It’s not a phenomenon unique to any of the major wireless carriers, but the forum that concert sponsorship and promotion has entered is now as evolved as the technology it relies on for delivery.
When carriers began sponsoring live concerts as early as 2001, it was viewed primarily as a means for raising brand-name awareness among the much-coveted 16- to 24-year-old demographic. Now, artists such as Jay-Z, the Fugees, Shakira, Bon Jovi, Green Day, John Legend, Rihanna, the Barenaked Ladies, Train, Common and Latin sensation, Mana, are all clamoring for the increased exposure and interaction with fans that wireless technology can offer.
When the Fugees reunited last spring, Verizon Wireless made the concert available via its Vcast Music service. When Bon Jovi’s tour became the third-highest grossing tour of 2005 and 2006, Sprint Nextel Corp. made the most of its first major music sponsorship deal by providing exclusive content to its Power Vision subscribers. And Jay-Z, who recently came out of a short-lived “retirement,” promoted his new album by performing 30-minute shows in seven cities over a 24-hour span in partnership with the Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s Sounds Live concert series. Each concert contributed exclusive mobile content to the respective carriers.
“We’re not trying to drum up business at the concert; it’s more
organic,” said Steve Rogers, entertainment marketing manager for Sprint Nextel. “It’s about sort of borrowing a celebrity to put our name out in the marketplace,” but it’s also about providing more interaction between the artist and fan. Sprint Nextel noted that it sponsored more than 100 concert dates last year.
“We have been reaching out to the youth segment by promoting concerts for some time,” Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney said. “This was before music became a Vcast product on our phones. We did ‘N SYNC, and you know, Justin (Timberlake) has moved along way since ‘N SYNC.”
As carriers continue to expand their over-the-air track download offerings, artists are seeing the benefits multiply exponentially. “The artist is looking at Vcast now as part of their distribution channel because you can get music on a handset before a CD is out to market. It helps boost sales from day one,” Raney said. “We’ve moved to opportunities that showcase an artist’s music now. As the technology evolved, our sponsorship evolved.”
The sponsorships are a “win-win-win,” for the customer, the carrier and the artist, Raney said. “Verizon Wireless wins because this is the consumer base we want to appeal to with our music offerings.”
Wireless operators won’t disclose how much they pay to promote various artists. But they must believe they are getting a return on their investment; carriers are inking deals with artists and recording labels that are considered attractive in all markets as they continue to expand their presence in the music market. “We’ve always partnered with these companies to differentiate content,” Rogers said. “(Artists) would look for unique ways to get to the consumer and we would look for unique ways to differentiate our message.”
A good example of what the latest technology has provided in this forum is the text-to-screen feature now available at many large concerts. As early as 2004, wireless carriers began offering customers the ability to text a quick blurb or picture message to a unique number on the large screen at a concert venue. The messages would then cycle through the queue and eventually appear on the big screen for all to see. The text-to-screen feature has also worked well for contests that even further promote the respective carrier.
Original content
Carriers are even promoting invite-only concerts with big name acts to record “truly original programming” for the mobile phone, Rogers said. Content developed with the mobile screen in mind provides the end user with concert footage in much higher quality video. T-Mobile USA Inc. has promoted several exclusive concerts at the infamous Alcatraz Island near San Francisco and other carriers have rented out well-known venues for similar invite-only events.
“As part of our overall Cingular Music strategy, we are committed to creating, producing and delivering these one-of-a-kind music events for viewing on the mobile screen,” said David Garver, executive director of segment marketing and sponsorships at Cingular.
“Customers who can’t be at the concert in person can just whip out their phone,” Cingular Wireless spokeswoman Kelleigh Scott Beal said. While the concerts provide yet another opportunity to reach young customers, they also help showcase each carrier’s exclusive mobile video content.
“The key is being fresh; new ideas that the technology can use to enhance the experience both from a fan’s perspective and a wireless perspective,” Raney said.
