Download Yahoo! Music Integrated Communications Campaign

Yahoo! Music Integrated
Communications Campaign
Laura Evans
Agency: Maher Bird Associates
(http://www.mba.co.uk/flash.php)
MBA are an Integrated Communications Agency based in London
and are part of the global Omnicom network.
Agency Philosophy:
“Above and beyond; Ideas that rise above and beyond a single
channel because of our Mindset, Toolset and Skillset.”
According to MBA, their aim is to try and identify any conventions
within a market and then decide on which ones to overturn to
disrupt the market in their favour.
Yahoo! Music Brief
• Objective: Position Yahoo! Music as the number 1
music venue in the eyes of the audience.
• Strategy: By aligning the online venue of Yahoo!
Music with the biggest and best offline venues.
• Proposition: Yahoo! Music is the biggest music
venue across Europe.
Integrated Campaign
The campaign consisted of the following medias:
• Press
• Direct Mail
• Digital: Viral & Pop up
• Ambient: Fly posters
• (Visit the ‘our work’ section of
www.mba.co.uk/flash.php and select Yahoo!
Music to see examples)
Disruption or mundane conformity?
•
•
To be frank, I found the campaign a little uninspired and boring, there were no groundbreaking advancements in
creativity or the mediums used…Ironic really considering that their aim is to break conventions and disrupt the
market to produce results that go ‘above and beyond’!
I found the ambient fly posters to be their most innovative idea yet through pretty poor art direction I do not feel
that they fully capitalised on the media.
•
Considering that Yahoo! Music is an online/digital music venue I would have expected more of their attempt at
digital and viral. I consider myself to be within their target market being a regular listener of music online yet I was
certainly not drawn to the website via their pop-up or viral video. Their website (http://new.music.yahoo.com/) is
reasonably stylish and savvy though their online communications were dull which made for very poor integration.
Had their communications been more reflective and representative of the website I am sure that they would have
driven more traffic.
•
The result of the campaign was that Yahoo! Music audience continues to grow steadily as does its advertising
revenue…a very vague analysis I thought, leaves it open to much interpretation. I myself find it difficult to believe
that this supposedly ‘integrated’ campaign would have produced any dramatic results. I found no harsh criticism
surrounding this campaign online, maybe it passed by unnoticed…I did however uncover that Yahoo!’s profits took
a dramatic fall last year and as a result they have had to cut 1000 jobs
(http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/780143/Yahoo-cuts-1000-staff-profits-drop-23/). Yahoo! also chose to
open up its advertising account and changed agencies from MBA to Publicis Dialog , surely this is an indication
that they were less than pleased with the campaigns’ results
(http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1196785/yahoo_hires_publicis_dialog_in_strategic_rethink/index.ht
ml) .
True Integration…
•
•
Integrated Marketing Communications defined:
“IMC is the communications strategy that evaluates the role of different disciplines and combines them to
act as a whole to optimize the impact of persuasive communication.”
(http://www.ciadvertising.org/student_account/summer_01/ezequiel/final/IMC.htm)
•
IMC if used correctly can improve brand and communication effectiveness
(http://www.allbusiness.com/accounting-reporting/auditing/860629-1.html). The idea is to use a mix of
marketing tools in order to communicate a consistent message and brand image to the consumer.
•
According to Belch (2004)* “…consumers perception of a company are a synthesis of the bundle of
messages that they receive or the contacts that they have” Therefore if every message received is
different there will be no consistency in the mind of the consumer which will result in confusion
surrounding the brand image/values.
•
Also, it is important to recognise that media is so fragmented now and choosing the correct media
according to your target markets demographics is of vital importance. Advertisers must identify the most
effective mix of media to target their audience.
* Belch, G. and Belch, A. (2004) Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, USA: McGraw Hill
Had I run the campaign…
•
Considering that Yahoo! Music is an online music venue, the market that they really want to be
targeting is that of regular internet users that look online for the majority of their entertainment
needs.
