Most people would not have known that there is a kick-ass,
hard-core, hip-hop act in Hong Kong which had a parental advisory
sticker on its CD cover. Fewer still would believe that the band's music
and attitude had been picked up for use by a major international brand
which itself was having a knock-on effect of the band's CD sales,
reportedly moving by the truckloads. The band is LMF, the brand, San
Miguel.
If that is not extreme enough, take clean and placid Singapore - a place
where you would expect to hear cover bands churning out polished
international chart-toppers in bars and hotel lounges. But, while the
same political party stays in power, the musical powers that be have
been encouraging the growth of local artists, a development hampered
more by a shortage in financing than ideas or creativity. Again, a major
international brand stepped in, searched high and low for the best
up-and-coming band and launched it onto the Singapore scene. The band is
Urban Xchange, the brand, Coca-Cola.
These are not isolated examples of what is being touted as a radical
change, a revolution even, in the way local contemporary music is
developing, its consumption by Asia's young consumers and how brands are
capitalising on the trend.
It's not just the youth brands that are blazing the music trail.
Marketers of mainstream brands are fast getting in on the act.
For many years, music in Asia was considered more of an after-thought
than an integral part of a campaign, with a brand's musical heritage
sometimes changing from agency to agency.
Schtung Music managing director Morton Wilson believes the change is
long overdue. "Music can add an enormous amount to a brand, such as a
comedic feel in the three-spot Wellcome (a Hong Kong supermarket chain)
campaign we recently did that racked up the tempo each time. It added a
refreshing lightness and enhanced the theme running through it. With
humour, entertainment and personality driving it, you feel better about
the brand," he says. "The role music plays cannot be underestimated. For
instance, you need to know how long it will be on air. If it is for a
long time, you don't want to try too hard with tracks that people may
tire of. There are so many missed opportunities."
An example of working together can be seen in Grey Worldwide's
relationship with Schtung. Over the three years the two worked on
Procter & Gamble's Pantene shampoo account, 12 songs were composed and
produced . They will now be marketed as a CD.
Producing a CD is increasingly offering brands a way to extend their
marketing and branding activities deeper into the lives of
consumers.
In the US, Toyota launched a US$160 million campaign to improve
the sex appeal of the country's best-selling car, the Camry. Music
featured prominently in the campaign which included TV spots, inflight
ads, billboards, online links and magazine spreads. Toyota has also
looked at producing a CD with entertainers such as Jennifer Lopez, Lyle
Lovett, and Earth, Wind & Fire, plus artists' interviews and information
about the Camry. Further proof of Toyota's growing musical credentials
is its sponsorship of this year's MTV and VH1 music awards.
In Asia, change began a few years ago when international music
celebrities were used to help sell products. And, in many cases they
still do. Motorola was one of a slew of mega-brands to use Moby
globally. Jaguar featured the Sting song Desert Rain and Epson tied in
with the Bon Jovi track It's my life, to name a few.
However, as brands try to localise, it would seem that the days of the
young and beautiful celebrities are drawing to an end.
In their place, local bands - short on looks but high on energy -
boasting a local following and with a repertoire of original
compositions have stepped in.
Having recognised this trend, brands are scouring bars and music
studios, looking to break in local acts, sign them on early in their
careers and - along the way - share their limelight as theband's
popularity soars.
Into this tantalising mix come the record companies, which work with
youth-oriented brands to sign up these artists, who will help companies
deliver campaigns that drive straight into the heart of Asian youth
culture.
A recent landmark study into marketing to Asia's youth by Filter and
Asia Market Intelligence called "Digital Tribes" found that youth
'tribal' tendencies are particularly strong in music, sport, fashion and
technology.
The survey was conducted by interviewing just under 10,000 people aged
15 to 64 in 20 cities.
"Our hypothesis is that youth form membership of a number of different
special interest groups or tribes. The intensity of membership is best
measured by establishing how passionate they are to each tribe," says
Filter founder Ian Stewart. "Youth with highly passionate membership of
a tribe will have built their lifestyle around their tribe's
characteristics. Brands wishing to reach these consumers would also have
to adopt the tribe's character to form relationships with youth."
Music offers a defining way for tribes to differentiate themselves from
one another. Among the different music genres, hip-hop has emerged as
the choice of the youth generation, revealing the attitude of tribal
members.
"One implication we found was that it is becoming increasingly difficult
for brands to send out generic marketing messages. Brand communication
must adopt tribal tendencies to connect," says Stewart.
The use of local music to communicate brand messages is a clear example
of how brands are becoming more localised.
Universal Music recognised this trend and is running with the ball in
the race to discover and sign up tomorrow's hottest name. It's a win-win
investment strategy, according to the music label: it helps discover new
talent, sign them up, get them promoted for free by a brand and count
the cash when CD sales take off.
"There's a new generation emerging who understands that the easiest way
to localise is to use a local artist," says Universal Music Asia-Pacific
vice-president of creative services and corporate communications, Hans
Ebert. "The challenge is to find more alternative and up-and-coming
young acts."
Urban Xchange has been described as the perfect fit for Coca-Cola, but
by and large it's not easy finding original local acts. The brand found
just five acts to audition in over one year.
"We were able to identify an up-and-coming musical talent right on the
cusp of being discovered. Our relationship has meant visibility for them
and local relevance to youth for Coke," explains Coke's agency
McCann-Erickson Singapore managing director Ray Dempsey. "Urban Xchange
is now the most successful band in Singapore and the band is tied to
Coke."
Another brand that is banking on music, though not necessarily a genre
likely to fire up youth passions, is Pacific Century Cyberworks. The
Hong Kong-based communications service company recently launched a
multi-million dollar television campaign centred on music in China for
its 1010 mobile telephone brand.
The 60-second spot features China's former child protege, classical
pianist, Yundi Li, who at the age of just 17 won the prestigious
Frederick Chopin Piano Competition. "We chose Li because he is the best
in the world. We thought he was appropriate because he represents what
1010 is trying to achieve - to be the best," says Euro RSCG Partnership
vice-president for Grand China Anthony Wong, who handles the 1010
account. While 1010 is not necessarily trying to become relevant to
China's youth through an edgy, angst-ridden performance, what it does
reveal is the rising tide in the use of local artists.
But the music at the cutting edge for brands going after the youth
market lies, as evidenced by Filter's piece of research, with hip-hop.
CD sales of international artists Eminem and Limp Bizkit in Asia hit a
million units each and seems to be driving the growth of a new
home-grown brand of music.
"The market in Asia is changing. It is moving away from Cantopop and
ballads. You just need to go to the clubs where the kids are hanging
out. Brands don't want mainstream acts now, but really new breaking
acts," says Ebert.
Universal recently collaborated with Levi Strauss Asia-Pacific on its
recent 11-market, in-store campaign called 'Fresh Cuts', which features
the music of Universal's newest and most innovative acts, both local and
international, from the US' Alien Ant Farm to Japanese hip-hop act
Dabo.
Compiled on a monthly basis, the information on the artists is given out
in stores and featured in programmes. CDs of the music showcased in the
stores will also be sold.
"The idea is to create an association with new and experimental music,"
says Levi's agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty chief executive officer for
Asia-Pacific, Chris Harris. "It is creating a new in-store experience.
Kids now don't want slogans. Instead there are breaks, play lists and
music chat.
"The music is all original and features local artists. We have moved on
from the day of the jingle. There is now a need to entertain and engage
which requires music and visual communication."
