Marketing in the Music Industry

I, like millions of other people around the world, enjoy listening to music. But I have come to realize how large of a role marketing has in the music industry, whether creating a commercially successful artist or name-dropping the artists' favorite brands. For example, there are a million struggling artists with real talent not being able to make money with their music while rappers who can barely rhyme make millions. Why is this occurring you ask? Marketing is why. Marketing is the reason for everything. If a musician is able to create a brand around himself and create value for the listener they will for sure sell albums which will lead to tour dates, which will ultimately lead to profits. A prime example of this phenomenon is the rapper French Montana. French is the farthest thing from the most talented rapper but because he is charismatic and endorsed by the right people, he has been able to build a brand around himself while creating value for listeners.There is a flipside to this coin however, as immensely talented artists stay under the radar and never achieve success that they may deserve.

                                                           French Montana displaying his wealth

Also, branding in the music industry is very important. Rappers often brag about all the expensive things they buy with their money, giving listeners an implanted idea of lavish things they should aspire to own. Many clothing brands have benefited greatly from this. One listen to A$AP Rocky's song "Fashion Killa" will make you want to splurge on a fashion trip in Paris. Artists love bragging about the things they can afford and that will not stop as long as there is branding involved.

Product Placement

  Watching television nowadays is equivalent to sitting down and reading a coupon book. No matter what, without fail, there will probably be ten minutes of actual programming followed by a bevy of advertisements. This is to be expected though, because television ads are the best way to reach the most amount of viewers. Not only can you reach a vast amount of viewers you can target who you want based on the program. For example, every Sunday during the NFL season there will be beer commercials, truck commercials, and insurance commercials. This is because the main viewers of these games are American males that like trucks, beers, and money. On the other hand, you watch an episode of Gossip Girl (not that I know from experience), you will probably see make-up or other commercials that target females.
   Marketers are incredibly clever for doing this approach because it is so efficient. There are no wasted commercial slots on television because all the advertisements are uniquely tailored for their targets. As I sit here and watch NFL games I have counted a beer commercial every break in action, as well as a commercial for Fantasy football. I have previously blogged about the NFL being a cash cow, but it is absolutely ridiculous now. Next Sunday the NFL will be hosting a game in London, an untapped market for the American game. I am interested to see how the locals will react to our sport, as there have been previous attempts to create a franchise there. My prediction is that the two teams will play a mediocre game and the NFL's attempt to expand their product will ultimately fail again.
   Some advertisements make me depressed when I realize what kind of audience is being marketed to. While watching daytime television during what would usually be a work day, it is easy to see that companies are marketing to the unemployed. For instance, there are always commercials for technical schools and places that give patents. Also, late night commercials make me feel guilty because they are targeting the depraved adult market. Comedy Central is notorious for advertising raunchy videos that are only available to be bought by adults. Long story short, I plead with viewers to analyze what commercials they see when watching their program and to whom the commercials are intended.

Advertising in the NFL

As an avid watcher of the NFL, I have recently realized that not only are they one of the most successful companies in the world, but they have done an amazing job creating value around their league and what their league advertises. Football is a mainstay in the United States, and even with the disturbing acts of abuse and violence by players, I never see that changing. The NFL has built up a company that generates billions of dollars through viewership and advertisements as well. Companies pay top dollar to get airtime during an NFL broadcast, and will even pay millions of dollars to secure a 30-second time slot for the Super Bowl. Seemingly everyone in this country has some interaction with either the league itself or one of its many corporate sponsors. Comcast, Visa, Verizon, Gatorade, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola are just some of the companies that sponsor the league; showing the amount of reach and power the NFL truly has over the marketing world. On Sundays, millions of North Americans' eyes are glued to the screen watching football, a market that every company is eager to capture. The commercials that air during football games seem to have a similar formula, you like watching football and we have some way to enhance your viewership. Visa promotes the opportunities the company offers for a person to watch their favorite teams play all over the country. Gatorade sponsors specific superstars in the league, suggesting that kids can grow up to be like their favorite players as long as they drink their sugar-laden product.  Microsoft boasts that they are improving the NFL because they are introducing more and more technology to the league.

