Target's Imagine Dragons GRAMMYs Mini-Concert Is First Live US Commercial

GRAMMYs sponsor Target made a bit of history by partnering on the USA’s first ever live commercial break in the form of an Imagine Dragons mini-concert-commercial.

Target, which has sponsored the show for the past 15 years using traditional spots, is reported to have invested $8m to bring the live show (the first live ad in the 57-year history of telecast) from a stage on the streets of Las Vegas to the GRAMMYs TV viewers.

The stage, incidentally, was shaped into the Target logo.

The real-time music stunt show initiative followed on from the Imagine Dragons’ own so-called ‘performance of the night’ at last year’s GRAMMYs.

Like last year, Target bought eight 30-second spots from broadcaster CBS, but opted to merge them together in order to give music fans #MoreMusic with the brand’s space.

This four-minute performance of ‘Shots’ included a 360-degree screen, helicopter footage, 22 cameras and even striking LED fan jewellery.

The tactics included teasing the surprise stunt performance on social media (including Snapchat and Twitter) ahead of the event with clues.

The initiative used the hashtag #moremusic and marketed the release of Target’s exclusive deluxe edition of the band’s upcoming album ‘Smoke & Mirrors’.

Post-event, Target used Twitter’s “Flock to Unlock” feature to share behind-the-scenes video from Imagine Dragon’s live performance.

The live ad was an immediate huge PR and social media success.

Safe to say this live @ImagineDragons show is the most fun commercial break ever! #MoreMusic #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/H652NLn56N

— Target (@Target) February 9, 2015

Awesome show!! ❤️ @Imaginedragons #MoreMusic @Target #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/HUi9jxQDpv

— Justine Ezarik (@ijustine) February 9, 2015

The performance was also turned into a 30-second spot which ran in heavy rotation the week after the GRAMMYs – to coincide with the 17 February limited edition, exclusive album release.

‘We had this idea that was very bold and very simple, too,’ explains Target marketing VP William White.

‘What do fans want when they’re watching the music awards? More music performances.’

The goal was simple – put fans closer to the artist in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to do.

The live performance was attended by 300 fans in downtown Las Vegas: all wearing LED wristbands and necklaces.

The mini-concert as helmed by music director (and GRAMMY winner) Jonas Akerlund who commented:

‘It’s like a big ass spaceship landed into the middle of downtown in Vegas. In the first part of the song you don’t know where they are and then at the end is the big reveal. Katy Perry can do fireworks. We’ll do rock ‘n’ roll. It’s very rock ‘n’ roll. I’ve never done anything like this. For me, it’s a huge.’

Target and the Imagine Dragons worked with creative agency Deutsch LA, marketing/media outfit Haworth, PR agency Rogers & Cowan, social media agency Carrot, as well as with CBS and the Grammys.

Of course, Target has a heritage for youthful, fun, and energetic marketing and the brand has previously run band collaborations – such as its Coldplay campaign

and its work with Justin Timberlake at last year’s GRAMMYs award ceremony (see case study).

But according to William White, Target’s Vice President of Marketing, the ongoing challenge and opportunity for Target is to constantly provide their customers with ‘more’ and that means something ‘new’ and ‘unexpected’ – a ‘surprise’.

So don’t expect Target to roll out a series of mini-commercial-concerts.

Comment

Whether we call it a TV commercial, branded entertainment, branded content, content marketing, or even a form of native advertising, this compelling collaboration between Target and Imagine Dragons was brave, original and a genuine creative success.

We live in an era of ad-skipping, DVRs, live-streaming, and multi-platform viewing, and what this tactic did was to create compellingly watchable television within the traditional TV commercial format.

It was a risk, sure, but the results are already impressive.

In addition to the huge PR praise and, of course, the paid-for 25.3 million TV audience, the initiative’s hashtag #moremusic received more than one billion impressions and was the fourth ranked global Twitter trend on the day (as well the number one US Twitter trend).

Of course, collaborating with musicians isn’t new, but we see this as something of a ‘marketing moment’.

Plus, there are some seriously admirable logistics involved in an initiate like this: as well as the precise timing and co-ordination, there are the simple yet tough challenges such as getting fans into the outdoor arena for this kind of concert.

It took more than 22,000 man hours, 2,500 square feet of LED lights, 575 people, 15 semi trucks and more for Target and Imagine Dragons to pull it all off.

We expect to see more of this kind of tactic – perhaps it’ll turn into something of a trend.

Although most of those who jump on this bandwagon won’t produce quite such compelling content or have the same impact.

Links

Target YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/user/Target

Target Website

http://www.target.com/

Target Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/target

Target Google+

https://plus.google.com/+target/videos

Target Twitter