Record deals for unsigned brands

29May08

Source: Jane Schulze, The Australian

ADVERTISERS are being offered a front-row seat in the evolving world of music retailing through a unique Australian joint venture.

GroupM, the media investment arm of global communications group WPP, and Universal Music have teamed to create BrandAmp, a company set up to give advertisers unprecedented access to the world of music.

As physical sales of recorded music continue to decline and advertisers seek new ways of reaching customers, BrandAmp will match advertisers with musicians in an attempt to expand the businesses of both clients.

That means Universal Music’s artists, such as Brian McFadden and Vanessa Amorosi, will have the chance to work with the advertiser clients of GroupM agencies MediaCom, MindShare, Maxus and Mediaedge:cia.

"We find our artists are demanding more creativity and a broader
outlook from us in terms of how we create revenue for them, and
partnerships are the best way to do that," Universal Music’s managing
director George Ash said.

"And this opens a direct opportunity for
brands to access the artists and their fans."

In the past, the closest association between musicians and advertisers
had been when an advertiser chose a musician’s song for a television ad
campaign or sponsored a band’s tour.

But Mr Ash said there were endless opportunities for greater
interaction. For example, advertisers could ask a band to create a song
for a TV campaign; sponsor a band’s merchandise or advertise on a
reality TV program created around a band.

"Never before has a brand had the ability to live inside a record
company or has a record company opened itself up so brands can use that
expertise," he said.

The opportunities also extended to new media, with music a growing part
of the user-generated content on websites such as YouTube and MySpace,
owned by News Corporation, publisher of The Australian.

"The way people are absorbing their media and the way advertisers are
getting to them is changing, and music is at the forefront of this
change," Mr Ash said.

GroupM chief operating officer Raja Kanniappan said: "We are beginning
to use music as a currency to bring our brands and consumers closer
together."

BrandAmp quietly launched locally in February when its new general
manager Darren Aboud returned from Britain to head the business. It
will be officially launched in Australia in July.

BrandAmp has operated in Britain for 18 months and Mr Aboud said one of
the successful music sponsorships created there was between band Take
That and retailer Marks & Spencer.

"Partnering the right brand with the right band makes for a nice
relationship between the two," he said.

But Mr Ash said the Australian market had yet to develop similar
strategies: "(Deals between music labels and advertisers) were just
cold partnerships in the past; they may sponsor a tour but no one has
exploited the partnership opportunities as BrandAmp will.

"And we are looking to have a long-term, warm relationship where we
co-operate on all levels and look for new opportunities for our
artists."

Mr Ash said the matching of a song and a TV commercial was also a
scientific process.

"If the creative is right it can have a huge impact on sales (of the
song), but if it’s wrong it can slow sales, which is why the agency
experience is important."

Mr Aboud said a recent example of a good match was the Seven Network’s
recent promotion for the departure of Kate Ritchie from Home and Away.
The promotion featured the song Bubbly, by Colbie Caillat, which had
not been on the charts, "but by the next week it went to No.1".

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