DEGREE PROJECT IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITS
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2016
Alternative Ways of Music Branding
MALIN CHAN-HELLEMEIER
Alternative Ways of Music Branding Alternativa sätt av music branding
Malin Chan-Hellemeier malinch@kth.se
Submitted for the completion of the KTH master’s program; Media Management, Master of Science in Media Management.
Supervisor: Christopher Rosenqvist, Stockholm School of Economics, Department of Marketing and Strategy.
Examiner: Haibo Li, KTH, School of Computer Science and Communications, Department of Media Technology and Interaction Design.
June 2016
Abstract
Music branding is not a new phenomenon in marketing, and it is not
uncommon that companies brand themselves through means such as jingles, audio logotypes and the use of music in commercials. The digitalization of music has affected the way people listen to music, but it has also given brands the potential to brand themselves through music in other ways than those mentioned above. The aim of this study is to investigate and identify how music branding in alternative ways on digital platforms can build value for brands in the fashion industry. A literature study was conducted in the first part of this study, followed by a multiple-case study of the fashion companies Burberry and Converse and their respective digital platforms Burberry Acoustic and Converse Rubber Tracks. The findings indicate that the alternative music branding analyzed in this case study is successful and that it has led to both brands having a deeper emotional connection with their consumers. Having identified their respective target groups, they have managed to adjust their ways of alternative music branding to the needs of their customers.
Sammanfattning
Music branding är inget nytt fenomen inom marknadsföring och det är inte ovanligt att företag väljer att profilera sig själva med hjälp av jinglar, audio logotyper och användning av musik i TV-reklam. Digitaliseringen av musik har påverkat sättet människor lyssnar på musik, men det har också givit
varumärken möjligheten till att profilera sig själva genom musik på andra sätt än de ovannämnda. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka och identifiera hur alternativ music branding på digitala plattformar kan skapa värde för varumärken inom modeindustrin. En litteraturstudie genomfördes i första delen av denna studie, följt av en flerfallstudie av modeföretagen Burberry och Converse och deras respektive digitala plattformar Burberry Acoustic och Converse Rubber Tracks. Analysen av resultaten tyder på att märkesprofilering med hjälp av musik i denna fallstudie är framgångsrik och att den har lett till att båda varumärkena har en djupare emotionell anknytning till deras
respektive konsumenter. Efter att ha identifierat sina respektive målgrupper
har de lyckats anpassa deras alternativa music branding efter sina kunders
behov.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ... 1
1.1 Background ... 1
1.2 Purpose and Target Audience ... 2
1.3 Main Research Question ... 2
1.3.1 Sub-Questions ... 2
1.4 Delimitation ... 2
1.5 Previous Studies ... 3
2 Background and Theory ... 4
2.1 Music in Society ... 4
2.2 A Historical Overview of Music in Branding ... 5
2.3 The New Role of Music ... 6
2.3.1 Trend 1: Music Has Become a Soundtrack to Our Lives ... 7
2.3.2 Trend 2: It Has Become More Difficult to Make Yourself Heard ... 8
2.3.3 Trend 3: Emotions Are Becoming More Important in Marketing ... 8
2.3.4 Trend 4: Brands Become Experiences ... 8
2.3.5 Trend 5: Conversation as a Way to Market ... 9
3 Methodology ... 11
3.1 Literature Study ... 11
3.2 Case Study Research ... 11
3.2.1 Layout ... 13
3.2.2 Interview ... 13
3.2.3 Questionnaire ... 13
4 Information About the Cases ... 14
4.1 Burberry ... 14
4.2 Burberry Acoustic ... 16
4.3 Converse ... 17
4.4 Converse Rubber Tracks ... 18
4.4.1 Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library ... 20
5 Analysis and Results ... 21
5.1 The Five Trends ... 21
5.1.1 Trend 1: Music Has Become a Soundtrack to Our Lives ... 21
5.1.2 Trend 2: It Has Become More Difficult to Make Yourself Heard ... 21
5.1.3 Trend 3: Emotions Are Becoming More Important in Marketing ... 22
5.1.4 Trend 4: Brands Become Experiences ... 23
5.1.5 Trend 5: Conversation as a Way to Market ... 24
5.2 The Layout of the Platforms ... 26
5.2.1 The Layout of Burberry Acoustic ... 26
5.2.2 The Layout of Converse Rubber Tracks ... 26
5.2.2.1 The Layout of Converse Rubber Track Sample Library ... 27
5.3 Interviews ... 28
5.3.1 Interview 1 ... 28
5.3.2 Interview 2 ... 30
6 Discussion ... 31
6.1 The Five Trends ... 31
6.2 Layout ... 31
6.3 Interviews ... 32
6.4 Method Criticism ... 33
6.4.1 Literature Criticism ... 33
6.4.1.1 Theory Criticism ... 34
6.4.2 Case Study Criticism ... 34
6.4.2.1 Interview Criticism ... 35
6.5 Suggestions for Further Research ... 35
7 Conclusions ... 37
7.1 Main Research Question: How Does Music Branding in Alternative Ways on Digital Platforms Build Value for Brands in Fashion? ... 37
7.1.1 Sub-Question 1: What Are The Alternative Ways of Music Branding in the cases of Burberry and Converse? ... 37
7.1.2 Sub-Question 2: What Are the Results of Alternative Ways of Music Branding? ... 38
7. References ... 39
8. Appendix: Interview Questions ... 44
1 Introduction
This initiating chapter provides a background to the subject of this study, followed by the purpose and target audience, the research questions, delimitations and finally, previous studies.
