Branding A Corporate Image Includes Burning Custom Cds

Brandweek, May 24, 1999 by Davin Seay

From Coffee To Hardware Furniture To Soda Pop, Companies Put A Premium On Their Customers' Musical Tastes

As the art of marketing becomes ever more refined, utilizing a full array of scientific and statistical analysis to discover, identify, target and deliver customers, the demographic profile of any and all potential consumers becomes a matter of extraordinarily detailed research.

Distinctions ethnic, geographic, educational, religious and economic have become vital in determining who will buy what, when and where-and for how much. Given this unprecedented inquiry into the nature and habits of consumerism, it was only a matter of time before the public's taste in music became a factor in luring them through the sliding glass doors of their neighborhood mall.

These days, the aural atmosphere of a retail establishment is as finely tuned to the aesthetic nuances of its clientele as any consideration of decor, locale or even merchandise.

But the use of music in fashioning comfortable niches for an increasingly divided buying public has taken a new and decidedly profitable turn with the burgeoning variety of branded premiums-specially created and priced compact discs that offer consumers the opportunity to take the experience of visiting their local boutique, coffee corner or discount mega-mart home with them. Whether it's Starbucks or Pottery Barn, Shell Oil or True Value Hardware, businesses are focusing increasingly on music to match their corporate identity.

LISTEN TO THE BRAND

Branded premiums offer an avenue of potential exposure that is only now beginning to be fully explored and exploited. As a growing number of artists and songs, classic and contemporary, find lucrative new life in advertising, branded premiums are getting a free ride into this new era of commercial acceptance.

"We've seen at least a 25% growth in our branded-premium business over the past few years," remarks Gary Newman, BMG's executive VP of special products. "Of course, like any other arena in music, there are peaks and valleys. For years, the tobacco companies were among our biggest clients, but recent legislation had curtailed that considerably. Fortunately, other businesses not normally associated with marketing through music have come along to take up the slack. Places like Starbucks, who we work with a lot, are a natural outlet, considering the demographic of their clientele. But we've recently put together product for the True Value Hardware chain, which isn't exactly known as a cool or cutting-edge company. Yet, they're as much interested in tying in their identity with music as anyone else, and we're doing our best to meet their needs."

Aside from an active sales force calling on prospective corporate clients, BMG's special-products division also maintains an active A&R staff to assemble targeted products within the creative and commercial constraints of the particular project. "Inevitably, there's always someone at the company you're working with who's a frustrated DJ," says Newman. "We try to accommodate them as much as possible, but a big part of what we do is educating the client on what's possible and what's not possible for licensing within their budgets."

"There are a number of general misconceptions about how branded premiums work and what they can deliver," says Roy Gattinella, VP of sales and marketing for EMI Special Markets. "The ones I hear most often are that branded premiums can't break new music, that they only use dead artists and deep catalog, and that you can only buy them at truck stops and car washes. That might have been true 30 years ago, when EMI first got into this business, but it just doesn't apply today."

Referring to the "demographic bull's-eye" that branded premiums can target, Gattinella explains that EMI Special Markets is actively and aggressively seeking to utilize such product in exposing new, young artists. "We are always looking to create new partnerships and alliances," the Los Angeles-based executive explains. "The best example I can think of is the new Christmas album we put together in cooperation with CD Now and Coca Cola." The compilation, which will be actively promoted by both the soft-drink giant and the Internet music powerhouse, is hardly a collection of holiday warhorses. Says Gatinella, "We've got everyone from Everclear and Keb' Mo' to the Dandy Warhols and Marcy Playground. This is music that makes a natural connection with Coca Cola drinkers and CD Now shoppers. It's a slam dunk."

Gattinella and his EMI staff reach far and wide to find fresh marketing partnerships. "We're currently working with Masterlock," he explains, "who is perhaps best-known for the combination locks on high-school lockers. They're coming up with a whole new, colorful look for the product, and we've developed a blister pack that includes a CD compilation of all new and developing artists we're calling 'Mastermix.' Those kinds of opportunities are opening up every day."

CD: CUSTOM DESIGNED

Record and publishing companies are, in turn, nurturing that process by discovering new and innovative ways to blend creative and commercial impulses. Perhaps the most impressive example of this new interface is BMG Entertainment's just-launched CUSTOMCD Program.