Ever wonder why companies spend ridiculous amounts of money licensing popular songs for commercials? Brian Anthony Hernandez suggests on his Mashable article, “The Songs Behind Your Favorite Commercials,” that songs usually leave consumers with a positive impression of a brand.

Lately, commercials have featured many indie artists. Most likely, this is due to the increased popularity of the genre and the relatively cheap cost of licensing music from mostly unknown (but rising) artists.

Hernandez’s article included 15 ads with popular songs in them, including a few of my favorites: Kmart’s back to school ad with Janelle Monae’s “Tightrope” and Amazon’s Kindle ad with The New Pornographers’ “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk.”

The Kindle ads recently switched to “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk” from Bibio’s “Lovers’ Carvings,” a song I might always associate with delightedly reading a Kindle on a lazy summer day — not that I’ve ever even used a Kindle. But that proves that adding music to ads can really work. Every time I hear those sweet strums in the beginning of “Lovers’ Carvings,” I immediately long for a day off — and maybe a hammock — to spend reading.

It’s probably no coincidence that what might be my favorite commercial features indie music. The first time I saw the Subaru Outback “Honeymoon” commercial, I probably wasn’t even paying attention to what was on the TV. But then I heard M. Ward’s soft-but-rough voice and took notice. Since then, I’ve watched it countless times on TV and online. It has a cinematic quality to it, with a beautiful story line, but for me, it’s still the music that makes it all come together. Without M. Ward’s “Here Comes the Sun Again,” I might never have even noticed it.

Since that commercial aired, my family bought a Subaru Forester. I have to admit, before even seeing the car, I had a really positive brand perception (This wasn’t just from the “Honeymoon” ad, Subaru has had other really good campaigns and is known for its environmental consciousness). So even though I don’t immediately feel the need to run to Target when I hear Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin in the ad, the music can create powerful associations that can turn into brand loyalty.

The definition of a “die-hard fan” has changed. People used to spend tons of money on albums, T-shirts and concert tickets to show their devotion to their favorite band. But now, “die-hards” are blogging, re-tweeting and sharing digital links. 

So how does this translate into money? Well, according to an NPR article, “The Real Value of 7 Million Facebook Fans,” blog buzz can predict album sales, but crafting a digital brand that eventually results in money can take a long time for an artist.

Other people — like booking agents — are paying attention to buzz too. By staying on top of what bands people are blogging, tweeting, re-tweeting and sharing on Facebook, this side of the industry is making money — quickly. 

Booking a concert is usually a risk. Even a well known artist doesn’t always bring a guaranteed success. Social media is making it easier to find out what people are talking about, and are more likely to spend money on, instantly. 

Another interesting fact from the article: giving away songs to blogs for free (blogged songs) actually makes more money for the band and label. 

Google and Facebook have been battling it out, with Google severely lacking on the social front. Their latest answer to this actually incorporates Facebook. It’s called Cortex.

Cortex is an app for Google Chrome. With a simple click and hold of a mouse button, Cortex pops up. It’s a little wheel that allows you to post content on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instapaper. 

While it’s not a new platform, Cortex does change social media. It might free users from the tethers of the news feed. You don’t have to be on Facebook to post something to your friends anymore. Is Google trying to give Facebook less importance for the user?

I just downloaded Cortex. If you have Chrome, you should definitely check it out. This could be a really big innovation. But the question still remains:

Has Google given up on creating its own social media? 

Here’s a video on how Cortex works:

Source: http://mashable.com/2010/12/08/cortex/

Edit: I was under the impression that Cortex was developed by Google. Turns out it was created by one of their former interns. So it looks like Google’s still looking for the answer to their social media predicament. Cortex is still great, though!

