brand-e » music

Into the Stupid park with Diesel

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:28:21 +0000

Diesel is taking its Stupid campaign into the summer sun with Facepark. The idea is to get the social media digerati away from their screens and into the parks where they can mix it up with all kinds of events, including live music.
“We, the stupid ones, prefer the park to the platform,” says the brand. “That’s why we take the status and the wall and the comment and the stalkers and the friends and make them real again.
“We hereby officially announce the birth of Facepark. A stupid idea that might change the world. But probably won’t.”
Here’s Facepark page. And here’s the Facebook page.

Engaging the consumer with authenticity

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:45:29 +0000

By Hugh Jordan. Dave Roberts is a happy man. Head of entertainment at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, he believes the hierarchy in place in London to be the most creatively conducive structure he has worked in.
“A lot of large agencies boast about being integrated, and collaborative, but here it is really happening,” he explains. “All the planners sit together. There is an osmosis of intelligence and insight between the different departments.”
But, as in any corporate structure, each department is expected to deliver results. So while some partied it up at Glastonbury, the entertainment team was working hard, the UK’s premier festival being a perfect opportunity to promote clients.
“We deal with people’s passions and how to align brands with those passions,” says Roberts. “At Glastonbury it’s about taking the brand out, activating and exploiting it.”
Easier said than done at a fest notoriously strict about branding.
Much has been written about the synergy between social media and live events. Roberts agrees that social media is an effective way of keeping the buzz built up at an event alive, but says it is far from the only method.
“For a brand like Tuborg, that generates sales on the back of pouring rights, people have no choice but to drink their beer while they are at the festival, so it is about keeping people involved afterwards,” he says. “For Orange, it is the exact opposite. There is so much content generated at Glastonbury, trying to cut through can be really difficult. However, there is massive interest in the run-up to festival and minimal content. We take advantage of that.”
Each year, the Saatchi Entertainment team demos pieces of Glasto-related technology for Orange, designed to accrue maximum media coverage… this year, it was the Orange Power Wellies, of course.
There is some debate over the distinction between PR and content creation. Roberts says the boundary is blurred, but that S&E definitely comes down on the side of content creation.
“We are not a PR agency,” he explains. “There is an element of PR in what we do but really our remit is about creating great content and the amplification of sponsorship. Everything we do starts with the consumer.”
One of the secrets to success thus far, according to Roberts, has been recruiting people with a genuine understanding of the fields the agency operates in. Ex-festival organisers, filmmakers, and those with a background in events and music PR, are all on the payroll. Any interaction by the agency on sports, film or music blogs, therefore, comes across as authentic.
So what’s next in branded entertainment?
“We are reviewing the gaming industry at the moment,” says Roberts. “The marketplace for music and film is so cluttered at the moment. Gaming is a huge blank canvas. Plus, you are engaging consumers who are already engaged with the game. That has real potential.”

cool creative: app as book and more

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:30:25 +0000

Now, here’s a book. But as it’s on the iPhone, it’s not your average tome. No, The New Goodbye is a fiction which comprises a novel of the same name by Neil George Ayres, and Dialogue of the Dogs, a novelette by Miguel Cervantes, illustrations by Johanna Basford and ‘explorable’ cover photography from Nicole Heiniger. Plus a music track by Rich Watson. And a ‘Romantic Gestures’ feature which lets users share special sentiments with someone special. More right here.

Getting fresh on Facebook

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 10:00:57 +0000

Minted creative. Mentos has launched a Facebook community for fans who prefer to enjoy their mints with a little art and music. The Fresh Goes Better app enables visitors to view and hear original work by artists who upload their creations – fresh graphic art, fresh music and fresh video – directly to the US FB page. A featured artist section spotlights work that is the ‘freshest of the fresh’.
The brand claims the app is the first on Facebook to include an embedded MP3 player, allowing users to listen to showcased music directly from the page.
Artists exhibiting their creative on the Mentos Fresh Goes Better app retain all rights to their work and can link through to other sites so that viewers/listeners can purchase what they see and hear.
“After years of stumbling upon and admiring Mentos-inspired art here and there, it was time to share the wealth,” said Craig Cuchra, brand manager for Mentos. “Creating the Fresh Goes Better application on Facebook is a way of sharing the incredible energy of our fans by becoming a curator for work by established and aspiring artists in three genres. It will allow art enthusiasts of all ages across America to enjoy and offer visions of freshness.”

