brand-e

Asks MySpace. Can leveraging music, and its influence on an audience, unlock that secret for bands and brands alike?
MySpace has made moves towards proving that it can, and at the brand-e Bands, Brands & Social Media Savvy event, will be sharing some of these learnings.
‘Social networks are much edgier than mainstream. TV and radio, and therefore adverts, and the way that brands behave in them should be much more daring and provocative’ Adam Bartlett, a 26 year-old MySpace user.
‘Too many brands play it safe – with so many brands seeking to tap into the creative community you have to come up with something really original, or a great opportunity, if you want to spark interest’ Luke Elwell, a 22 year-old MySpace user.
These are typical views on advertising from users in the social media environment. But as typical as these are they are, in the main they’re ignored. More and more brands are leaning on click-through rates and impressions delivered to measure the success of their campaigns. As the number of clicks generated from display advertising is in decline per user in the UK and US, can brands continue to ignore their customers in this way?
Perhaps it is time for a new model to emerge, one that looks at depth of engagement and how online can change the attitude that the user has towards the brand that is trying to engage them.
Music is an important avenue that could be used to help deliver a deeper, more substantive relationship between brands and their customers online.
MySpace has seen this approach yield real benefits for advertisers and believes that the opportunity to be part of this relationship between fans and bands is a powerful one.
A major channel on MySpace, and one that gives bands all the tools they need for success, is the Music Studio in association with Vodafone. Vodafone and MySpace evaluate the success of this channel by looking at that ‘huge amount of engagement in the middle’.
Craig Tuck, sales group head at MySpace says, “the Music Studio is the toolbox for modern day bands and artists who want to make it. From information on building and managing their very own MySpace profiles, to A&R advice, it is all there, in one place, facilitated by Vodafone in a seamless association on the site.”
Simon Daglish, UK commercial director at MySpace, says “seldom have I seen such an outstanding opportunity sparsely used by advertisers and their media agencies alike. If nothing else, I would like to ignite the debate surrounding this and re-engage brands in the relationship between fans and bands online’
Learn more on how ands should be working with brands within social networks at the Bands, Brands & Social Media Savvy event on the 28th April.