Unless you’ve been in a coma, you’ve probably heard about the controversies surrounding WikiLeaks. Here’s a new one: 

According to an article on Mashable, “Facebook and Twitter Slam the Door on Would-Be WikiLeaks Avengers,” a group of hackers calling themselves Anonymous have been organizing DDos (Distributed Denial of Services) attacks on companies that have refused to do business with WikiLeaks. So far they’ve brought down all or part of sites of MasterCard, Visa, PayPal and PostFinance. This is all what they’ve been calling “Operation Payback.”

They set up a Facebook account - which was promptly removed, and then were supposedly leaking MasterCard credit card numbers via Twitter. That account has since been shut down. Both social media sites took immediate action, but Anonymous will probably continue making accounts.

In case you were wondering, DDoS attacks are definitely not legal. What’s your take on the WikiLeaks controversy?

Social media is an incredibly fast-growing phenomenon. I’ve been practically inundated with talk of social media in my graduate classes, but it seriously is an incredible transformation of business and culture.

Erik Qualman’s Socialnomics discusses just how widespread the social media revolution is. Here are three of the main points Qualman raises:

“It’s not marketing, it’s trying to engage on a level other than mass broadcast.”
Traditional marketing was a one-way street - from company to consumer. Social media has practically destroyed this way of thinking, though. Now, everything has to be interactive and communicative. Companies can’t simply use Twitter as free, 140-character advertising. They have to use it as a new way of customer service, taking feedback and responding to the customers.

Every post contributes to your individual brand.
Like it or not, every single person on the Internet has their own brand. Whether it’s under an alias or that your real name, every time you interact online, you’re making a statement about yourself. The sum of these actions is your brand - how people perceive you.
Recently, I’ve been working on creating and fine-tuning my personal brand. I created a website, kindofbleu.com, that combines my love of music and cheese to create a unique brand for myself. I also use my Twitter account to contribute to this.

Word of mouth is now “world of mouth.”
Everything we do online is instant and global. The best example I can think of to illustrate this is WSBU, the college radio station I work for at St. Bonaventure University. WSBU created a music blog on it’s website a few years ago. It got updated a few times a semester, and a few people on campus read it. But a lot of potential was lost on it. For my senior project, I updated the blog five days a week and began using social media to advertise it.  
As a result, WSBU’s music blog went way beyond campus and the small city of Olean, N.Y. Bands and record labels began retweeting and replying to our posts, adding credibility to the blog.

Social media isn’t just a trend. It’s definitely a cultural transformation.

Converse shoes have been associated with popular music for the past three or four decades. The company is continuing to expand on this relationship in its integrated marketing campaign.

Recently, Converse has been pairing artists to create original tracks to promote the brand. The first was “My Drive Thru” in 2008, which featured rapper Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D., producer and singer Santigold and The Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas (all three pictured on the right). This year brought, “All Summer,” a collaboration between Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij, indie beach-pop artist Best Coast and rapper Kid Cudi. The latest of these original songs to come out, “Didn’t Know What Love Was,” features indie dance artist Hot Chip and New Order’s Bernard Sumner.

“All Summer” has over 870,000 views on YouTube, and “My Drive Thru” has over 3 million.  

Now, in addition to the songs and Converse’s string of free concerts in New York this summer, the company is building its own studio, Rubber Tracks, which will offer artists the chance to record for free. Converse is taking applications for time in the Brooklyn studio on its website. The site will also feature clips and tracks from the sessions. 

But Converse isn’t neglecting social media. The company’s YouTube account has been posting tons of Rubber Tracks videos. As the project progresses, it looks like social media will also be a huge part of promotion for the artists involved in the process.

Converse is already listed as one of the top 20 growing Facebook pages. This could push them to the top.

Seth Godin’s The Big Red Fez is more like an instruction manual for building a website than a book. It’s formatted with an example picture on the left and a few concise paragraphs on the right. I got through the book, required reading for my Integrated Marketing Communications class, in one sitting. Despite the brevity, there’s a ton of great information. Here are ten of my favorite points Godin raises:

1. Start a conversation - Consumers are always much more likely to trust their peers than an advertisement. While The Big Red Fez predates it, this is where social media is really coming into play. Getting people to talk about your product or service is the key to success.