Even stadiums themselves are owned by companies: the New England Patriots play in Gillette Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers play in Levi's Stadium, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play in Raymond James Stadium. These are just three examples because it would tedious and repetitive to list off all 32 stadiums of the NFL. The experience of going to these stadiums is similar to sitting at home watching the game, you are constantly being forced to look at advertisements in the stadium, and all the advertisements are centered around football. The NFL is essentially a monopoly that will never topple because too many people like watching football, and too many important companies have invested too much money in sponsorships. Basically, the NFL is too big to fail because it has tremendous value to stakeholders, even if there are instances where the players are seen doing horrendous acts. Roger Goodell, commissioner of the NFL, has the best job security in the nation right now because he heads a billion dollar industry.

                                                             Goodell probably thinking about all of his money

Change of Season, Change of Strategy

  As the season changes from summer to fall, there is a noticeable difference in the products being marketed and to whom they are being marketed. Watching television now, you do not see stores trying to market their products in beach settings, rather you see people wearing warmer clothing outside in the autumn leaves. Car companies have also changed their methods, showing their products driving down a street with lots of foliage, taking the family to go pumpkin picking; whereas just a month ago the car would be packed up and ready for the family to make a trip to the beach.

  The need to stay fresh in the marketing world has become overly transparent because products that are not marketed in a way that is relevant to the person will not demonstrate any value. For instance, advertisements for seasonal products need to be aware of the upcoming season because if they run an advertisement for the winter too long, their target market will deem the ad irrelevant and most likely not buy their products. Looking around many retail stores such as Christmas Tree Shop and Wal-Mart, you will see mostly fall and Halloween themed items placed close to the entrances of the store. The summer items have either been taken off the shelves or hidden in the back of the store because it is not very likely a customer will come into the store looking for a pool toy anymore. Relevancy is key in marketing and the most relevant strategy for marketing firms is to know who you are trying to sell your product to, and what they are looking for in a product. What the customer is looking for usually revolves around the seasons, because the change in weather dictates what kinds of activities people are doing.

                                               A Mitsubishi ad demonstrating the foliage technique

Watch a 30-minute block of television and you will not see the same advertisements you were used to seeing during the summer. Everything will feature more foliage, flannels, and football. If there is one thing you can count on in fall advertisements, it is that people will probably be tossing a football around with their kids or family while the company tries to market their product. The try to give their commercials a family type atmosphere because Thanksgiving is right around the corner and everyone loves Thanksgiving, right? Everyone also loves foliage, which is one reason why a plethora of car commercials will have a breathtaking, bird's eye view of the car driving down the road through a forest of beautiful yellow, orange, and red leaves. Companies strive to stay relevant while demonstrating their value to the customer, often leaning on portraying their company as having a wholesome outlook that will benefit the whole family.


9/24/14  8:42pm

The Swoosh

Going to the gym today, I noticed that a majority of the people were wearing some sort of Nike product—whether it were shoes, shirts, socks, etc. The plethora of Nike gear made me realize how effective Nike is at creating value for their product just by promoting their brand. Although there are other apparel companies that produce athletic wear that rivals, maybe even surpasses Nike, the Nike Swoosh is a logo that all can recognize and immediately know what the product has to offer. Just talking with my buddies about the product we all agreed that even though competitors such as Under Armor makes quality shirts, we always revert back to buying Nike. We don't go back because of any personal relationships, but because the products provide customer delight.
     To truly understand why the Swoosh is prevalent in places such as the gym is to look at their marketing a strategy, a strategy that revolves around athletics. Nike enrolls and sponsors the best professional athletes from around the world to wear their products on national television. Because these athletes are usually superstars, they are seen on the fields excelling in their sport, winning championships, overall just being a role model for any young fans watching their favorite sport. Under Armor has a similar strategy but got its start in producing shirts, which is what most people imagine when they think of that brand. It wasn't until Under Armor released the "click, clack" campaign for football cleats did they try and capture market share for athletic shoes from Nike. It was too late for Under Armor by then because Nike has always been ingrained in the athletic shoe market. One can think of memorable ads produced by Nike even though they were before their time. For example, the "Bo Knows" campaign is as iconic as Bo Jackson himself, the Michael Jordan ad with Spike Lee is also a keystone advertisement for the brand.
      The moral of the story here is that Nike is at the top of athletic apparel and that does not look to be changing anytime soon. The Swoosh is the king, has been for a long time, and probably will be for a long time. As long as they keep enlisting the support of Hall of Fame athletes and overall superstars, little kids everywhere will grow up idolizing Nike. Not only will these kids be raised on the ethos of their parents, but will also be engrained by Nike's motto "Just Do It".