1.1 Background
The evolution of digital technology has led to a situation where access to music has become easier and more and more embedded into the everyday lives of people. Ranked before internet and television, music is the medium that people would least like to live without (Heartbeats International, 2009). Music is very important to a lot of people and many studies have shown that music affects everything from people’s moods, productivity, decision making, to their health (e.g. Hallam, 2015, Liebman et al., 2015). Music can create associations and work as a key to people’s emotions and a trigger for people’s memories (Groves, 2011).
Since music has the possibly to affect people in so many ways, it is consequently used by companies as a strategy for their marketing and
communication. There are many different ways of using music in branding, the more regular ways include: TV commercials, music in commercial spaces (i.e.
stores and offices), artist sponsorships/collaborations, music events and radio spots. The mentioned ways of using music are considered as traditional ways of music branding in this research.
Many terms describe the process of forming an emotional connection through sound between transmitter (the brand) and receiver (the consumer), for example audio branding, sound branding, sonic branding, acoustic branding, sound identity and acoustic identity (Spehr, 2009). In this research the term music branding will be used, as it is considered to be the term that is most apparent and best suited for this case, since this research is specifically about music.
In today’s society where there is an increasing information overload, it is
important for a brand to stand out and leave a memorable imprint in the minds
of the consumers. Digital technology and music are both relevant and a big part
of most people’s lives, consequently, this research will examine two fashion
brands that use music branding on digital platforms in innovative and alternative ways, instead of the traditional ways of music branding.
1.2 Purpose and Target Audience
The purpose of this study is to look into alternative ways of music branding to show the prospects and alternative ways of music branding. The aspiration is to showcase music branding as a marketing strategy and show how versatile and innovative it can be, in order to inspire others. This study may be of interest for companies, marketers and people who are interested in music and branding.
1.3 Main Research Question
• How does music branding in alternative ways on digital platforms build value for brands in fashion?
1.3.1 Sub-Questions
• What are the alternative ways of music branding in the cases of Burberry and Converse?
• What are the results of alternative ways of music branding?
1.4 Delimitation
In order to delimit this research, the decision was made to only look at brands within the fashion industry that use digital platforms as a way to brand
themselves through music. The reason for making this decision was to delimit the research question and to get a clearer objective when researching the question.
When it comes to the term of “alternative music branding”, this study does not
aim at providing an overview of the existing methods covered by the term, but
instead focuses at the digital music platforms analyzed for the two cases. To
deliver such an overview would consume more resources than were available
for this research. However, the field of alternative music branding is constantly
evolving, thus making it difficult to give an all-encompassing definition of the
aspects comprised by the term.
1.5 Previous Studies
Music branding is still a relatively new research area. Studies that have been
found usually focus on the more traditional type of music branding, such as
music in commercial spaces. Other studies have focused on the consumer and
its behavior. This study, however, will focus on alternative ways of music
branding and look at how it can be done. No earlier studies that investigate
alternative ways of music branding have been found.
2 Background and Theory
In this section a brief background about music in society and an historical
overview of music in branding is presented. This is to get an understanding about the subject. Further, five trends that will be discussed in the analysis of the results are also presented.
