A Digital Music Promotions Case Study Provides a Valuable Promotional Incentive

Digital music promotions have been around for several years, even back in the "digital pioneer" days of 2004 (which is a couple eons in Internet years). So it is occasionally interesting to go back and look at what other companies have done in the past.

In the summer 2004, McDonald's and Sony teamed up to launch the "Big Mac Meal Tracks" program, where they gave customers in six countries an access code that enabled them to download a free music track from the Sony Connect website with every Big Mac purchase. The campaign was run in North America and Europe; American customers received one song per purchase, while European customers received three. The digital music promotions campaign was so successful, McDonald's credited it with a 9.2 increase in same-store sales for the Q2 2004.

In a June 2004 press release announcing the campaign, McDonald's said this was not only their first multi-national digital music promotions campaign, it was the first time a digital music promotions campaign of this size was being offered — it was being held in six countries throughout June and July.

It was a promotion ahead of its time, because digital music promotions was not as common or accepted as it is in 2010. In fact, 2009 sales rang in at $4.2 Billion, while 2003 sales were only $83 million. For McDonald's to use digital music promotions in a time that it was still relatively new shows that they were interested in tapping into some new ways of reaching customers.

Even back in 2005 and 2006, experts were predicting that digital music promotions would begin to become a mainstay in corporate and retail incentive programs, and would continue to promote legal music downloads to customers.

Another benefit to the digital music promotions campaign is that it generated traffic throughout the day. Rather than a lunchtime only special, which only brings traffic during certain hours, having the digital music promotions campaign tied to a particular food item meant that it worked on lunch and dinner, regardless of the time of day. Most other restaurant campaigns tend to focus on a specific time of day — between 11 and 2 — which means that the traffic is increased during those hours, but may drop during the rest of the day.

In the 2004 press release, Jay Samit, general manager for Sony Connect said "This campaign by McDonald's will promote legal downloads, which is beneficial both to the entertainment industry and music fans around the world."

Even today, as digital music sales have increased, legal music downloads are still a concern to the music industry, so this is another benefit of a digital music promotions campaign. Users are able to download legal music with a basic purchase, which keeps both music label executives and marketers happy.

And because of the relatively low cost of a music download, marketers are able to use them as part of an overall marketing campaign, folding it into the promotions budget, rather than additional items that need to be purchased, shipped, or warehoused. Further, there is never a worry about how to dispose of leftover items, and promotional risk coverage can rein in higher-than-expected redemption numbers.

Following the digital music promotions campaign, a post promotions analysis process simply determines overall ROI, with the number of songs that were downloaded. Prior to campaign initiation, a promotional risk analysis would determine the number of downloads expected to be redeemed during the flight dates of the promotional campaign. Much like you insure your car from an accident or your home from a natural disaster, you can cover your digital music promotion against a risk associated with the liabilities associated with the costs of a large number of music download redemptions. The cost of promotional risk coverage is minimal, literally a fraction of the prize value, and is based on the promotional odds, the music download value, and the number of opportunities given to redeem the digital incentive.

It is important to recognize that free music downloads are of interest to more than just Generation Y. Now that mobile phones can play music, and MP3 player use is widespread, customers of all ages are willing and able to participate in a music promotions campaign. So even businesses that do not cater specifically to Generation Y can still use this kind of campaign to reach their own customers. With the inclusion of promotional risk coverage, a digital music promotions campaign provides marketers with the opportunity to increase conversions through valuable incentives, with a fixed promotional budget.

Source:
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=124166
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3775657.stm
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0198-19322/The-meal-is-the-music.html

Digital Music Promotions Prove Valuable Brand Promotions Deliver Long Term Customer Loyalty

Digital music promotions are as powerful and wide-reaching as they are evergreen. They give your company a multi-faceted promotional tool with which you can leverage popular artists to grow your brand and excite your target market. Because new artists are continuously catapulted into the spotlight, your business has access to an unlimited resource of popular music. You can harness this resource to meet an unquenchable consumer demand. In doing so, you'll improve your brand and create a surge in product sales.

Below, we'll give you a comprehensive preview of digital music promotions. You'll learn how they work and the unique promotional advantages they offer your business. We'll also describe how to use digital promotions to deliver a memorable impact at a surprisingly low cost. Lastly, we'll explain how you can tailor digital music promotions to form a seamless fit for your target audience, regardless of your marketing objectives.

How Digital Music Promotions Work
Digital music incentives are delivered to your customers online through customized landing pages and branded music stores. The digital music promotions are launched by distributing promo codes and website URLs in-pack, on-pack, through email, text messaging, signage, custom-branded cards, and other platforms. You can customize your marketing campaign to control its reach into your target market.

When your customers visit the website URL listed on your promotion, they'll be able to choose from a library of popular artists and songs. Once your customers select their downloads, they are prompted to enter their promo code.

