Research In Motion (RIM) is collaborating with Channel 4 on a new reality TV show following UK festival fans through the summer.
‘Summer Daze with BlackBerry’ is a ‘shades and wellies and all’ eight-part interactive music series starting in early July on the T4 stream.
Produced by Monkey Kingdom, its focuses on a group of music-loving 18 to 25-year-olds – from the dance crew to the yurt maker – and will follow the current ‘structured reality show’ format that has so proved so popular in the UK with programmes such as ‘The Only Way is Essex’ and ‘Made in Chelsea’.
But this show is sponsored by BlackBerry and the brand will be embedded in the programming across several levels and channels.
BlackBerry will deliver multi-platform coverage by launching an online hub for the show on its own site. This will offer exclusive content and viewers will also be able to interact with both the stars and the brand through social media platforms.
The BlackBerry programme website also includes a show launch ticket competition. The giveaway offers consumers a chance to win one of five pairs of tickets to T4 on the Beach on Sunday 1 July at Weston-Super-Mare, North Somerset.
Richard Ashley, UK marketing director for Research In Motion (RIM) says the show, its stars, conent and target all go to the very heart of the brand because BlackBerry is about celebrating people who make things happen.
Not to be confused with the existing ‘Summer Daze’ DJ music festival held in Altringham, this new show aims to fit neatly with BlackBerry’s new global campaign that celebrates ‘People In Action’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxSZWKkJXbM
Created by Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO, the brand’s new multi-million pound global consumer-facing marketing push for its smartphones and tablets juxtaposes images representing active and inactive choices, such as a pair of slippers versus a pair of ballet shoes and a cookery book shown against a take away.
TV work is based around the idea that BlackBerry users are people of action and devices running on the BlackBerry 7.1 operating system facilitate action through specific features including BlackBerry Messenger, which allows the sharing of music.
The campaign launch spot ran under the tagline ‘There are people who don’t. And there are people who do. Do you?’.
Sarah Probert, senior director of brand marketing and communication at RIM says ‘Our intention is to celebrate the idea of choice. We all make choices every day and BlackBerry is there to help the consumer make those decisions and achieve their goals..
The TV spot broke on Saturday during ITV’s ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ final and will be followed by a 60-second cinema execution launching at the beginning of June.
Comment:
Summer Daze is not BlackBerry’s first brand-funded, music-related TV.
During the last few years it sponsored a programme called ‘Live and Lost with Blackberry’, which featured music artists attempting to travel hundreds of miles to their concerts with only the help of fans. BlackBerry enlisted the support of several UK rising star artists for the show and its parallel digital tour.
The programme, introduced back in 2009, was run in partnership with Myspace and the emerging artist FrankMusi, saw bands including ‘The Wanted’, ‘Example’ and ‘Professor Green’ abandoned somewhere in the UK with only £20 and a BlackBerry Torch handset.
The artists then had to make their way to a gig on the other one side of the country in just five days with only the support of their fans and their BlackBerrys.
Live and Lost used social media channels to drive awareness and participation among the brand’s target youth demographic. Fans were encouraged to support their favourites acts with offers of food, shelter or transport, in return for free gig tickets and the opportunity to win private performances at their school or home.
The initiative aggregated content across BlackBerry Messenger, Flickr, Foursquare, Twitter and YouTube on the BlackBerry UK Facebook page.
Links:
BlackBerry Summer Daze Website
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