MUSIC & BRANDS

RONAN KEATING AT PINK RIBBON NIGHT

Pink Ribbon has been fighting breast cancer for several decades now. Every year, a benefit night is organised in Switzerland to raise awareness of breast cancer and to collect donations. On 1 September 2017, Ronan Keating performed for free in front of an audience of 170 generous donors at the Pink Ribbon Night 2017. In addition to the 45-minute Ronan Keating concert, there were a number of Keating-themed auctions. In one, for example, donors bid against each other for the pleasure of dining out with Keating at a well-known London restaurant. A total of 100,000 Swiss Francs was collected on the evening, all of which went to the Marie Keating Foundation, which was set up by the singer after the death of his mother in 2001. 

STIMOROL

In 2015, Stimorol celebrated 40 years in the business with a campaign run by Universal Music Schweiz (Switzerland). Between mid August and mid October 2015, Stimorol customers had the chance to win attractive music prizes. The unique codes needed to take part in the competition were printed on Stimorol packets. Daily prizes included downloads from the entire Universal Music catalogue via Stimorol's branded download platform, while Ultimate Ears loudspeakers were given away every week. The top prize was a half day in the studio with Swiss musician Baschi for the winner and nine friends. Above-the-line and below-the-line activities were organised, and the campaign was also marketed on all Universal Music social media channels and Baschi's own social media channel. The timing of the campaign was perfectly chosen to coincide with Baschi's album release and his resulting high media presence, all of which contributed to the success of the overall campaign.

MARINnAUD

In early 2013, the Marionnaud chain of perfumeries in Switzerland set itself the goal of attracting more young clients and increasing traffic on its social media channels. To this end, Marionnaud and Universal Music Schweiz joined forces to launch a one-month campaign in January 2013. To begin with, customers who bought a Justin Bieber fragrance from Marionnaud were given a code that allowed them to download one of two Justin Bieber albums for free. Other activities were linked to a competition. For this competition, life-sized cardboard cut-outs of Justin Bieber were set up in all POS. Fans were invited to photograph themselves with the cardboard cut-out and upload the photo to Facebook. The two most liked photos won a meet & greet with the Canadian superstar and tickets to one of his concerts. Justin Bieber merchandise and CDs were also given away. Throughout the campaign, several hundred photos were uploaded, there was a sharp increase in the sales of Justin Bieber perfumes at Marionnaud, and the number of likes on Marionnaud Schweiz's Facebook page doubled.

SNACKETTI, ZWEIFEL

'Celebrate this amazing life with Snacketti and Glasperlenspiel'. That was the theme of the one-year partnership, which lasted from May 2016 to April 2017. Snacketti, a sub-brand of Zweifel, was running a major advertising campaign to market the launch of a new packaging design. The German band Glasperlenspiel featured strongly throughout the entire campaign. Seven teaser videos were shot and published on a variety of social media channels. Customers were invited to post photos to the hashtag #geilesLebenCH (English: amazing life Switzerland). These photos were collected at a social hub that was linked to a branded music platform. Customers used unique codes printed on Snacketti packets to download songs. There were also competitions to win signed CDs, merchandise, and concert tickets. The band regularly posted content relating to the partnership on its social media channels. Before Glasperlenspiel concerts in Switzerland, Snacketti distributed free packets of crisps to concert-goers. Highlights of the campaign included an exclusive rooftop showcase with the band in August 2016 (tickets for the event could only be won, not purchased) and a so-called 'fly-away' competition in spring 2017, where three lucky winners won an exclusive evening meal for themselves and one friend each in Glasperlenspiel's favourite restaurant in Berlin. The partnership was successful and Snacketti reached its goals.

CREDIT SUISSE

The Swiss bank Credit Suisse wanted to make itself more attractive to young customers and students and get more young people to open accounts at the bank. With the help of Universal Music Schweiz, a diverse campaign was prepared. The partnership began in September 2012 and ran for four years. Anyone opening a young person's or student account at Credit Suisse received one year's unlimited music streaming for Universal Music's entire repertoire on PC and mobile phones. This was the first time such an offer was made in Switzerland. Every year, there were competitions for attractive music prizes including meet & greets, concert tickets, and 'fly-aways'. In addition, one exclusive showcase a year was organised for clients. Album covers, photos of musicians, banners, and above-the-line marketing was used to advertise the 'Viva' campaign. Over the course of the campaign, the number of young people's accounts opened at Credit Suisse increased year on year. Thanks in particular to the competitions and the showcases, Credit Suisse activated new customers and enhanced its attractiveness over its competitors.  

RAYMOND WEIL

In 2016, the luxury Swiss watch brand Raymond Weil celebrated its 40th anniversary with a year-long campaign in conjunction with Universal Music. The Swiss company's objectives were to increase sales, incentivise existing customers, and to integrate music into the brand's DNA. Universal Music Schweiz provided curated online radio music channels based on the brand's different watch models. By purchasing a watch, customers gained access to a dedicated platform that comprised nine radio channels, six genre playlists, and three tribute playlists. Customers could also enjoy full-length concert videos and get news via udiscover. Brand attractiveness was also increased by global competitions offering music prizes such as meet & greets, fly-aways, and concert tickets. The platform was accessible all over the world.