•
And, where better to reach and communicate with this audience than online. I was surprised that
their online comms consisted of a mere viral video and pop up. The service lends itself perfectly to
many of the new technologies that have been introduced to the advertising industry over the last
couple of years.
•
Our generation of heavy internet users are well known for being marketing savvy, in order to
engage the target market it is vital to produce content that is of interest and use to the target
market. The aim should be to encourage the target market to seek out the communications rather
than attempt to enforce communications on them and make them listen.
•
Going back to Rory Sutherlands notion of the ‘Target Moment’, the question to ask is when will the
target market make use of the service? When will they be willing to listen and pay attention to your
communications and as a result click through to the website.
In-Game advertising, a force to be reckoned with?
•
Whilst In-Game advertising has been around since 2005, it is only recently that marketers seem to be
capitalising on the vast effectiveness of this medium which is now described as having the fourth
highest reach after TV internet and radio (http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/8489.asp ). It
is ideal for targeting a younger target market
(http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3575831) and with gaming having moved
predominantly online in recent years, the audience will already be interacting within the
environment that the service exists.
•
T-mobile and Mediacom identified in-gaming as being an effective way of engaging with a younger
market. They identified that existing media outlets were suffering from clutter and not cutting
through to this young market. (http://www.igaworldwide.com/advertisers/casestudies/tmobile/).
They achieved fairly impressive results with awareness within the first month reaching 25%.
•
I am certain that Yahoo! Music would benefit from in-game advertising. One possibility would be to
mimic live music event posters/billboards much like their ambient fly posters within the games.
When looking at attempting in-game something that is often stressed is the importance of context.
Much like you would select a publication or TV channel according to your target market
demographics, it is vital to ensure that the game you choose is suitable for your product or service.
One suggestion for Yahoo! Music would be Sims, in particular Sims nightlife. This takes takes Sims
into the night to explore all of their favorite after-dark activities. They could maybe sponsor any
gigs/concerts that may take place within the game.
Social media to rock the web in 2008
(http://www.channelweb.co.uk/vnunet/news/2206667/social-media-rock-web-2008)
•
Social media has massively influenced the direction that digital/online advertising has taken. It has been described
as a ‘dream marketing tool’ (http://www.imediaconnection.com/printpage/printpage.aspx?id=18035). Again,
social media is nothing new, however, advertisers and social network developers are constantly looking for new
ways to integrate advertising into social media. It is a fairly risky territory for advertisers as the content published
by users is uncontrollable which raises the need for improvements in all areas of an organisations business, not
just its online content. In the past organisations have been afraid of its power and influence due to its
uncontrollable nature, however to ignore it would be foolish. As sinister as it sounds what advertisers need is to
find a way of manipulating it for their own benefit.
•
Facebook have introduced social ads (http://www.facebook.com/business/?socialads) which offer advanced
targeting according to users interests etc.
•
I feel that social ads would be perfect for Yahoo!
Music as they can match users music likes and dislikes
and tailor their ads to their consumers needs, offering the audience something that they will identify with and
find interesting. They can update users on latest releases etc regarding their favourite artists and even suggest
new artists that they may like to listen to.
•
One of the problems identified with social media is that people are not on social networks to buy, they are there
to interact with other users and for entertainment, therefore emphasis is on brand awareness. This problem
almost works in Yahoo! Music’s favour as they are offering a service which contains free content. They would be
offering users another form of online entertainment.
Beacon, just the tip of the privacy iceberg
(http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=16&articleId=9050698)
•
Facebook have also been developing a programme called ‘Beacon’ (definition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon_(Facebook). This advertising programme has sparked much
controversy; for advertisers it offers endless opportunities and highly efficient consumer tracking
(http://www.ideashower.com/blog/block-facebook-beacon/), though on the other hand it is a
dramatic invasion of privacy for consumers
(http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=905111
9&intsrc=hm_ts_head).
•
Beacon seems to have been put on hold and as a result of petitions an opt-out option has been
introduced (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/technology/30face.html).
