As anticipation builds for the BRIT Awards 2024 on Saturday, all eyes are on the nominees. For me, it’s newcomers like Olivia Dean, Kenya Grace, and Venbee who are nominated for their first BRIT Award that I find myself fascinated by. Beyond their exceptional musical talents, the allure of their rapidly growing audience is not to be over-looked.
In today’s fast-paced music landscape, I have seen the journey from emerging artist to global sensation significantly accelerating, now taking months compared to the years it once required (pre-social media and streaming). An MRC Data study shows that 5% of TikTok users say they use the platform to discover new artists and 63% claim they find exciting new music on the platform. And this rapidly growing connection between an emerging artist and their audience extends beyond music – it’s a fanbase deeply invested in following their journey. Through strategic partnerships, aligning with these artists and their audience has the potential to infuse a brand’s culture with something invaluable: cultural relevance and authenticity.
I am intrigued by the brands that are already making strides working with these emerging artists. Take Olivia Dean, whose recent collaborations with Clarks positively shifted my own perspective of the brand, which I personally now perceive as contemporary and relevant. As of 2023, Olivia Dean also has a Chanel ambassadorship which I believe has elevated her global presence and association. Similarly, we’ve seen Shygirl partner with Dr. Martens and Cat Burns’ with New Balance – both offering a resounding commitment to authenticity.
At its core, this is an opportunity to participate in something new, and undeniably authentic. These artists offer a gateway into the heart of youth culture, a group known by their unwavering devotion to individuality. In today’s social media landscape, which is overflowing with influencer partnerships, this is the chance to tell a different story, to resonate with consumers on a deeper level. Partnering with grassroots artists presents a unique opportunity for brands to cultivate deeper connections, to engage, and ultimately inspire their consumers. Take American Express’ truly groundbreaking Gold Unsigned initiative. It offers undiscovered artists a life-changing opportunity of a record deal and their first big break in the industry.
Within this diverse pool of talent lie the future stars of tomorrow, offering brands the chance to grow alongside the artists they support. However, this isn’t about chasing the next global icon, the real value for a brand comes from engaging with niche hyper-engaged audiences.
As we look ahead to the BRIT Awards 2024 and beyond, the synergy between brands and emerging artists continues to hold immense potential. But investing in emerging artists isn’t just about chasing the next big thing. It’s about fostering a connection that rises above our current fast-paced trend cycle, resonating with audiences on a deeper, more engaged level.
The Super Bowl stands as an unparalleled spectacle, seamlessly merging the worlds of sport and music to create a cultural phenomenon that transcends traditional boundaries. It is an event where the love for the game and the anticipation of the Halftime Show coalesce, attracting a diverse audience that extends beyond avid sports fans. This unique fusion has positioned the Super Bowl as the pinnacle moment in popular culture, creating a powerful magnet for global viewership and engagement.
I would go as far to say that this year’s Usher masterclass was my personal favourite Super Bowl Halftime Show ever! A nostalgic 13-minute journey through Usher’s epic catalogue of hits, with intricate choreography, flawless vocals and seamless costume changes. The impressive guest line-up of Alicia Keys, Ludacris, will.i.am, H.E.R and Lil Jon kept the energy high throughout, but perhaps the most memorable was the seamless skating sequence with clips filling my social feed this morning.
I was interested to read Adele’s recent comments where she told fans at her Caesars Palace residency show that she won’t be attending the Super Bowl in person this year as she claims the Halftime Show is a better viewing experience on TV. This just goes to show how the Halftime Show is curated with the global TV and VOD audience front of mind, vs just those lucky enough to be in stadia.
It prompted me to reflect on how the NFL serves as a compelling inspiration for other sports properties and brands on how best to leverage the marriage of sport x music at notable sporting events. Beyond enhancing the fan experience through entertainment, in my view there’s a lot of untapped potential, particularly in the UK/Europe where there are several other brand and business benefits for rightsholders, including:
There are some notable examples of UK/European rightsholders that are successful in this space. The Hundred, cricket’s newest innovation, have partnered with BBC Music Introducing since 2021, offering an exciting line-up of live music and DJs from emerging artists at each of the 64 games, which they describe as the biggest sport and music collaboration in UK history. Off the field and on the track, British icons Ella Eyre and Tinie Tempah performed at the season finale of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship last year to celebrate the culmination of the motorsport championship series. I admire the fact that these emerging sports events see the value in incorporating entertainment to promote and spark interest in these relatively new events.
This article looks at the opportunity for brands presented by the annual music competition, Eurovision.
Eurovision provides brands with an opportunity to strategically resonate with a huge and diverse audience across Europe – an opportunity that hasn’t yet been fully utilised. It is a rare moment in the music calendar that truly transcends markets and encourages sharing of the experience in real time.
Eurovision’s scale and multi-market appeal should not be underestimated. It provides an opportunity for
brands to tackle the fragmented music landscape, with a ‘one-stop shop’ akin to those found in the sports landscape.
While Eurovision is both playful and entertaining, it can also be controversial so brands must understand
their role in the platform before committing.
To succeed in the space brands should:
Music is the biggest universal consumer passion point and provides brands with a huge opportunity to
strategically resonate with a multitude of audiences. The true scale of music fans is difficult to quantify but taking the music subscription service market alone you’re looking at a global audience of over 616 million users (massive). Then when looking at festival attendees this is over 37 million and for concerts 30 million….in the UK alone. With fans who attend live music events sharing their experiences at a rate of 92% and the hype around global tours such Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour being far reaching, it’s safe to say the influence of these events goes beyond their venues, making them an alluring tool for brand engagement.
However, time and again major brands are opting to invest in sports sponsorships instead. Of course,
established properties such as UEFA Champions League, Ryder Cup or F1 have huge global audiences, in-built media, local-level access and relevancy across markets, as well as having tried and tested activation playbooks with proven track records.