2. Make it easy to spread the news - Godin’s example of an e-mail recommendation form is a little out of date, but the idea still holds true. Don’t make people search for your Facebook account; most of them won’t. Make it easy - direct them there.

3. Measure everything

4. Test the most important pages - Error pages are annoying. Make sure the most important pages - most likely the ones where people are spending money - work properly.

5. Have a safety net if something goes wrong

6. Offer alternatives - Even sites like Amazon.com don’t have everything. But if they don’t, they make suggestions for alternatives. Don’t let people lose interest in your site.

7. Keep your promises

8. Proofread and edit

9. When you do screw up, have a sense of humor about it

10. It’s not always about you 

I mentioned Chris Milk’s Arcade Fire project, The Wilderness Downtown, in my last post. The director’s latest project features an even bigger artist: Johnny Cash. Milk’s new video of the late Man in Black is actually a venture into crowd sourcing.

The Johnny Cash Project is a music video for “Ain’t No Grave,” Cash’s final studio recording. The site features a drawing tool, allowing fans to add a frame to the music video. According to a YouTube video about the project, over 250,000 people have already participated.

Traditional music videos might be on the way out. Watching isn’t enough anymore. Milk’s last two projects have capitalized on personalization and participation. It won’t be long before others follow suit. There’s a reason why MTV gave up music videos - it’s a dying medium, but innovators like Milk are changing the game to keep it alive.

Arcade Fire are a true indie success story. Their latest album, The Suburbs, will be on quite a few critics’ top ten lists for this year. But what’s more incredible than the music is the way the band and its independent label, Merge Records, have marketed the album. 

The band’s online video for “We Used to Wait,” directed by Chris Milk, is a completely unique experience. The project, The Wilderness Downtown, uses Google Maps and HTML5 to create an innovative, interactive video that’s personalized for each viewer. (It works best on Google Chrome, if you haven’t seen it.) Even people who have never head Arcade Fire are suddenly watching their music video. 

Arcade Fire also opted to work with YouTube, Vevo and American Express tostream its sold-out Madison Square Garden show online. The stream, directed by Terry Gilliam, also had innovative features like “Choose Your Cam” - a controllable viewing experience. To coincide with the stream, Merge teamed up with Twitter’s @EarlyBird promotion, which offers special deals from advertisers. The record label offered The Suburbs for $7.99.

Arcade Fire still aren’t The Beatles, but The Suburbs debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard Top 200. Innovation and creativity can go a long way in the music industry. 

Source: http://mashable.com/2010/08/30/arcade-fires-chrome-video/

As music director at WSBU, one of my responsibilities is to book concerts. While researching the Montreal station CJLO for my Digital Media and Advertising/PR posts, I read about a concert they presented in September: Superchunk and Kurt Vile at Le National. Superchunk is one of my all-time favorite bands, but realistically, we could never afford them. Even beyond the budget concerns, we’d have other problems.

We’ve never been able to present a concert outside of campus. First, Olean, NY isn’t exactly a cultural hot spot. Second, it’s hard enough to get students to go to our free shows right on campus. The general apathy (toward music, at least) at St. Bonaventure won’t allow us to charge money for our shows. I love being able to offer free shows, but without money coming in, we have to book significantly cheaper acts. Cheaper acts almost always translates to more or less unknown bands, which people don’t make the effort to come see. As a result, there’s a stigma around the bands we book, even though most of them are great. It’s a bit of a conundrum.

I realize that Olean is a far cry from Montreal, but I’d love the chance to show WSBU as a community radio station. I doubt we’ll ever really get the chance to move our events off campus, but maybe that’s the wrong direction for us. Maybe with some good advertising, we can bring the community here. It won’t be Superchunk, but it’ll still be good.