2.1 Music in Society
During the 20th Century, especially the latter part, media has had a great impact on people's lives due to the development of electronic and digital media, such as the radio, TV and internet. Since the 1980s, cultural theorists have claimed that we are living in an information society or a media society, where we are being showered with messages and information through mass media and social media, which affects people’s worldview and identities. A person's identity is constantly mixed with influences from both other individual identities and from various targeted interests, such as commercial, political or ideological (Bossius and Lilliestam, 2011).
As a progression from the increasing importance of media, music has also gained a greater importance for more and more people (ibid.). Ruud, a Norwegian music researcher, describes the contemporary society as a “music society” due to the substantial and easily accessible abundance of music, but also because of music’s increased role in our lives and all the ways we are using it (Ruud, 2005, as found in Bossius and Lilliestam, 2011). For many people music is not just a hobby, but also works as a tool to create and maintain an identity and to create meaning, purpose and coherence in life. The technical
development has affected not only the possibilities to use music, but also how to use it (Bossius and Lilliestam, 2011).
Technology has made it possible for people to listen to music with very little effort. Before the technological developments, music was only attainable for those who created it themselves or for those who attended special religious or social events. The developments have affected today's society greatly. There is the possibility to use music as a way to create environments that may
manipulate others in the way they feel and behave. Music is also used by individuals to promote their well-being, whether it is to aid relaxation, to
stimulate concentration or to overcome powerful emotions. It has turned into a
tool that is used to promote development and enhance self-presentation (Hallam, 2015).
2.2 A Historical Overview of Music in Branding
“Well, Sound Branding is old and new. It is so old, that the church has it and so new that it has to be explained to virtually every marketing or brand manager.”
(Groves, 2009)
Music has been used as a means of communication since ancient times. Pope Gregory collected and codified all the Catholic chants in 600 AD. The
Gregorian chant is the earliest known example of music that has messaging imbedded within it and it is also commonly seen as the oldest recorded
Western music. By learning these chants, it helped people retain the teachings of the church, at the same time they also assisted the church in spreading its beliefs and teachings. During the 1500s and 1600s in London, street yellers stood on the streets and sang short musical quips about the products that were available in their shops (Jackson et.al., 2013).
What may be the first commercial jingle “Rough On Rats”, was released by a rat poison company in 1882. This jingle was published as sheet music and
distributed, enabling people to sing along on their home pianos. During this time in America, every household had a piano instead of a stereo and people had to buy sheet music in order to hear the new hits. The first recorded jingle
“Have You Tried Wheaties” dates back to 1926. The food company General Mills was close to removing their product Wheaties cereal from their assortment because of poor sales, but the mentioned jingle was commissioned by a marketing manager in Minneapolis to fill radio airtime, instead of the usual voice-over spot. When the company evaluated their sales by the end of the year, they discovered that out of the 53,000 cases of Wheaties that were sold in the US, 30,000 were purchased in Minneapolis, the only place where the jingle had aired. Henceforth, the jingle was seen as an effective marketing tool and started a trend in advertising (ibid.).
The radio jingles were a dominating marketing tool until the mid 1950s, when TV made its breakthrough on the US market and quickly became the number one outlet for marketers. Focus shifted from ear to eye and the role of the music was to enhance the stories and messages told by the moving images.
More and more brands began to understand the attraction the artists had on
the consumers and that they could be used to emotionally connect and reach out to their consumers. In the 1980s MTV launched and songs by famous artist became more common in TV commercials. A good example is Pepsi Cola that featured the artist Michael Jackson and his song “Billie Jean” with rewritten lyrics, in a commercial that was part of their “New Generation” campaign. The competition was fierce between Pepsi and Coca Cola in the 1980s and Pepsi wanted to establish themselves as the new, younger alternative. The
commercial was a success and Pepsi’s market shares rose (Lusensky, 2011).
For several years, the music industry has been going through fundamental paradigm shifts. After the digitalization of the music supply, a serious crisis had set (Ringe, 2009). Even though music has been used in advertising for
centuries, the use of popular music in advertisement was many times seen as the ultimate sellout, as it was said to offend aesthetic and bohemian values. But today, music in advertising is seen as a way for musicians to gain access to audiences and a way to make a living in spite of the collapse of the
conventional music industry. For record executives it is seen as a way to stay in business and by marketers it is seen as a way to speak directly to consumers’
emotions (Eckhardt and Bradshaw, 2014).
