New Trends in music marketing

"IT manager World" magazine Author: Shanlan, red font part for interview Zhiyuan View

Music Marketing has the magic of reaching the heart. In the background of the media revolution, the rules of the game have changed quietly.

Pepsi's music marketing has moved from a pattern of superstar endorsement to a creative, creative spirit of support

"My family laughs at me, don't you sell soda?" he said. Why are you talking about entertainment all the way? "Pepsi China Limited market vice President Dongbenhon told reporters.

Since last September, Dongbenhon, who is in charge of Pepsi China's Cola and sports marketing, has been devoting all its efforts to a music campaign called "Pepsi Group Tone", which was launched in July this year by the "Pepsi Group Tone" in the Saturday prime time of Zhejiang satellite TV. Until now, half of Dongbenhon's e-mails are still related to this project, his Coca-Cola/Sports marketing team has been qingchaoerchu for the campaign, spending billions of dollars, and using the resources of PepsiCo's United States headquarters, who have found America's best entertainment marketing companies and Hollywood's top music producers. The champions of Pepsi will be sent straight to Hollywood to record.

In fact, it's time for the big brands to hit the music cards. Yili Lez "I love to Remember lyrics", Step by step high sponsored "Happy Girl", Pepsi-built "Pepsi Group Sound" and other music programs all debut, OPPO music mobile phone advertising song is sung in the streets.

Catch the young man

In the 80 's, The Yan dance sound of the famous "Yan Dance, Yan Dance, a song to a Love", opened the prelude to music marketing in China. As a world language, music can reach the heart without translating it. As the CEO of Love Culture, music marketing expert Zhiyuan said, "Ordinary advertising is to bring the brand into people's eyes, and music marketing is to bring the brand to people's hearts." "For example, in Intel's TV commercials, the presence of Intel logos is always in line with a short, powerful piece of music that, even without watching TV, hears the iconic music, and the brand image of Intel appears in your mind."

For young people, music has a greater fascination. Research on the young People's music life form, which is jointly carried out by the new generation market monitoring organization and the heat wave media, shows that music is a very common hobby among young people in 15~35岁, and 54.7% per 20% of young people listen to music every day, and almost a 5 times a week. Therefore, music is a powerful marketing tool for brands that are positioned for young people, or that have aged but need to be given young colors. It is the sponsorship of the music program "Super female Voice", Mengniu sour milk positioning in the boys and girls "sour Sweet is my" brand image of the people, and by virtue of Jay Chou's a "My Site listen to me", China Mobile's mobile zone brand quickly into the youth's territory.

Pepsi is a representative enterprise of music marketing. 1983, by the pop king Michael Jackson as the protagonist and soundtrack of the television ads broadcast, so that Pepsi-Cola "New generation of choice" slogan hit, in the Pepsi-Cola overtaking the process of Coke. After entering China, Pepsi still follows the music route in the marketing, Leslie Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Faye Wong, Koo, Jolin Tsai and so on a large number of young people in pursuit of music superstar to become the image of the spokesperson. "Pepsi is a bottle of young people's spirit," Dongbenhon said. "It is our goal to constantly create and lead young people to a new cultural spirit." ”

However, it is not easy to grasp the vagaries of young people. Ten years is an era, in the 1998, the slogan of Pepsi from the "New generation of choice" replaced by "longing for unlimited", ten years later, today becomes "Pepsi I create." They capture the latest spirit of young people-creativity, the web on the Martian cross-flying phenomenon let Dongbenhon regrets, "Young people even the words are made, creative power is too exuberant." ”

Pepsi's music marketing model has also changed, from the pattern of superstar endorsement to the creative,

The support of creative spirit. Chinese band Culture is poised to send, a large number of creative ability of the underground band lacks surface platform, Pepsi will join hands with Zhejiang satellite TV, Sina, A8, air network and other media planning a band selection activities-"Pepsi group tone." In the design of the activities, Pepsi also fully considered the behavior of young people. "Today's young people may be playing computer, watching TV, playing mobile phones, and their heads can handle a lot of things." Pepsi will make a three-dimensional studio of the "Pepsi Group Tone" studio, in addition to the stage, in the backstage of the makeup room, practice singing preparation room, and so on in different space there are multiple cameras at the same time filming. In this way, the whole process of a band being ready to stage, to perform, to come down and breathe out is captured. Part of the stage by the Zhejiang Satellite TV, the Air network live, the backstage part by Sina and PPLive live. "You want to watch our show, how to watch the best play?" Turn on the TV to watch the program, while the notebook on the lap, watching a band of the tidbits, so watch to master the essence of the program. "Dongbenhon said.

Changing music Marketing

The shift in Pepsi also represents a change in the overall music marketing model.

