Citi sponsored the Rolling Stones’ 50 & Counting’ tour and offered gig goers and band fans a range of experiences aimed at celebrating the band’s huge contribution to the music industry.
The sponsorship’s objective was to encourage fan interaction during the tour, whilst simultaneously promoting the Citi brand to hundreds of thousands of Rolling Stones fans and potential Citi card members.
Citi worked with agency MAC Presents (NY) on its activation through the tour which began in LA on 2 May and ended on 24 June in Washington DC.
One of the stand out features of the bank’s activation was its sponsorship of the official Rolling Stones app – which created a global extension for Citi’s official sponsorship of the tour and allowed fans anywhere in the world to connect with each other and with the band.
In addition to offering breaking news, the app also provided fans with never-before-seen footage and the opportunity for users to push song nominations to the band in real time during concerts, among other features.
Through the partnership, Citi provided fans with exclusive content and an opportunity to influence the set list at shows through a By Request voting application.
Fans were able to vote from a selection of songs not included in the original set list.
The Rolling Stones played the song that received the most votes live during their show that night.
The voting module inside the app encouraged fans to vote up until the last minute and Citi brand messaging was included on the LED wall behind the stage during the show when the song was selected and announced.
iti was the presenting sponsor of By Request at the shows in Las Vegas, San Jose, Washington, D.C. and both shows in Philadelphia.
Fans were able to share their vote via Facebook and Twitter which expanded the reach of the campaign.
The Citi logo was prominently featured on the app home screen and clicked through to citiprivatepass.com.
Fans could also preview tracks for free, listen to and buy any song from The Rolling Stones catalogue on iTunes, buy exclusive merchandise, view photos and exclusive videos, engage via social media, check out tour dates and check-in from a Rolling Stones show to tell the world “I was there!”
Additionally, Citi’s sponsorship of the app extended the life of the partnership beyond the tour as their integration is still live.
Another aspect of the activation saw dual Instagram photo booths are being placed at each venue, designed to look like a Stones green room from 1972—the year of the band’s legendary American Tour.
Fans who use the #StonesVIP hashtag will have their images appear in a gallery on the app and on the Citi branded microsite at www.rsphotobooth.com.
From the site, fans can order a custom Instagram print of their photo.
The custom photo booths were designed to look like The Rolling Stones’ dressing rooms from their much-publicized 1972 American Tour.
Fans were encouraged to take pictures and post them to Instagram with the Citi created hashtag, #StonesVIP. Pictures tagged with #StonesVIP were uploaded to the gallery, which was integrated into the app.
Fans could then go into the app and share their photos directly via social media. Citi also had branded banners placed throughout the concourse of each venue that included a QR code to download the official mobile app.
Billboard was Citi’s official media partner for the tour and promoted the app on Billboard.com with digital banners and via their social media channels.
Special opportunities for Citi cardmembers include pre-sale ticket purchases, backstage tours and other hospitality experiences like access to the vintage-style custom lounges reserved for VIPs and other guests.
New content continues to be uploaded, including never before scene footage and exclusive interviews of The Rolling Stones.
Comment
The sponsorship builds on a music platform Citi has worked to build over the past few years, according to Jennifer Breithaupt, svp-entertainment marketing at Citi.
“The Citi brand is about enabling progress for our customers and I can’t think of a better band that represents that idea,” Breithaupt told Buzz. “If you think about the Stones, they’ve been trailblazers for decades, they have an enormous fan base worldwide—their fans are our customers—so it just felt like a good fit and a great continuation of what we’ve been offering in music to date.”
At the conclusion of the tour in July 2013,
The Rolling Stones official app had over 15 million page views.
The app recorded half a million page views on the date of the tour announcement on April 3, 2013.
It had a substantial jump in downloads and activity following social media promotion, exclusive content and major announcements (80% increase).
Users were highly active once they downloaded the app – averaging over 44 page views per user.
The app had 54,000 video views in the five days between April 27 and May 3, 2013.
During the tour’s eight week run, over 2 million songs had been listened to in the app.
Links
Rolling Stones VIP Photo Booth
Rolling Stones Tour App ITunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rolling-stones-official-app/id575723254?mt=8
Rolling Stones Tour App Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobileroadie.RSOfficial&hl=en
Citibank Website
https://online.citibank.com/US/Welcome.c
Rolling Stones Website
