Coca-Cola goes “Stageside” for music, P2P marketing
Rather than share the sponsor spotlight like it must on “American Idol,” Coca-Cola North America opted to create its own music program. Taking the concept even further, the soft drink giant is bypassing traditional television to get “Stageside” out to its target audience.
Island Def Jam R&B star Ne-Yo is the first artist to be showcased on “Stageside.” The program is being distributed from its own Web site and via peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent in formats optimized for viewing on computers and on such portable devices as iPods and PSPs.
“Stageside,” which is free and completely legal, is produced and seeded onto the Internet by viral marketing specialist Jun Group Inc.
“‘Stageside’ is a watershed event in branded entertainment,” Jun Group founder and CEO Mitchell Reichgut said. “Coke and Island Def Jam have paved the way for a lot of others who will follow in their paths. It’s a very bold move on the part of both parties, and both of them will reap the benefits.”
The program is not protected by digital-rights management technology of any kind. Reichgut said the entire concept of the show is for fans to share with all of their friends using any means they wanted, so DRM would be counterproductive.
“This is not piracy, nor does this encourage piracy,” Coca-Cola N.A. vice president of interactive marketing Carol Kruse said. “This a legal way for consumers to download and share great new content. It’s good for the artist, the label and, most of all, our consumers. We are reaching people where they live and on their terms.”
Reichgut said several other record companies had been approached, but none were as immediately receptive.
The Ne-Yo program was designed as a pilot, but it went so well that “Stageside” is now turning into a series, he added. The show follows the artist through a busy day in his professional life, giving a more authentic view of Ne-Yo than what fans usually get to see.
The files are trackable, so that Coca-Cola and Jun Group accurately know how many times “Stageside” is downloaded via P2P, Internet Relay Chat and from Web sites. Consumers who click through to purchase Ne-Yo’s music are taken directly to Island Def Jam’s retail page.
Reichgut cannot disclose exact numbers, but a previous nonmusic viral campaign Jun Group did for Coca-Cola was seen by an audience “comparable to the reach of many cable shows,” he said.
That project was “Markus Hates His Job,” a humorous video designed to promote Sprite as it was forwarded from friend to friend.
Reuters
