Is a Band a Brand?
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According to Black Eyed Peas' frontman, will.i.am, his most definitely is. In a recent article published by The Wall Street Journal will.i.am defines his approach to corporate sponsors, "I consider us a brand. A brand always has stylized [PowerPoint] decks, from colors to fonts. Here's our demographic. Here's the reach. Here's the potential. Here's how the consumer will benefit from the collaboration." This approach has proved successful for the man who Randy Phillips, president and CEO of the concert promoter AEG Live, says could be "the best ad executive on Madison Avenue." Not only do the Black Eyed Peas (or their songs) appear in partnership with giants like Coors, Levi's, Honda, Apple, Verizon and Pepsi, but corporate sponsor "shout outs" have become a regular part of the live show. In the first half of every show will.i.am delivers a freestyle rap he creates from text messages scrolling on two large screens on-stage. The text messages are delivered by BlackBerry, the tour's primary sponsor. The band also works in the company's tagline "Love What You Do" into the seemingly impulsive monologue during the group's performance of "Where Is The Love." The Black Eyed Peas even performed a concert in Times Square for the sole purpose of promoting a new Samsung product.
For an industry of artists who have reported "it's all about the music", this band leader has been quoted as saying corporate partnerships are equally as important as music sales. What do you think? Savvy celebrity or sellout? Can a band be a brand?
Contributed by: Allison Jobes
A Bad Case of App Envy
I have bone to pick about apps. With the launch of the iPhone and now the iPad, apps have become big business and many large brands have created apps to enhance engagement with its products. The world has gone app crazy – or so it appears.
Here’s my problem. In North America, approximately 9 million Americans have an iPhone while Blackberry has nearly 15 million users. So, WHY are apps for the iPhone significantly outnumber the number for BlackBerry. Us BlackBerry users still want to be able access Rolling Stone’s concert vault, hold up fake lighters, look at maps of foreign countries and anything else that apps can help me do.
Come on developers. Don’t forget about the BlackBerry users. We need fancy apps to pass the time in line and at stop lights too.
