FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog
January 11, 2007
Commissioning a Symphony
This news is a bit old at this point, but I just learned about it, and it might still merit mention. While companies such as Symantec are experimenting with the idea of adverbands, another company -- Nike -- is foregoing promoting fake bands in order to commission original music from already active musicians.
Last fall, Nike commissioned a 45-minute workout mix from LCD Soundsystem. Earlier in the year, Nike had commissioned a mix from the Crystal Method.
Both commissions were less advertisements as such but marketing tools to encourage people to use Nike's Nike+ system, which helps people track workouts using their iPods.
This effort also differs from the formerly popular practice of commissioning company theme songs or using pop songs in TV adverts. But does the resulting music stack up? Reviews seem to indicate so.
Were you to commission music for your customers, what would you aim to accomplish?
Posted by Heath Row at January 11, 2007 11:07 AM | Category: arts + entertainment |
2 Comments
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Brand awareness within the musician/band's established fan base - for sure. You've got to think that the Crystal Method's 18 - 24 trend setting fan base is a potential viral hotbed for Nike products - although I bet the slightly hipper (and therefore more potentially "viral") fans consider the corporate tie in as "Selling" out.
Bottom line is that it makes good sense - and I can only see more of it - of course - once the novelty of plundering ready made markets dies down - then the whole concept of; why do have all this music, what else can the music itself do to enhance our clients and customers - and with any luck - I can quit my day job!
This kind of thing is all too often a quest for novelty to fill the void where a strategy should be. That's not to say it can't work, mind you. But marketers have to remember three things: The consumer thinks that you're doing everything you do with a purpose. That it's meant to convey meaning. Second, they are spectacularly good semioticians. And third, just because they like something doesn't mean it had a commercial effect. So what would I aim to accomplish? I'd aim to give them an experience not just that they liked, but that attractively expressed my brand's point of view.