Fiat’s flat music note

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 09:50:51 +0000

Discordant branding? When did brands care so much about the music business that they went so far as to set up an A&R operation? Well, in February, Fiat UK did just that with the Punto Evo Rooms (to promote its Punto Evo model).
Artists had to post audition videos to the dedicated website and wait for the online public to vote for 10 finalists. Then an expert panel came in and named a half-dozen who got tuition, studio time and the chance to perform on a new TV programme, Evo Music Rooms TV, on Channel 4.
Well, it’s a fine thing to be nurturing new talent and this is clearly branded entertainment. But doesn’t it feel that music’s simply been tacked on here? Or have we missed the brand message ‘Fiat and music’ all these years?
We don’t think so.
However, plaudits to the brand’s musical taste in joining forces with Spotify last year when it issued a call for votes for its Fiat 500C Feelgood Playlist campaign and consumers were asked to nominate worthy feelgood tracks. It won ad awards. And rightly so.
Find out more about what brands are doing – rightly and wrongly – with the music theme in our spring trend intelligence report.

Puma’s hard song for the World Cup

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 09:15:11 +0000

Sing YouTube. For Valentine’s, Puma organised a marriage of football and music when it got English and Italian terrace-going fans to sing together for their sweethearts. Now, in the run-up to the World Cup, the brand is on the look out for the ‘hardest’ European football song with the follow-up Hardchorus Song Contest.
The comp is fronted by ex-BBC Eurovision Song Contest frontman Terry Wogan on Puma’s YouTube channel and there’s a real battle taking place on the viral video site, we can tell you. Right now, the French are ahead – gasp! – with a number entitled Allez Ola Ole, ahead of the Germans and Ein Bisschen Frieden. But the English and Italians are lagging pretty badly.
It’s up to online voters to sort this lot out.

Dream on with Honda

admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 09:15:19 +0000

Car creatives. Honda would like you to come along to Brick Lane in London’s Shoreditch to take a look at its Dream Factory Exhibition. Should you happen to attend the Dray Walk Gallery from 21st to 30th May, then you may well see exclusive brand movies in the Dream Factory cinema, view unseen creative collaborations and experience the latest work of ‘cultural creatives’ such as Cath Le Couteur of film network Shooting People, Pestival founder Bridget Nicholls and Rafiki Records’ Dicken Marshall.
If you’d like to know more, you need to go here.

Getting intelligent about brand comms

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 09:40:30 +0000

Brands trending. Let’s look at mobile apps and utility. Because many brands are seeing beyond the pure entertainment value of this very portable medium and are aiming to connect with consumers by actually helping them out, according to the latest brand-e trend intelligence report.
Smirnoff, for one, joined forces with TimeOut to roll out a free iPhone app that’s a guide to what’s hot in London. It’s pretty much like having the mag in your pocket, and the app taps into geo-location services to pinpoint users’ locations and display local activities, complete with event previews.
Also in London, Tate Modern’s iPhone app for Polish artist Miroslaw Balka offered an interactive – and small – interpretation of his huge steel structure in the Turbine Hall. And there’s a 3D game, plus extra visuals and audio content available too.
There’s more to mobile branded utility than helping people socialise and furnish, though. In the US, GE has given the market Morsel, an app for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android, which offers simple tips to better health every day.
And there’s more to our spring 2010 trend intelligence report than mobile apps. We also take a long, hard look at brands making films, marketers mixing music to engage consumers, and the massive potential for brands of the social gaming craze. Plus, anyone buying our latest report right now will get the previous winter edition absolutely free. More info on trend intelligence right here.