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It's glamorous and sexy and, if it's used in the right way, music can be the ideal vehicle for promotional activity. But though it has the power to transcend all demographics and connect immediately with many target markets, there is an emerging concern that promoters are using the medium whether it suits their brands or not.

The emotional pull of music, combined with the fact that promoters are choosing it as an easy option - as one marketer admits - are being seen as reason enough to invest.

"All too often, clients are saying 'Let's do music' without having a genuine reason," argues Matthew Foulk, new business manager at youth marketing agency Iris. "But they need to make sure their brands and properties are adding benefits and value."

Ruth Simmons, managing director of music marketing firm Songseekers Group, agrees. "The brand must have an honest relationship with the consumer and it must be strategic in how and what music it uses," she says.

When companies use music tactically, as a one-off, rather than strategically as part of an overall marketing plan, there is a high risk that the consumer will turn off from the brand.

For Rob Hanlon, business development manager for special projects at Warner Music UK, promotions involving music increasingly have to become more sophisticated to achieve standout. "Gone is the golden age of three or four years ago, when your standard CD covermount dominated the scene," he says.

Savvy promoters understand that one CD push does not make a music strategy and use the medium as a conduit to deliver brand messages in a multi-layered way. ±±¾©Èü³µpk10s can incorporate everything from sponsorship, competitions, artist endorsement, online or in-store support, and sometimes CDs will be included within that.

To highlight the variety of ways in which brands can lever music strategically, P&I rounds up four case studies from four sectors.

FINANCIAL SERVICES
Brand: MasterCard
Client: MasterCard
Agency: Arc Marketing (SP)/Big:Group (sponsorship)
Budget: Undisclosed
Timing: Jan-Mar 2003

Objectives: To raise brand awareness and increase usage among MasterCard's 19 million UK cardholders and to continue raising awareness of its association with two high-profile UK music events.

Strategy: As well as sponsoring the Brit Awards for the fifth year running and The MOBO Awards, MasterCard upped the promotional ante in 2003 to take on a number of music-related competitions. The promotions were designed to tie in with the brand's "priceless" marketing theme, with the Brits as a prime example of a priceless evening, of a type that money cannot buy.

A competition running in The Times gave consumers the chance to win VIP tickets to the awards and the winner was flown to New York on Concorde to attend the Grammies a few days later. Similar competitions ran on mastercard.co.uk and on TV and radio.

In 2003, the company decided two music programmes weren't making its music strategy work hard enough, so it looked at ways to extend its association. "It was important to own credible music properties with extensive rights that could be passed on to MasterCard's member banks and cardholders. Sponsoring these events has built a strong relationship with the music industry," says Amelia Mauldon, MasterCard marketing manager for northern Europe.

She adds: "The deal also allowed us to tap in to the growing £2.1billion CD sales market in the UK so that consumers see us as the best way to pay for music." MasterCard worked with retailers so that consumers could receive discounts and money off their music purchases.

Results: The 2003 promotion delivered high awareness created by media coverage and event broadcast sponsorship (the audience for the 2003 awards was up 20 per cent year on year).

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
Brand: Strongbow
Client: Bulmer
Agency: RPM
Budget: Not disclosed (but second only to TV advertising in media spend)
Timing: May-November 2003

Objectives: Over the past four years, Bulmer has run The Strongbow Lounge at festivals. For 2003, the aims were to recruit 120,000 new Strongbow drinkers; strengthen the brand's visibility and credibility with 18-24 year-olds; and build deeper ties with existing Strongbow fans.

Strategy: Bulmer decided to reinforce its festival and Ibiza associations in 2003 with the launch of The Strongbow Rooms.

The concept, featuring chilling, playing and dancing zones, made its first appearance at WeLove ... Homelands in May. It also visited the Godskitchen Global Gathering, Newquay Surf Festival and Pride in the Park in July, and V Festival and Creamfields in August. In Ibiza, Strongbow teamed up with club night Sunday Best to launch a series of high-profile beach parties throughout the summer. Philip Pick, Strongbow's senior brand manager, says: "We knew the experience had to evolve if we were to be seen as credible in a fast-changing target market. So we implemented a new structure, taking on credible DJs to extend the experience to Ibiza." This year's live events programme is backed by local on-trade pushes and a PR and new-media campaign. The Strongbow Refreshment team is also on hand for 14 weeks in Ibiza, sampling at bars.

Results: Strongbow sampled more than half a million consumers this way last year. On average, almost one in three became regular Strongbow drinkers, exceeding recruitment targets by 30 per cent. Early results for 2003 indicate this year is on target to outshine 2002, with sales of Strongbow at Homelands 2003 up 20 per cent on last year. To date, website traffic and PR coverage is also significantly higher than last year.

FMCG
Brand: Coca-Cola/Cherry Coke
Client: Coca-Cola GB
Agency: BD Network/Flytxt
Budget: Undisclosed
Timing: March-end August 2003

Objectives: To drive repeat purchase; increase customer retention; build relationships with new and existing customers; generate customer intelligence.

Strategy and results: Coca-Cola has used music as a key part of its activity, with pushes that include Coke Auction, Music4You and Make Some Noise.

A company spokesperson says: "Music works particularly well to connect with our consumers because of its universal appeal."

The latest push, Txt for Music, offered consumers the chance to collect tokens via their mobile phones and access exclusive CDs as well as the opportunity to attend a series of eight exclusive Red Room Sessions, featuring artists such as Mis-Teeq, Feeder, Kym Marsh and Busted.

The promotion was the UK's first ever scheme to use mobile phones as a credit collection scheme. It ran on more than 200million packs and was the largest on-pack promotion for CCGB to date.

The Coca-Cola spokesperson says: "Consumers are more savvy today: they use technology and mobile phones as part of their daily lives and want to be communicated with in that way. However, there is also a requirement to make promotions easy to access and relevant to the way people live their lives."

Market researcher Millward Brown claims Coke's association with music has been enhanced through the activity so far.

ELECTRICAL
Client: Samsung
Agency : PMA Marketing
Budget: Undisclosed
Premium: The Matrix Reloaded Gift pack, including soundtrack CD
Supplier: Warner Music UK
Timing: July-August 2003

Objectives: To raise awareness of Samsung and increase new product sales.

Strategy: Samsung was official sponsor of the movie The Matrix Reloaded.

PMA Marketing managing director Leslie Fleischman says: "We decided to link Samsung with a Matrix gift pack that included a soundtrack CD and DVD. They were a great match as both were seen as high-tech and fast-moving." Consumers are given a free original soundtrack as part of a Matrix-themed summer promotion on Samsung's brown goods and PC products. Consumers spending more than £99 on goods such as Samsung PC Notepads, DVD players and home cinema systems can claim a free movie gift pack that includes the film soundtrack (featuring artists such as Marilyn Manson and Propellerheads).

The pack also includes a DVD.

The push is running in 2,500 stores nationwide, including Dixons, PC World and John Lewis. Any customer who mails a copy of their receipt is eligible to enter a prize draw, with a trip to Los Angeles to visit Warner Brothers Studios up for grabs. The push was in-field as P&I went to press, so results are unavailable.