Beverages, Beats and Branded Content

1 1 Confidential © 2014

8/22/14 8/22/14 social update:

Reaching millennial males with beats, Beverages & branded content? Plus: Facebook’s Buy Button, Pinterest Updates, LinkedIn ups its content game


contents Platform Updates: -  Big Week for Social Commerce: Facebook Buy Button, Twitter’s CardSpring Acquisition -  New Pinterest Features -  LinkedIn’s Acquisition Spree

Special Update: What says summer like Beverages, Beats & Branded content? To reach the somewhat elusive millennial male and offer them something unique in the way of entertainment, beverage brands from Pepsi to Miller Fortune are betting big this summer on exclusive tracks and branded content partnerships.


Last week, Facebook announced that it is testing a new buy button feature, enabling businesses to sell products directly on the social network. The button isn’t currently available to all advertisers, but presents a great way for small businesses without eCommerce platforms to take advantage of the platform’s reach. Implication: In order for it to work, people must be willing to store their credit card information on Facebook. Given the current level of mistrust, it may face a slow rate of adoption. But if and when people do, this could definitely make buying on Facebook in-the-moment more of a reality.

The Facebook buy button

http://allfacebook.com/buy-button_b133304


With the acquisition of CardSpring, Twitter can now track redemptions of offers delivered via Twitter Cards, as well as help businesses deliver relevant deals to users. CardSpring’s platform allows developers to build apps that work with credit cards, such as electronic coupons, loyalty programs, and virtual currencies, and track sales back to these digital promotions. Prior to the Twitter-CardSpring deal, things like #AmexOffers and #AmazonCart allowed consumers to get deals and add items to their shopping carts by tweeting the hashtag #AmazonCart, but Twitter didn’t offer brands a way to track redemption on the back end.

Implication: We should start to see more fun things like Starbucks' Tweet-a-coffee! In-tweet commerce may face similar barriers to the Buy Button in terms of sharing card data or linking cards. Further reading: http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/17/twitter-cardspring/ http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/twitter-cards-types/

Twitter + CardSpring: tweet-commerce?


LinkedIn went on a buying spree with two acquisitions that will increase advertising opportunities for brands on the platform: Newsle, a start-up that combs the web for relevant articles (about users’ friends, professional contacts or public figures), allows LinkedIn to provide more relevant content. https://newsle.com/ Bizo, a marketing company with a proprietary technology that lets marketers identify new prospects and target them with relevant content. http://press.linkedin.com/News-Releases/338/LinkedIn-to-Acquire-Bizo

LinkedIn ups its content game


The image-based discovery platform is rolling out pins for specific interests, another feature that will benefit online businesses by allowing them to categorize and make content more discoverable. http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2356390/pinterest-ramps-up-e-commerce-features

New Pinterest features


Reaching millennial males: Betting big on beats + branded bro content


Dr. Pepper’s one of a kind studio sessions The days of simply licensing music for a commercial are over. Brands are working with artists and producers directly to bring something unique to the table to entertain the Millennial male. Dr. Pepper’s solution was to create a music studio with Complex Media and pair emerging artists like Robert DeLong and Tinashe with renowned hip-hop producers such as a RZA to release exclusive, ‘one of a kind’ tracks over the summer, Tracks will only be available through the brand (i.e. not on iTunes) and available to stream on the site.

http://agenda.complex.com/drpepper/


Red Bull: CHOOSE YOUR WINGS. CHOOSE YOUR MUSIC. Red Bull launched their Remixed flavors this summer by doing what Dr. Pepper did with hip hop, and becoming a music studio in their right in a different genre. Red Bull partnered with renowned DJ’s, MC’s and producers to create three exclusive remix tracks from Red Bull Records and Red Bull Sound Select artists Fans are encouraged to pick and share their favorite Remixes, whether its Cranberry, Lime or Blueberry. Download, Listen and Share your flavor here: http://remix.redbull.com/


The Red bull music academy Red Bull goes beyond pairing artists and producers to facilitate fresh new music – they are creating platforms for innovation by sponsoring opportunities for musicians and culture-makers around the globe to come together. In doing so, they’re showing Millennials a common interest in furthering a passion. The Red Bull Music Academy is a series of opportunities to collaborate, recording sessions and more that happens for two weeks in a different city each year. RBMA Radio showcases interviews, special features and tracks across eight different genre channels. http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/academy

http://www.rbmaradio.com/


Rather than just hosting the Made In America music festival, Budweiser is letting fans in on the curation and production of it through a smart branded content campaign dubbed Made Underground. Partnering with Vice’s music channel, Noisey, they created a 3 month video series followed rock bands Jamie N Commons and X Ambassadors to NYC, London, Philly and Rio to find the best street performers to join them as they perform at the LA event. Footage will be streamed to at home viewers, and users are encouraged to create their own ‘MIA’ Spotify playlists and share with @budweiser for a curated channel.