As a traditional form of music marketing, there have been many successful cases of advertising songs and celebrity endorsement patterns. But with the diversification of the media, simple and extensive advertising bombing has ceased to work. Many enterprises realize that they can no longer follow the thinking of the past to do music marketing. Pepsi is now doing a sheer image of advertising has been getting less. In the latest Pepsi ad, Jolin Tsai, a spokesperson, has only a second face, and all the rest of the time was occupied by the boy who shouted "I can't hear".

Many brands are starting to look for new models. Some brands have turned to sponsoring music programs and events, given the proliferation of musical programs and musical activities that have sprung up in the aftermath of the 85, especially after the coming years. However, as the music marketing model changes, the rules of the game have changed. In Zhiyuan's opinion, music marketing in the current success or not there are two key points, whether it is associated with the brand, the second is whether to trigger viral transmission, and "Now a lot of music marketing there is a great waste."

Brand Association is a related system including brand characteristics, musical characteristics, visual characteristics, and the characteristics of the contestants. Zhiyuan found that many companies just music marketing as a matter of marketing, see music activities Popular, on the sponsorship. But the music marketing is not the eyeball economy, the music activity itself has the extremely strong brand, if the Enterprise brand has not established with the activity the only correlation, the sponsor logo change after the audience does not perceive any difference, this is undoubtedly the music marketing which failed. The music marketing is the interactive economy, is the user experiences a brand connotation process, therefore is not passively the naming sponsorship so simple, the brand must intervene more deeply to the music activity itself.

Successful music marketing, enterprises are more than the whole planning and participation. When Mengniu sponsored the 2005 Super Girl, at the beginning of the year, according to the 2004 Mengniu milk sales to develop a full year of cooperation framework, detailed planning of Mengniu, Hunan Satellite TV, website, public relations Company's respective functions, online, offline How to cooperate, a few big singing area plan and the entire activity timetable, and so on. Activities during the Mengniu yogurt milk more than 2 billion package products, all printed on the eye-catching "super Girl" words, the result of a surge in sales. Pepsi is also involved in the activities of the group, from the planning to the operation of every link, Dongbenhon that, "if only the title, you can only do kitsch, because any media has commercial pressure." The purpose of the Pepsi Group is not to build stars, but to create them. "As soon as we end the show, many people turn their songs into their own ringtones, which is the cultural phenomenon we want." "Dongbenhon said. In the propaganda strategy, the Pepsi group Sound and the talent show is very different, not hype personal gossip, but let people know how the band members are creating their own music. Only through the full intervention of the activities, Pepsi can be the whole activity "What is focus, what is a by-product" of a clear grasp, to ensure that the Pepsi will not deviate from the creative spirit of publicity.

But in Zhiyuan's view, the "Pepsi group Tone" still has its flaws in the brand association. Users generally need strong hints to evoke brand association, but the Pepsi group sound in the overall visual design details, does not reflect their own characteristics. Considering that Pepsi's CI system is mainly blue color, if the band clothing, stage building or musical instruments can be affixed to the blue logo, can achieve visual association effect.

In the internet age, if music marketing does not trigger viral transmission, it is no different from the traditional bombing of television commercials. Zhiyuan that the key to viral transmission is to build the tipping point, which relies on the ability of music producers and artists. There are 10,000 new songs in the market every year, only ten or twenty. If you analyze songs from 1984 to 2008, you can find some interesting rules, such as "I" and "You" in the lyrics of the first sentence in the Climax section of all the popular songs, many of which are weak to facilitate listeners to find stress rackets and so on. "Do music marketing must understand music." "Zhiyuan said. Artists also have the function of viral transmission, an obvious example is this year's "Happy Girl", Zeng such a controversial figure, so that both the advocates of her or scold her for the "Happy Girl" viral transmission of a fever.

In addition, enhancing interaction with fans is an important aspect of viral transmission. Dongbenhon said that Pepsi and Sina cooperation, the most important thing is the latter's blog platform. He also invited the Sina blog team to participate in the "Pepsi group Tone" of the band for special training, teach them how to write and run a blog, "You want to appreciate an artist or creator, must understand his creative ideas, blog launch will make the whole country better understand this team, drive popularity." "Dongbenhon said.

In July this year, Pepsi and the East Asian record, red culture cooperation, set up a group of sound culture Company, for the "Tomorrow Day Regiment" from the Pepsi Group Audio program, including music production, artist brokers, such as the record company to provide services. According to Dongbenhon, this is the product of the "feeling and hair" of Pepsi. "There is no good profit model for traditional record labels, and Pepsi has a lot of resources on the internet for artists, television commercials and music professionals, and these bands have the best chance to go straight to our ads." "Pepsi seems to go beyond pure music marketing, the Cross-border directly into the music industry, its deeper intention is probably to the music resources reserves, so that their music marketing to achieve" sustainable development.