You'll enjoy a tremendous level of flexibility in customizing your digital music promotions. You can broaden your music library to include millions of songs, or tighten it according to your audience and marketing objectives.

Harnessing The Advantages Of Music Promotions
Because the landing pages to which your target market is driven can be customized with your company's logo and artwork, your digital music promotions dramatically improve brand recognition. And because music has such universal appeal, it is one of the most potent levers for increasing customer loyalty.

That is merely scratching the surface of their potential.
When your target audience arrives on your customized landing pages, you'll have an opportunity to introduce them to new products your company is launching. You can also require them to provide personal information prior to downloading songs. That allows you to build a valuable database that you can leverage for future marketing campaigns. While digital music promotions can be harnessed to generate a boost in immediate sales, their potential effect on your business's bottom line extends much further.

Digital Promotions: High-Performance Promotional Impact & Low Cost
Digital promotions have quickly evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry. Companies have realized digital music promotions and other digital incentives can broaden their marketing reach at a remarkably low cost. Promotional incentives can be delivered online to mobile devices, through email, or customized landing pages. Given the high-performance impact of these promotions, the cost of distribution to a massive audience is exceptionally low.

Tailor Digital Music Promotions To Your Audience
Your target market can likely be broken down into tight segments. You can launch digital music promotions that cater specifically to each of these segments, according to their taste in music. The tighter your focus, the higher response you'll enjoy.

For example, suppose you're promoting a brand that appeals to multiple age groups. A younger audience may be motivated by digital music promotions highlighting alternative rock and hip hop artists. An older audience might be more willing to respond if offered classic rock songs. Still other segments of your target market may be motivated to respond by digital music promotions featuring Latino artists. Each market segment represents an opportunity to refine your focus and tap into a targeted pool of consumers.

Entertainment Promotions Leverage High-Profile Contentdigital music promotions are merely one of several types of entertainment promotions that can help drive your brand. Entertainment that has been created to promote high-profile content such as films, video games, television shows, and CD releases can be licensed and offered as digital incentives. That allows your company to benefit from the top of mind awareness enjoyed by these entertainment properties. Imagine launching digital music promotions for your brand that ride on the coattails of the latest Hollywood blockbuster or CD release.

Executing digital music promotions For Your Company
You can penetrate new markets, invigorate your current customer base, improve brand recognition, and spur long-term sales by launching customized digital music promotions. Your entire campaign can be designed as a turnkey solution. There's no need to host the music library on your site. Nor do you need to take an active role in driving web traffic to your branded landing pages. The delivery and fulfillment of your digital music incentives are also handled as components of the back-end system.


If you are not already leveraging Digital Music Promotions to reach more deeply into your market, now is the time to do so.

Digital Media Promotions Cover Promotional Risk, Within a Powerful Promotional Platform

The powerful digital media promotions platform to rapidly launch your promotion, turns content into advertising. The leading digital promotions company that brings high-end promotional technology and programs to link brands with their consumer markets, Hip Digital Media acquired Promotional Currency. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Promotional Currency is a promotions and promotional risk coverage company that merges digital technology in the form of digital music, ringtones, skins and more with turnkey, fixed-cost solutions for the promotional marketplace. Additionally, Promotional Currency protects companies from over-redemption liability with its in-depth promotional risk coverage and underwriting capabilities, enabling large-scale programs that increase brand awareness and user experience. Visit www.promotionalcurrency.com to learn more.

Hip Digital Media holds MP3 licenses from all 4 major labels in the U.S., United Kingdom and Canada, Hip Digital enables innovative customer experiences with digital entertainment campaigns for Fortune 500 brands and online media companies. Additionally, Hip Digital protects companies from over-redemption liability with its in-depth promotional risk coverage and underwriting capabilities, enabling large-scale programs that increase brand awareness and user experience. Experience Hip Digital’s suite of services at HipDigitalMedia.com

Digital Music Promotions Reach Gen Y & Boost Marketing Conversions

Digital music promotions reach active consumers, increase marketing conversions of these consumers, and increase sales. Gen Y is online. They are also active retail consumers. This group is a sought after demographic of 10-30 year olds, because they have more discretionary spending than their parents have. They communicate on mobile devices and marketers are finding it very difficult to reach them through traditional media channels. They interact with each other through social media applications and are speaking with each other about your products and services. The sooner marketers learn to join the conversation, the better for the brands they represent.



Smart phones are becoming a way of life. Nearly every coffee shop is providing free wifi to its customers, and many restaurants are following suit. The ubiquity of wireless and smart phones are making digital promotions easier for marketers to launch and providing a strong avenue to reach the coveted Generation Y demographic.