•
Should Beacon manage to overcome all of the criticism and find a way of existing without angering
consumers I feel it would be very useful for Yahoo! Music as it would be able to identify which C.D’s
etc users have been buying/downloading and then offer them promotions or news regarding their
preferred artists.
Second life
•
Is this online virtual community really worth while for business’s? The following quote I feel is perfect for
summing up advertising and the never ending introduction of social networks: “ All of this sounds pretty
strange, with teleporting, customizing avatars' sneakers, virtual lap dances, and all the rest. Yet as with so
much of emerging media, I've learned to stop questioning why people use it and to start embracing what
can be done with it.” (Full article;
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=50016)
•
With the strategy for this campaign being to liken the online venue to offline venues, I feel that this lends
itself perfectly to second life whereby Yahoo! Music can create a venue within the virtual world and hold
live concerts etc for users to attend. They could even attempt to break a world record by holding the
biggest concert ever with the viral environment offering an endless capacity. This would the no doubt
generate PR.
•
Ben Folds chose to publicise his new album with two virtual performances held within second life
(http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/technology/19virtual.html). Yahoo! Music could combine forces
with artists and hold concerts corresponding with new releases etc.
•
To publicise the venue you promote the service much like you would in real life, with billboards and
posters (http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2006/10/dos_and_donts_f.html). They
can again integrate the fly posters into this online community.
Widgets the new craze?
•
Many have described widgets as being the new advertising craze and some have gone so far as to say that
they will revolutionise online advertising (http://blogs.mediapost.com/spin/?p=1061).
•
The three formats of widgets that I feel would fit well with the Yahoo! Music campaign are Desktop
Widgets, Mobile Widgets and Web Widgets.
•
The desktop widget would offer Yahoo! Music a means of updating the consumer with new releases,
events or just general news. Users actually download widgets for their personal gain and use, therefore
this blatant opportunity for further promotion will not be seen as an intrusion, instead will be viewed as a
useful resource.
•
The desktop widget has developed and is now accessible with certain mobile phones, hence the mobile
widget, this offers Yahoo! Music the same opportunity as the desktop widget but with a greater scope as
the user will be able to access the widget at anytime and anywhere.
•
Last FM.Com has made great use of the web widget (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/05/10/lastfmadds-personalized-music-anywhere/). This is a great branding and advertising opportunity which also
offers the consumer a service that they will find both useful and enjoyable. These widgets can be used in
conjunction with social networks and blogs and therefore offer advertisers a way in without being deemed
as intrusive or merely trying to sell.
Revolutionary Digital Age?
(http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080131/164741144.shtml )
•
In an ideal world, all of the digital opportunities discussed within this presentation would make for a fully
integrated and effective campaign, reinforcing brand image and key messages consistently throughout, however,
no advertising exists in a vacuum and it is inevitable that an element of noise and distortion will exist.
•
Many of the blogs/sites fore-mentioned see social networks and widgets as being new revolutionary ‘dream’
media, however this is entirely idealistic. Whilst I recognise that it has had a dramatic impact on advertising and
will no doubt continue to do so in years to come, it would be completely naïve to think that there are no
disadvantages or problems. Are social networking sites really the big moneymakers they claim to be? (See
above link)
•
One of the key reasons for social networks becoming vastly popular is due to the lack of commercial content, the
likability factor is due to it being user driven content. Real people being able to express themselves ‘freely’ in a
world free of commercialism and corporate identities (http://blog.cymfony.com/2007/12/socialnetworks.html#more).
•
Therefore, with the growing development of opportunities to advertise within these social networks, surely the
sites will begin to lose their appeal and again consumers will stop listening. Social media advertising has been
likened to the pop-up (see above link), whereby advertisers wanted a way of disrupting the consumer and forcing
their communications, yet this was simply viewed as an inconvenient intrusion. As a result, pop-up blockers have
been introduced and any pop-ups that do manage to sneak through receive a very hostile reception which can
taint brand image. I feel that advertisers must tread very carefully with social media in the two years to come as a
backlash may be on the cards.