Eric Sheinkop is the CEO of Music Dealers
& co-author of 'Hit Brands: How Music Builds Value for the World’s Smartest
Brands'. Follow him on Twitter at @Esheinkop.
With over 111 million viewers expected to watch the Super Bowl
this Sunday and over $4 million spent on a 30-second spot, the Super Bowl is as
much a culmination for advertisers as it is for the NFL. With the world’s most
recognizable brands vying for attention, it’s a chance for agency creatives to
showcase their very best work. Given the value brands gain from their use of
music, the Super Bowl offers the largest stage to leverage the power of music
to create intrigue and discussion for a brand after the whistle has blown.
Two hopeful reactions for any marketer: “That commercial was amazing,” and “That music was incredible. What was that song?” It’s a chance to set the social mediasphere ablaze with inquiries about songs, artists, and “where can I find that?!” The advertisers that win in this game are the ones that know the type of music that best represents their brand, and that can create value beyond their commercials.
What interests me about the music choices in the Super Bowl is
the correlation to Grammy winners announced one week prior. The Grammys and the
Super Bowl are not just mega events close in airdate, there is a symbiotic
relationship between Grammy winners, the Super Bowl halftime show, and music
selected for commercials during the game. Is it a conspiracy or can we find a
natural pattern? By analyzing the use of music in 2013’s Super Bowl ads, we can
develop some pretty good predictions about the role music will play in 2014’s
Super Bowl commercials. And, there are some interesting musical insights from
what’s already been released this year.
The first is the rise of the independent. During Sunday’s Grammy
Awards, triumphant independent artist Macklemore championed the indie music
scene and called for its support. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ collaborative
album, “The Heist”, is one of the most successful independent releases in the
history of the music business (though it did get radio promotion and
distribution from major labels). During his acceptance speech, Macklemore
proclaimed, “We made this album without a record label, we made it
independently and we appreciate all the support.” To boot, the American
Association of Independent Labels reported that independent music won 50% of
2014 Grammys, an incredible feat for the flourishing indie music community.
The ad business is like any other, based on trends, and the
trend of independent talent creating high-caliber music that resonates with
fans will not be ignored. In 2013, 13% of Super Bowl ads utilized indie
artists. While we can not claim that the 50% indie trend from the Grammys will
be mirrored in Super Bowl ads, we certainly can count on a significant rise
compared to last year.
The next interesting insight into the correlation between the Grammys
and Super Bowl is the connection between the halftime show performer and Grammy
Award winners. Pepsi, sponsor of the halftime show for the second consecutive
year, strategically targets performers with mass appeal. As it turns out, those
performers are coming off the heels of a Grammy victory a week prior, as is the
case this year with Bruno Mars, winner in the “Best Pop Vocal” category. The
same connection can be made to last year’s halftime show featuring Beyoncé, who
had just won the Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Love On
Top”, and Cee-Lo Green, who performed with Madonna the year before that.
Smart marketers have long sought to leverage top artists for
their campaigns, and we find Grammy winners often landing major spots throughout
the year. What’s interesting and different about the Super Bowl is that brands
don’t have time to react to the Grammy wins. They’ve already placed their
bet as to which artists will win. It’s a big bet and when a brand guesses
right, the value to their consumers, and therefore their business, is tangible
For example, last year fun. took home Best New Artist and Song
Of The Year for their mega hit, “We Are Young.” Then, only seven days later,
Taco Bell released a clever cover of the song for their “Viva Young” campaign,
“We Are Young” in Spanish. Taco Bell took their music licensing to the next
level and made it an experience that entertained consumers and generated
conversation while staying authentic to the brand’s Latin roots. Taco Bell bet
on who would be the best of the year well before the Grammys and they got it
right.
The trend of leveraging the best will surely continue. We
speculate that before the last whistle of the game is blown, we’ll see a
commercial containing a cut by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, or perhaps a
licensed use of “Royals” by Lorde. Which brand will capitalize on Pharrell,
arguably the most influential figure in music this year as a producer and
collaborator in several top Grammy nominations? We’ll have to wait and see.
We’d be remiss to neglect Pepsi’s Grammy Halftime Show ad,
further bonding together the relationship between the two major events.
"You music artists, you're always giving football the best halftime shows,
so tonight, football is paying music back,” announced Deion Sanders to a faux
Grammy crowd, before launching into a choreographed auto-tuned number. Hilarity
ensued, with a number of NFL stars performing and parodying popular artists of
the day. The event displayed Pepsi’s commitment to music and acknowledged the powerful
correlation between the two events, with humor at its core.
Having the foresight to pick a popular artist or good song is
one thing, but one of the most powerful ways for a brand to create authentic,
long-term consumer engagement is by leveraging music in such a way that it
creates value for the brand way beyond the 30-second ad.
We saw two well-executed examples of this last year, both from
the auto industry. Volkswagen offered consumers a free download of Jimmy
Cliff’s cover of “C’mon Get Happy” and featured the song on their brand-curated
SoundCloud page, while Hyundai and The Flaming Lips joined forces to release
the song “Sun Blows Up Today” written for the ad and included as a bonus track
on the bands new album. Hyundai also offered 100,000 free downloads of the
custom track on their website.
We already know one major contender using this strategy this
year. Bank of America, U2, and RED, a group co-founded by Bono to enlist brands
in fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa, have collaborated to produce a 60-second spot
to introduce their new partnership.
The commercial will feature U2 performing a new song called
"Invisible," which will be available for free on iTunes during the
game and over the next 24 hours. Bank of America will donate $1 for every
download in that time, up to $2 million. In one stroke of genius, fans are
introduced to a completely new song from one of the greatest rock groups of all
time, offered a free download of the track, all while knowing that the partners
behind the campaign are bringing true value to the world. This campaign represents
the truest form of using music to bring value to the consumer, the artist and
the brand.
Why is music such an important focus for brands? Why do they use
it to create extra discussion for their elaborate, beautiful productions?
Grammy host LL Cool J said it best: “The force of music is universal... Music
has the power of bringing people together like nothing else in this world...”
On a personal note, the fact that 50% of Grammy winners were
independent artists this year fills me with hope that we will see more indies
than ever before taking the stage at the Super Bowl. With so many great
indie artists and songs brands can help the world discover, I can’t wait to
hear what the Super Bowl has for us this year. I’ll probably even watch part of
the game played in between the ads too.