Digital music promotions gain brand loyalty of Generation Y. Investing your promotions budget into a digital music promotion will guarantee you customer loyalty. Traditional promotional incentives do not compare to digital music download promotions. Try earning Gen Y customer loyalty by investing in plastic pens , hats other promotional merchandise. Most customers will not keep their pens, but they download your music giveaway, save it to a mobile device and every time they hear the song you gave them, they will remember your brand. To follow are ideas to deploy these promotions and increase marketing conversion rates.

Social media is an active channel to distribute these promotions. Increase conversion rates by promoting the music giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, email, and a blog with links back to the promotional incentive. The viral marketing aspect of social media will increase campaign activity.

Create a promotional incentive with purchase promotion, by giving away a free music download card, free ring tones, or free wallpapers, when customers spend a set amount of money. Put the entire music promotion on a mobile supported website, and let customers download it via their smart phones.

Or create a free music promotion that rewards customers for referring their friends. With every referral you receive, the customer receives a free music download. Follow up with additional customer rewards programs.

Digital music promotions increase activity on viral marketing and grass roots marketing efforts. Use your music promotion campaign to ask customers and fans to post "like" a Facebook page, tweet a code via Twitter, or complete a marketing survey. Give them a free music download whenever they perform the requisite number of social media tasks..

Promotional incentives including digital promotions provide increased retail store traffic. Give away a music download is customers enter your store at a specific time. This is especially a great way to promote a bar or club that has a specific band or DJ coming to town. For example, you could give away one or two of their songs if people check in on the night they're playing.

Digital music promotions reach almost every audience. Gen Y is actively responding to music promotions, but other consumers do as well. The love of music spans all generations. If you are looking to reach your customer, boost marketing conversions, and increase sales, deploy digital promotions. Releasing these promotions through online applications, social media, and text campaigns will provide increased brand exposure, and boost marketing conversions. The outcome of reaching this active, loyal consumer will be a pleasant surprise and you may even learn something from them about your brand.

Digital Music Promotions Appreciated by 5 Consumer Audiences

Digital music promotions are becoming more and more popular for marketers. Whether you have a small business or work for a large corporation, digital music promotions are an effective, low-cost way to tap into different target markets. Thanks to iPods and mp3 players, fast broadband and smart phones, everyone is listening to digital music. CD sales are dropping, and not just because of the economy. Thanks to major players like Apple's iTunes Store and Amazon.com's MP3 store, digital music promotions are becoming easier to deploy.

Of course, successful digital music promotions are more than just sending someone a $5 iTunes card for making a purchase. The smart marketers are tying their digital music promotions into a marketing campaign centered around a particular idea or event. One hotel chain recently gave free Classic Rock songs to their frequent travelers from a specially-designed website as part of their digital music promotions. Stay more nights, get more songs.

So here are five target markets you can gear your digital music promotions campaign to.

• Generation Y: I realize this is a rather large group. The largest of any group, in fact. At last count, Generation Y outnumbered Baby Boomers 82 million to 78 million. And it's Gen Y that's driving the digital music promotions. They're the biggest users of smart phones, SMS technology, social networks, and of course, digital music. Any time you want to reach this age group with a marketing campaign, digital music promotions will be a safe bet.



• Runners and fitness enthusiasts: Nike hit on a particularly smart idea a few years ago, teaming up with Apple, and creating the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit. It's a chip that will not only give runners their time, distance, pace, and calories burned, it will even pull up the music that matches your pace and inspires you to keep moving. It’s great for cyclists too. If you have an fitness-related business, a digital music promotions campaign that offers motivating and up-tempo music can really get your campaign off the starting blocks.



• Road Warriors: I've spent countless hours on planes and in cars, and I can only listen to podcasts for so long. But I would love to be rewarded for doing what I'm already doing, and listen to some of my favorite music. While we're not out there for the rewards, they still make a nice incentive. In fact, some Road Warriors will make a game out of it, and try to find the most profitable rewards for the fewest miles traveled. So if you can create a digital music promotions that's based on miles traveled, nights stayed, or dollars spent, you'll win the Road Warriors over.



• Stay At Home Parents: Tie your digital music promotions campaign into a product or service that a SAHM or SAHD is going to take advantage of. Parents are just like Road Warriors: they're already doing their thing, regardless of the incentives. But if they can get a little something extra for buying a product from you, instead of your competitors, they're more likely to take advantage of it.



• Entrepreneurs: Whether it is due to the economy, or the fact that more people have a burning desire to start their own business, we're seeing more entrepreneurs and in the business world these days. They are working in coffee shops, meeting at restaurants, and trying to keep costs as low as possible. When you start looking at their buying patterns, you see coffee shops being a big part of an entrepreneur's budget. The smart coffee shop owner is going to attract the entrepreneur crowd with a digital music promotions campaign. Instead of giving away a free cup of coffee, try giving away free downloads of the music you're playing in the store. And if you have musicians play on the weekends, be sure to include any of their music in your campaign.

- Julie Ann Ross