Bud fans get to be in on the making of the MIA festival

http://www.madeinamericafest.com/


Pepsi’s #RealBigSummer revolves around a content hub designed to help fans discover new music, and a surprise and delight program aimed at giving fans unexpected, amazing music experiences. The hub gives tips on how to discover new artists, provides updates with what’s latest and trending within the music industry and publishes “Definitive Guides” all aimed at driving relevancy with its millennial audience. See if you’re up to date on the Best Party Songs of 2014 (so far) and more here: http://www.pepsi.com/en-us/d

Pepsi #RealBigSummer brings fans closer to the music


The mountain Dewsroom curates beyond music Launched mid-2013, Mountain Dew is attempting to bring more than just new music to fans, but a hub of branded lifestyle content curated around music, art, style and skater culture, similar to Red Bull’s 5-mm strong magazine, the Red Bulletin which caters to the action sports crowd. Green-label.com is produced in partnership with Complex Media, (a name popping up repeatedly in this deck) as it’s a content network geared at Millennial males.

http://green-label.com/


MillerCoors, like many brands, is working with Complex Media to create exclusive tracks this summer with hip-hop artists Big Sean and Curren$y on behalf of Coors Light and Miller Fortune, as well as behind-the-scenes videos that can be watched on Vevo. In addition, they’ve launched a massive content program across their brands, surrounding Millennial Males via mobile with all kinds of relevant content from partners include The Weather Company,, AOL Networks, Resignation Media, Spotify, Comedy Central and Funny or Die, theChive, and MLBAM. For example, the BrewPub Newsroom with AOL churns out sponsored content on trending topics among Millennials such as the World Cup.

MillerCoors adds real-time branded content partnerships to exclusive music plans this summer


Beers that Bring the unexpected Heineken is getting city dwellers to break away from their typical routines this summer as a part of their “Routine Interruptions” by hosting a series of “social experiments”. The first involved Comedian Fred Armisen calling a NYC payphone and asking answerers to come across the street. Those willing to go beyond their comfort zone were invited onstage with him during a standup comedy act. The next stage of the campaign is beginning now. Break your usual routine up by entering your phone number for a chance to be called on to participate at RoutineInterruptions.com Bud Light is taking over a US town this summer and offering people a weekend getaway to the secret location. The weekend will be filled with “spontaneous fun and surprises around every corner” as a way to encourage their “Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens” campaign. Digital videos are dropping clues about the actual location. UpForWhatever.com


What can we learn? Everyone wants to be at the forefront of cool, especially Millennials. Give them tools to get there. Brands are helping them get the inside edge on what’s new and next in the music industry, whether it’s unique (or “one of a kind,” in the case of Dr. Pepper) tracks and remixes, insight into the next generation of talent that will alter the music landscape via festivals like Budweiser’s Made In America, or emerging artist finders like Pepsi’s Real Big Summer project , or tools such as playlists to amp up their own summer fun.

Simultaneously, allow them to express their own individuality. Giving them choices of unique remixes or compilations allow them to best showcase their individual style, at the same time as sharing something new. Similarly, creating experiences like Heineken’s Pay Phone and Bud Light’s Up for Whatever campaign that show Millennials, ‘hey – you just be you – and we’re up for anything, so we’ll be right there with you’ helps align to the Millennial mindset of craving new experiences and adventure Sponsor innovation in an area of mutual passion. Brands can align with Millennials on a deeper level by facilitating opportunities for musicians and industry movers and shakers to meet and collaborate, like the Red Bull Music Academy, helping bring new things to the space in a non-branded way. Be unexpected. On top of bringing new music to the table, many campaigns are layering in elements where super fans or advocates are given unexpected opportunities to be closer to the music, meet the artists, etc. Participation is a strong driver of brand loyalty. Involving fans in the creation of an experience, whether allowing them to vote on top tracks or offering them a window into the curation and production of an event, like Budweiser’s behind the scenes journey up to the MIA festival, bringing them along on the journey as talent was procured from around the world.


THANKS! Questions? Thoughts? Get in touch! [email protected] Emily Canan, Social Strategist Amy Brown, Social Strategy Director

Beverages, Beats and Branded Content

Social Media

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