Music in itself is an expression so pure and emotional that it can connect a common theme identifiable across cross cultural borders (Itunes, Napster, mp3.com were instrumental in sustaining this movement). For some, it is a feeling of pure joy while for others it’s the extreme form of obsession. Advertisers and Brand Managers recognized its potential long back, and ever since have developed visuals with a background scores which can lend a personal touch to the advertisements(in Advertising lingo, background music is known as jingles).
A new trend which is called Synchronization had caught the media frenzy a few years back. This is done using original, popular songs and customizing them according to the theme of the marketing campaign. Britain's Dirty Vegas became overnight stars when Mitsubishi used their edgy music in American commercials. Audi, the German car manufacturers also banked on the tune by an unknown British singer, Dog. Despite the $90,000-plus cost to license a pop song (compared with $15,000 for a customised jingle), advertisers, especially those aiming at younger consumers, think it money well spent.
A new trend which is called Synchronization had caught the media frenzy a few years back. This is done using original, popular songs and customizing them according to the theme of the marketing campaign. Britain's Dirty Vegas became overnight stars when Mitsubishi used their edgy music in American commercials. Audi, the German car manufacturers also banked on the tune by an unknown British singer, Dog. Despite the $90,000-plus cost to license a pop song (compared with $15,000 for a customised jingle), advertisers, especially those aiming at younger consumers, think it money well spent.
This trend forebodes an important strategy for tobacco and alcohol products in promoting their brands in countries like India where stringent norms in advertising exist(Case study on Surrogate Advertising here). The advertisers have to use other techniques like Surrogate/surreptitious advertisements to spread the message. In this context, identifying and establishing Music as a communication medium, these companies can establish an emotional bond with the target audience and hence increase brand loyalty and awareness.
Although implementation of a successful marketing campaign revolving around a musical theme would require a substantial investment in understanding the customer segments and the changing trends in music industry. Rather than following a conventional technique for segmentation based on (demographics or psychographics) one should go for Lifestyle segmentation as prophesized by Joseph T. Plummer(But, that’s for discussion in the next blog)Here are advertisements from two countries which are diametrically opposite, culturally.
While surfing using Google, I came across a site URBANRUSH, which has an amazing CGI and belongs to US based Urbanrush_productions. They are into branding through music. Urbanrush offers relationships with DJ’s, record labels, designers and producers to create exclusive music compilation CDs. They manage and track projects in their entirety, including licensing. Their clientele includes the MYHOTELS, MyHotels Chain.
