Companies using music events to build their brands
Bacardi's NH7 Weekender music festival is in its third year. Absolut
vodka sponsors Sunburn, a three-day electronic dance music festival, and
Nokia sponsors an international karaoke championship. Last year, Coca-Cola launched the Coke Studio @ MTV television series.
After two seasons, Coca-Cola's TV show has 1.4 million Facebook fans
Chatting about music is an ordinary activity. Talking with musicians about their music is a conversation to remember. But place the whole scene in a swimming pool minus the water, and you have an event. This is an idea that Dutch beer brewer Heineken is considering for its 'Green Room' series, which kicked off in India in June, in the warehouse-like atmosphere of The Foyer, a South Delhi nightspot.
Green Room events have been held in unlikely locations worldwide, including old airports and former coast guard headquarters. The goal, of course, is brand promotion.
"We started bottling Heineken locally last August," says Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Vice President of sales and marketing of the UB Group, in which Heineken has a 37.5 per cent stake. "The first nine months or so were dedicated to establishing the brand. We are now ready for the next stage of consumer engagement, through music."
Heineken is on an increasingly crowded bandwagon. Many companies have discovered the power of music to promote brands. Bacardi's NH7 Weekender music festival is in its third year. Absolut vodka sponsors Sunburn, a three-day electronic dance music festival, and Nokia sponsors an international karaoke championship.
Last year, Coca-Cola launched the Coke Studio @ MTV television series.
"As a brand, we wanted to create something which has a Coke stamp to everything," says Wasim Basir, Director, Integrated Marketing Communications, Coca-Cola India. Coke Studio, which recently ended its second season, aired on MTV, Colors and Doordarshan.
Brand pushers know that great music can make anything beautiful - even bitterness and politics. Thus a song on the second season of Coke Studio asked whether the dawn and the leaves in the autumn are any different in India and Pakistan: Pattein kya jhadtey hain Pakistan mein vaisey hi jaise jhadtey yahaan, o husnaa? Hota ujaala kya vaisa hi hai jaisa hota Hindustan mein?
"I composed this song for a play which was enacted in Lady Shri Ram College in 1995," says writer, lyricist and actor Piyush Mishra, who is an alumnus of the National School of Drama in Delhi. "Hitesh Sonik, who produced the song, had heard me singing it many times, and wanted it to be on Coke Studio."
It's not just down-home music that companies rely on. Musicians who are relatively unknown in India can give an event the cachet of coolness and exclusivity.
For example, the first Green Room event organised by the 17 billion euros (Rs 1.2 trillion; one trillion equals 100,000 crore) Heineken featured American DJ Brian Lindgren alias Mux Mool, who talked with the audience about whether music should be free. Consumers are increasingly sophisticated and venturesome.
Bangalore IT professional Shashi Uttamchandani says: "The popular DJs just stick to the same R&B, hip-hop or jazz. But new bands are coming up in local bars. There is a lot of talent out there."
Delhi advertising professional Mohamed Rizwan says he enjoys all kinds of music "from French electro to rock". He attended the Green Room with Mux Mool, and wants more such events.
"This is different from the usual ones where they bring same old boring DJs," he says. "I don't know why people are bringing Fatboy Slim and David Guetta now. They should have come to India 10 years ago."
Given India's huge youth demographic, there is a big market for music and growing depth for different genres. Brands can choose and experiment - especially alcohol brands.
Mahesh Madhavan, Managing Director of Bacardi, South Asia, says music and alcohol have "a natural affinity". People drink to relax and socialise, and music is a mood enhancer, he adds. "In 1998, Bacardi had a successful concept, 'Bacardi Blast', which was a large party with DJs and VJs, and crowds of 5,000 to 10,000," he says. "Now we have the Bacardi NH7 Weekender festival, which is in its third year."
Music is, of course, a matter of taste. A bad decision could hurt a brand, as Costa Coffee, the UK-based chain, learned last year. Something wasn't quite working for it in India and, with the help of market research, it figured out that customers did not like the music in the outlets.
"We tied up with music labels for live performances," says Santhosh Unni, CEO, Costa Coffee India. To keep and attract customers, he has introduced in-store performances branded 'Rhythm & Brews', featuring names such as Hariharan and Rabbi.
Rock seems to be the flavour of the season - apparently the harder the better.
"We did market research in the metros and found that rock and metal are the predominant genre," says Gulshan Jhurani, Managing Director of Mooz Entertainment, which brought Grammy award-winning metal band Korn to India recently. On the agenda are tours by Guns N' Roses and guitarist Slash, with sponsors including alcohol brands Jack Daniels and Budweiser, Rolling Stone magazine and Radio Indigo.
The show, as they say, must go on.
Green Room events have been held in unlikely locations worldwide, including old airports and former coast guard headquarters. The goal, of course, is brand promotion.
"We started bottling Heineken locally last August," says Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Vice President of sales and marketing of the UB Group, in which Heineken has a 37.5 per cent stake. "The first nine months or so were dedicated to establishing the brand. We are now ready for the next stage of consumer engagement, through music."
