Brands & Bands to meet at MIDEM

Major brands ranging from toy manufacturer Mattel to drinks giant Coca-Cola and from sportswear specialist Puma to electronics powerhouse TDK, are heading to MIDEM 2011 confirming the pivotal role that music plays in establishing brand awareness with clients.

As part of the ‘Music & Brands’ conference programme, senior executives from Mattel, Hennessy, Mahou San Miguel Group, New Yorker, TDK Life on Records and Diesel will take centre stage on January 24 to discuss the importance of music as part of their international brand development strategy.

On the same day, Coca-Cola will explain its groundbreaking partnership with Somali-Canadian poet, rapper, percussionist and songwriter K’NAAN as part of its recent $300 million FIFA World Cup 2010 campaign.

“Already in the ’50s, Coca-Cola commissioned artists like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to create this brand’s music jingles,” recalls Emmanuel Seuge, Group Director, Worldwide Sports & Entertainment Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company. “Music raises so much passion around the world and it represents, for The Coca-Cola Company, a fantastic opportunity to build emotional connections with our targets while driving our business. MIDEM brings together ideas, creativity, professional players and all the required connections. We want to work with labels and music industry experts and we find at MIDEM the means and resources we need to do that.”

“Music is an essential part of any brand marketing strategy, which is why the likes of Proctor and Gamble or advertising specialists Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi or Arnoldklp, attend MIDEM,” comments Dominique Leguern, MIDEM Director. “You only have to look at the association of a great artist, a great multinational group and the world’s most popular sport, to understand the potential upside of bringing together the music community and international brands.”

Faced with the decline in sales from traditional music distribution, teaming up with international brands offers artists alternative revenue sources and worldwide exposure. “Throughout the past 50 years, music has proven to be both objectively and emotionally relevant to the Mattel brand consumer,” says Katrina McMullan, Senior Counsel Music and Entertainment at Mattel. “The decline in traditional means of music consumption, like the CD, has been opposed by the rise of use of music in new platforms – like toys, consumer products, branded entertainment and advertising. MIDEM is a perfect forum to bring together these non-traditional partners, like Mattel, with the music industry to craft new ways of using and monetizing music.”