HP

Computer manufacturer HP set itself three goals: to improve brand awareness on the European market, to establish an emotional connection with its customers, and to increase sales. Together with Universal Music, a 360-degree music strategy was launched in the year 2014. Anyone who bought a piece of HP equipment benefited from the pre-installed HP Lounge that gave customers 12 months free radio streaming via a specially created platform. In addition to the music, the platform featured other content such as artist news, backstage videos, and the chance to win exclusive tickets to showcases organised by HP. During the three-year partnership, a variety of showcases were held in various European cities. In all cases, demand for tickets far exceeded supply. In 2016, the American superstar Ariana Grande performed at the HP Showcase in Paris. Before the showcase, the announcement garnered over 2 million impressions on social networks. In the UK, the launch of the HP Pavilion x360 was accompanied by a successful campaign featuring the band The Vamps. As part of the campaign, fans were invited to rewrite the lyrics of a song chorus and reinvent the music video. This led to several thousand clicks on the HP product being marketed in the official online store.

MAKE UP FOREVER

In early 2017, the French cosmetic brand Make Up Forever joined forces with British pop singer Jessie J for a year-long partnership. Make Up Forever's objective was to strengthen the core values of the brand and to bolster the outward image of the brand with an authentic and creative partnership. The partnership began with the release of an original track and music video from Jessie J, 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You', in which she tried out a variety of looks. The video notched up over 650,000 hits in just 72 hours. The hashtag #IAmAnArtist was created for the one-year campaign in which Jessie J called on her fans and those of Make Up Forever to get involved in the campaign. There were online and offline promotions, in-store activities, and limited edition products.

MASTERCARD

Thanks to Mastercard, two Ellie Goulding superfans got a priceless surprise. The campaign centred on the values of Mastercard, which focuses on enabling priceless experiences. The objective of the campaign was to strengthen the brand's image and to reward Mastercard clients with an innovative and unique experience. Together with Universal Music UK, one Mastercard holder and her best friend had an unforgettable experience at the Brit Awards. The winner and her friend were told that they could sing a cover of Ellie Goulding's track 'Army' for a documentary about music fans. During the performance, Ellie Goulding surprised the two friends and sang the end of the track with them. This priceless moment and others were shown at the Brit Awards 2016.

JEEP

In 2015, Jeep launched a new model, the Jeep Renegade, on the market. Working with Universal Music US, Jeep's aim was to position the brand as young and adventurous and to increase the brand's physical and digital footprint. Together with the band X Ambassadors, a customised song entitled 'Renegades' was written and produced. The track was used to advertise Jeep Renegade. Not only did X Ambassadors appear in the advertisement, Jeep also availed of the opportunity to place its product in the official X Ambassadors video for the song. The advertisement was viewed more than 1.5 million times on YouTube, and the song was the band's most successful on Spotify with over 250 million streams.

COCA COLA

The brand Coca Cola and Universal Music have already worked successfully together on a number of occasions both at global level and in individual regions and countries. The 'Say it with a song' campaign ran in 2014 and triggered a number of follow-up projects. The aim of the 'Say It With A Song' campaign was to get young people right across Europe to re-engage with the brand. By printing simple, easily recognisable lyrics on bottles, the attractiveness of the product at the POS was enhanced. By scanning the QR code printed on the bottles, consumers were brought to a landing page, where they could choose from a variety of short emotisongs comprising a brief message, music, and the relevant video clip. The short emotisongs could be sent as a private message or shared on social media. The campaign achieved 1 billion social media impressions, and Coca Cola boosted average sales by 9 per cent per week.

RAIFFEISEN

The partnership between Raiffeisen Schweiz and Universal Music began in August 2017. As part of the revamping of the bank's YoungMemberPlus services, 12–26-year-old customers get access to a broad selection of music, exclusive news, and competitions on 'Raiffeisen Music'. 'Raiffeisen Music' is available as an app for iOS and Android and can be accessed on the website music.raiffeisen.ch. The music service offers all Raiffeisen's YoungMemberPlus customers a broad range of music with a variety of curated music channels. The users can filter a total of 72 channels according to artists, genres, and moods. Favourite songs can be saved, which means they can be listened to offline at any time. Every week, new artist channels with new releases from Universal Music are presented. Both Raiffeisen and Universal Music Schweiz regularly advertise the partnership both in media campaigns and mail shots. A total of 20,112 app downloads and 11,458 cumulated users were recorded by 31 December 2017. Thirteen competitions were held, with YoungMemberPlus customers winning two fly-aways to hot concerts, signed merchandise, or meet & greets.