Heineken is on an increasingly crowded bandwagon. Many companies have discovered the power of music to promote brands. Bacardi's NH7 Weekender music festival is in its third year. Absolut vodka sponsors Sunburn, a three-day electronic dance music festival, and Nokia sponsors an international karaoke championship.
Last year, Coca-Cola launched the Coke Studio @ MTV television series.
"As a brand, we wanted to create something which has a Coke stamp to everything," says Wasim Basir, Director, Integrated Marketing Communications, Coca-Cola India. Coke Studio, which recently ended its second season, aired on MTV, Colors and Doordarshan.
Brand pushers know that great music can make anything beautiful - even bitterness and politics. Thus a song on the second season of Coke Studio asked whether the dawn and the leaves in the autumn are any different in India and Pakistan: Pattein kya jhadtey hain Pakistan mein vaisey hi jaise jhadtey yahaan, o husnaa? Hota ujaala kya vaisa hi hai jaisa hota Hindustan mein?
The first Green Room event to be held in India took place in Delhi in June
It's not just down-home music that companies rely on. Musicians who are relatively unknown in India can give an event the cachet of coolness and exclusivity.
For example, the first Green Room event organised by the 17 billion euros (Rs 1.2 trillion; one trillion equals 100,000 crore) Heineken featured American DJ Brian Lindgren alias Mux Mool, who talked with the audience about whether music should be free. Consumers are increasingly sophisticated and venturesome.
Bangalore IT professional Shashi Uttamchandani says: "The popular DJs just stick to the same R&B, hip-hop or jazz. But new bands are coming up in local bars. There is a lot of talent out there."
Delhi advertising professional Mohamed Rizwan says he enjoys all kinds of music "from French electro to rock". He attended the Green Room with Mux Mool, and wants more such events.
"This is different from the usual ones where they bring same old boring DJs," he says. "I don't know why people are bringing Fatboy Slim and David Guetta now. They should have come to India 10 years ago."
What Kolaveri Di's success can teach marketing students
Since it started in Goa in 2007, Sunburn, the electronic dance music festival sponsored by Pernod Ricard's Absolut vodka, has grown into one of Asia's most attended music events despite its steep entry fee. What started out with 36 artists and an audience of 7,000 now draws almost 100 artists and a crowd of 50,000.
The festival has moved from Goa to other cities, and features local and international artists such as Anish Sood and Jalebee Cartel (India), Ankytrixx (Nepal), Anil Chawla and Dale Anderson (the UK), and Albin Myers (Sweden).
"It is about capturing mind space," says Joji George, CEO, Percept Sports & Entertainment, a wing of Percept India, which owns the property. He says the festival is a chance to showcase the product. "That brand experience translates into sales," he adds.
"Compared to a newspaper or a hoarding, advertising through music events makes more sense for liquor brands because it is directly targeted at the youth," says Goa-based electronic dance music artist Anish Sood, who has opened for names such as Mux Mool, David Guetta, and Felix Da Housecat.
COLUMN: New-age marketing mantras
Since it started in Goa in 2007, Sunburn, the electronic dance music festival sponsored by Pernod Ricard's Absolut vodka, has grown into one of Asia's most attended music events despite its steep entry fee. What started out with 36 artists and an audience of 7,000 now draws almost 100 artists and a crowd of 50,000.
The festival has moved from Goa to other cities, and features local and international artists such as Anish Sood and Jalebee Cartel (India), Ankytrixx (Nepal), Anil Chawla and Dale Anderson (the UK), and Albin Myers (Sweden).
"Compared to a newspaper or a hoarding, advertising through music events makes more sense for liquor brands because it is directly targeted at the youth," says Goa-based electronic dance music artist Anish Sood, who has opened for names such as Mux Mool, David Guetta, and Felix Da Housecat.
COLUMN: New-age marketing mantras
Given India's huge youth demographic, there is a big market for music and growing depth for different genres. Brands can choose and experiment - especially alcohol brands.
Mahesh Madhavan, Managing Director of Bacardi, South Asia, says music and alcohol have "a natural affinity". People drink to relax and socialise, and music is a mood enhancer, he adds. "In 1998, Bacardi had a successful concept, 'Bacardi Blast', which was a large party with DJs and VJs, and crowds of 5,000 to 10,000," he says. "Now we have the Bacardi NH7 Weekender festival, which is in its third year."
"We tied up with music labels for live performances," says Santhosh Unni, CEO, Costa Coffee India. To keep and attract customers, he has introduced in-store performances branded 'Rhythm & Brews', featuring names such as Hariharan and Rabbi.
Rock seems to be the flavour of the season - apparently the harder the better.
"We did market research in the metros and found that rock and metal are the predominant genre," says Gulshan Jhurani, Managing Director of Mooz Entertainment, which brought Grammy award-winning metal band Korn to India recently. On the agenda are tours by Guns N' Roses and guitarist Slash, with sponsors including alcohol brands Jack Daniels and Budweiser, Rolling Stone magazine and Radio Indigo.
The show, as they say, must go on.
