, narrative-driven short that manages to hold viewers through the break.

This unique blend of story-telling and advertising can be tailored for any demographic or sponsor.

By having both a Television division and a Branded Entertainment division, Rink Entertainment understands the concerns, goals, and challenges for advertising and entertainment companies.  We have worked directly with major brands, advertising agencies, television networks, and ad sales teams, as well as major record labels and music artists.  In essence, we are uniquely qualified and positioned to help any party involved, individually or collectively. 

Taylor Swift

ICM Names Branded Entertainment Chief

One of Hollywood’s most powerful talent agencies

matching stars with brands

marketing veteran Carol Goll to head its global branded entertainment division

 talent agency Paradigm

The division focuses on finding endorsements and branded entertainment opportunities for clients; this includes film, TV, live events and publishing.

shepherded alliances

entertainment resume

Branded Entertainment is one of the fastest growth sectors in marketing communications worldwide. It’s where advertising and TV collide to form a new tool that combines the strengths of stand-alone high quality TV programming with brand partnerships to create a stronger, deeper link with consumers and viewers.

GoFish Launches Branded Entertainment Division and Hires Three Executives Formerly of YAHOO!

SAN FRANCISCO - November 14, 2006 - GoFish Corporation (OTCBB: GOFH), a leading user-generated video company, today announced the launch of a branded entertainment division

 established a solid track-record

collaborated with creative talent in the development of original programming initiatives

an early entrant into the user-generated video sector

provides people with an online platform for uploading, sharing, searching for and watching videos from around the world.

“Our Branded Entertainment Division is focused on original programming that taps into the energy and enthusiasm around user-generated video, an approach that we believe will deliver a superior experience for viewers, creators and advertisers alike-and will revolutionize online entertainment,”

 ”America’s Dream Date” - the first reality themed online show harnessing user-generated video that was sponsored by a national beverage brand.

Animax Entertainment Launches Branded Entertainment Division | Reuters

Animax’s reputation for online branded content is renowned. Its diverse
portfolio includes original short-form content such as “Off-Mikes,” a series of
webisodes produced for ESPN, for which Animax won the first-ever Broadband Emmy;
“Ink Is It,” an award-winning campaign for Kodak that features a series of
viral videos, games, and blogs; and the Beanie Babies 2.0 and Ty Girlz virtual
worlds, both built and supported by Animax.
	
 a sought-after commercial director 
	
American Express’ pioneering webisodic series “Adventures of
Seinfeld and Superman.”
	
    “Brands are well-aware that traditional advertising tactics are losing
effectiveness.
	
 Animax Unplugged creates the perfect union by melding entertainment, branding, and interactive experiences
	
value proposition is unique: first, focus on creating engaging
original branded content and second, use a 360-approach to distribution
including interactive campaigns such as casual games, Facebook applications,
iPhone applications, and widgets to fully support the engagement.
	
    “Our philosophy is simple — by creating truly engaging content we can
transform individuals within a target demographic into product evangelists and
brand ambassadors,” 
	
creates online experiences that increase brand equity.

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