The challenge in music is that, for the most part, there isn’t the same fix. The European landscape is fragmented and can be challenging to navigate without the right stewardship (and even then, it can require a deep level of effort). The European festival landscape has a few major players, but these represent partial offerings in individual territories versus a one-stop shop for multi-market, consistent activation. The nuance of popular music also varies market by market. While a German football fan looks much like an English football fan (they are passionate about the same game), with music, the binding factor is a love of music, but it’s often very different music. This means ambassador or tour deals need to be with the highest-level artists to ensure multi-market cut-through (which of course comes at a high cost). Tours also aren’t as frequent or predictable as sports fixtures and rights can be inconsistent due to venue prohibitions and, for the most part, a lack of broadcast agreements.
These factors often result in brands struggling to find truly global or European platforms for local market
exploitation, which can result in brands having a fragmented multi-market music approach or being sworn off the space altogether.
Eurovision is somewhat of a unicorn in the music landscape. A single property that resonates across European markets and beyond. It provides brands the opportunity to buy into the ‘disco magic’ centrally and activate credibly across local markets, using a platform that consumers genuinely care about. However, it’s a property that hasn’t yet been fully utilised by brands.
The scale of Eurovision cannot be underestimated, with a viewership of 181 million it has over 60 million more viewers than the Super Bowl Halftime show. When considering the NFL were looking for a reported $50m in rights fees for the sponsorship, which Apple Music took up in 2023, that’s pretty impressive. Interestingly there has been huge growth in both YouTube and TikTok streams of the event in recent years, up to 7.6m and 4.8m respectively in 2023. The growth in digital viewership is particularly positive for potential brand partners when considering varying degrees of brand limitations with the public service broadcasters who show Eurovision.
As well as drawing in huge numbers, Eurovision provides a rare moment in the music calendar where viewing live is inherent to the experience, and where the event invites ’watch parties’ akin to those you see for major sports finals. However, the audience make up for Eurovision is altogether more diverse, attracting youth, family, and LGBTQ+ audiences in their droves. These social-first audiences are hungry for content, expect brands to be playful, and are open to sharing their experiences.
Eurovision’s ability to resonate with LGBTQ+ audiences is of huge benefit for brands, especially when
considering the purchasing power of this group is over $3.7 trillion globally and the fact that 72% of
consumers, regardless of orientation or background, make purchasing decisions based on a brand’s inclusivity and diversity. Much more than a camp and playful event, Eurovision should be considered a major platform for engaging valuable audiences with huge purchasing power and cultural sway.
It would be remiss not to mention that, as with any sponsorship or partnership of this scale, there will be risk factors for brands. In a politically turbulent period, with a platform that millions of global fans feel passionate about and, just as has been seen in sporting environments, there can and has been controversy with fan groups and in the press – most recently, the ‘boycott’ in light of Israel’s inclusion in the competition for 2024. When entering a scaled partnership of this nature, it is important to acknowledge that there may be passionate social sentiment that puts pressure on brands to comment on highly sensitive subjects. It’s important that brands analyse the risk involved in doing so, stay true to their brand ethos and understand their role in the ecosystem. Ultimately, what is appealing about Eurovision as a consumer is its unpredictability and how it reacts to culture, which can be both fun and playful but also has the potential to be political and controversial. This comes with challenges and it’s a brave brand that enters that space.
Taking a look at Eurovision’s current and more recent partners, there are some obvious categories taking up these sponsorship spots. Travel brands such as easyJet and Royal Caribbean have a natural role in the fan experience – from the clear link with travel to and from the host nation to fun-filled entertainment for consumers. Morrocanoil, the presenting partner, leans heavily on behind-the-scenes storytelling and glamourous on-stage looks told through the lens of social to engage with Eurovision’s social-first audience. Baileys, a playful and ‘the world’s most loved spirit brand’ showcases unique cocktail recipes and encourages communal enjoyment and watching parties. TikTok, Eurovision’s Entertainment partner, focuses on being ‘the go-to destination for all things Eurovision’, hosting streams, behind-the-scenes content and performances in the app. A strategy for driving users and generating content on their platform which is implemented across their broad partnership portfolio.
We are yet to see the full breadth and scale of the official (and not so official) partner activity in the coming weeks, but looking back on 2023’s Eurovision, some key principles for brands to ‘get it right’ this year can be seen.
In the UK, nearly 85% of the population is on social media, so while there is such a huge opportunity to reach a big audience, it can be harder to cut through. Being creative, unique and playful is imperative to reaching the Eurovision audience. For example, last year Tesco’s campaign #Cheese4Cheese saw the brand launch a singing competition on TikTok spearheaded by The Fizz – the group spun off from Bucks Fizz, which won Eurovision in 1981. This tongue-in-cheek campaign saw winners receive giant cheese wheels as the top prize.
Whether that be for those fans travelling to the event, following their countries’ representatives, or planning their own watching events through brand-relevant moments, brands need to be able to cater for the entire fan journey and consider where they can have a meaningful role in the fan experience.
More than 80% of Gen Z and Millennials say an influencer would have at least some influence over their
purchasing or viewing habits. Last year, John Lewis’ Eurovision Disco leaned into nostalgic music talent and focussed on the communal watching aspect of the event by having Sophie Ellis Bexter host an iteration of her Kitchen Disco in their Liverpool branch. Booking.com also enlisted Eurovision icon Conchita Wurst, who won the contest in 2014, to front their campaign focussed on ensuring they were the go-to for booking a stay in the host city.
This year and in future iterations of Eurovision I would love to see brands take these learnings and fully
recognise the global to local market power of Eurovision, treating it as a major platform that can unify their approach and deliver a genuine multi-market music activation.
