Pepsi Links With Vevo For Grammys New Artist Series

Pepsi links with The Recording Academy and entertainment platform Vevo for its ‘Best New Artist’’ video series to provide music lovers with a richer Grammy’s experience through a behind-the-scenes, in-depth look at the nominees.

The Pepsi-backed ‘5 Questions With’ series, which runs on www.grammy.com and across Vevo’s web-based mobile/tablet/connected TV platforms, aims to give fans a chance to discover Grammy nominees and potential winners. And learn more about them and their music.

The ‘5 Questions’ series is shot and released on Vevo in instalments in the run up to the Grammy awards and it includes Pepsi ‘Best New Artists’ ads both trailing the show in advance and airing during the broadcast.

2013 also saw the return of last year’s Pepsi ‘Best New Artist’ Pandora Mixtape project which includes tracks from both current and past Best New Artist Grammy nominees. Furthermore, Pepsi’s Grammy genre stations are also available on Pandora and each station is based on the official Grammy categories – pop, rock, rap, country to comedy etc.

Indeed, Pepsi’s multi-faceted Grammy’s partnership with The Recording Academy spans from the umbrella CBS live broadcast to the specific Best New Artist Award sponsorship. It also links its partnership with some of its other music initiatives.

During the broadcast for the 55^th Grammys, the Pepsi campaign included both creative integrations and commercial debuts.

For example, in 2013 it used the awards show to ‘introduce’ this season’s The X Factor winner Tate Stevens (part of Pepsi’s umbrella X Factor tie-in the USA). Thus, as part of Pepsi’s aspirational prize, a 30-second portion of Stevens’ first music video featuring his first single ‘Holler if You are With Me’ aired during the 10 February CBS broadcast.

Pepsi brand-ambassador Beyoncé followed up her Super Bowl Pepsi Half Time Show performance (see previous case study) with a new commercial for her upcoming ‘Mrs Carter World Tour’.

New Pepsi spokesperson country singer (and Best New Artist nominee) Hunter Hayes also made his Pepsi ad debut during the broadcast.

The soft drinks giant also ran its latest Diet Pepsi spot ‘Come On’ (featuring Sofia Vergara).

As well as a new Tropicana ad called ‘Good Day Sunshine’ (part of a new ‘Ready to Shine’ campaign) featuring singer Ingrid Michaelson.

‘Pepsi has a long history of discovering and nurturing musical talent,’ says Pepsi marketing VP Angelique Krembs. ‘Our partnerships truly showcase our efforts to introduce and deliver new and exciting fan experiences by utilizing our best-in-class assets and multiple platforms all while delivering great content to music fans around the world.’

According to the brand itself, Vevo’s Pepsi partnership for the Grammy’s with Pepsi is part of its ongoing mission to support emerging talent.

Comment:

With innovative music platform tie-ins with companies such as Vevo and Pandora, Pepsi continues to take a content-led approach to its Grammy activation.

Vevo, a Hulu-for-music type platform founded in late 2009, is a fairly new joint music video venture from Sony, Universal and Abu Dhabi Media (with EMI liceninsing its content without having a stake in the business).

Of the big four record labels only Warner is absent from the platform after it formed a rival alliance with MTV Networks. Its 50,000-plus videos are syndicated across the web and ad revenue is shared between Google and Vevo.

‘With the Best New Artist category always a hotly anticipated contest, it’s exciting for us to play a part in further introducing music fans to the recording stars of tomorrow,’ said David Kohl, Vevo EVP of Sales

The focus on new artists and spreading less known music follows this year’s joint Grammy’s/CBS campaign #TheWorldIsListening (see previous case study)

The umbrella Pepsi business is using blockbuster event sponsorships, such as this week’s Grammys and last week’s Super Bowl, to bring its individual music initiatives to life and to draw them together under one roof.

Pepsi will be just one of the Grammy sponsors hoping for a repeat of the 39m TV viewers who tuned in for last year’s awards broadcast. The 2012 version was the second most-viewed show in event’s history (the big audience may have been partly driven by the death of Whitney Houston the night before the 2012 show.

Other official Grammy sponsors include Delta, Harman, Hilton Hotels, Hyundai, MasterCard, People and P&G.

Links:

Pepsi Best New Artist YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1G7QJw8WNMk

Pepsi/Beyonce World Tour Grammy TVC YouTube (Plus ticket competition)(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qL3udRdVAzc

Pepsi & Hunter Grammy TVC YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9oO_7ItEoZs

Pepsi & Tate Stevens Grammy TVC YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8k7OE69giJU

Diet Pepsi Grammys TVC YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4YK7b2Fx44w