2.3 The New Role of Music
Lusensky (2011) argues that there are five trends (see Figure 1) he believes have
led to the new role music has in marketing and communication today, followed
by suggestions on how to overcome challenges that are created as a result of
these trends.
Figure 1. A model of the five trends (Lusensky, 2011. Originally in Swedish, translated to English by the author of this study).
2.3.1 Trend 1: Music Has Become a Soundtrack to Our Lives
Due to the digitalization of music and services like Napster and Pirate Bay, new and easy ways for people to share music have been created. Suddenly, music was available everywhere and people no longer saw the need to pay for CDs when it was easier to get music elsewhere for free. Since then music services on the internet have worked as a catalyst for social engagement between people.
As a result, there are today services such as Spotify, iTunes, Pandora and MySpace where people can access and share their favorite music. This
combined with the breakthrough with mp3-players on the market and music applications in mobile phones has led to the fact that people listen to music more than ever before. The result is that music follows people everywhere they go and acts like a soundtrack to their lives. Therefore, it is crucial for marketers to understand that music is not just a tool to for example enhance a
commercial, but it should rather be treated as its own media form, such as
listening to the radio or watching television. To overcome this challenge,
companies need to work with this media form to communicate to their target
group. How do they turn consumers into fans of the brand with the help of
music? (Lusensky, 2011)
2.3.2 Trend 2: It Has Become More Difficult to Make Yourself Heard
Today’s marketplace is loud. More and more companies are screaming for attention, but people care less than before. The Sunday newspaper alone
contains more information than all the written material the average citizen had access to just a few hundred years ago. More than 300,000 books are published every year. Only in the US over 18,000 magazines are published every year and over 15 billion catalogs are sent to people’s homes. People are exposed to more information than ever, at the same time the willingness and ability to pay attention to and remembering the information is becoming less and less. In the 1960s people remembered 34% of all the ads they were exposed to, today the number is less than 8%. Companies are investing resources in something that is providing less result. To overcome this challenge, companies need to establish an exclusive position on the market and in the customer’s mind to distinguish themselves from everybody else (ibid.).
2.3.3 Trend 3: Emotions Are Becoming More Important in Marketing
According to Lusensky, some scientists state that people make their decision on what they are going to buy in 2.5 seconds. People make decisions based on the interaction between the logical and rational left brain and the emotional right brain. This goes whether someone is choosing a partner or what toothpaste to buy. When people shop, they often look for a rational reason to justify their decision on what to buy. But the decision itself is often emotionally based during the time of purchase. People like, feel for or prefer a product over another. Emotions are and will be even more important in the marketing of products and in the building of a strong brand. To overcome this challenge, it is crucial to understand what type of emotions and associations the brand awakes in their customers (ibid).
2.3.4 Trend 4: Brands Become Experiences
The term “experience economy” was coined by the authors Pine and Gilmore in their article “Welcome to the experience economy” from 1998. In the article they emphasized and argued that companies had to start selling experience rather than services and products in order to compete on the market (Pine and Gilmore, 1998). When Lusensky published his book “Sounds like branding”
more than ten years later, he considered Pine and Gilmore’s theory to be a fact.
An example for the concept of experience economy is the coffee business, where brands such as Starbucks sell a cup of coffee for almost double the price compared to a small, less prominent coffee shop. What they have succeeded in doing is the building of a brand experience. The combination of interior, design, music and service lets consumers experience a higher value and thus, they are willing to pay more for their coffee (Lusensky, 2011).
To build a brand experience, companies should aim to create a memorable experience that creates positive associations to the brand. A strong experience is based on a memorable story; consequently, storytelling is becoming more and more important. Storytelling is the telling of a company’s own history through classical dramaturgy. A holistic perspective that includes all the senses is also more and more important when it comes to brand building. People experience their reality through hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste, therefore, when all of the senses are affected at the same time the experience becomes stronger and influences people more profoundly. There are more and more products with less apparent differences in function and feature that are entering the market. To overcome this challenge, the experience of and around the brand is therefore important in order to differentiate the brand and charge a higher price (ibid.).
2.3.5 Trend 5: Conversation as a Way to Market
The digital technology has given people access to more information than ever before. This has led to the fact that people are more informed and
interconnected with each other. Moreover, the new technology also means increased transparency in the way that people get insight into companies’ ways of operating, which has caused a power shift from the companies to the
consumers. Blogs, chats, email, YouTube and social networks such as Facebook, have made it possible for people to make their voices heard in a completely different way. People have the power to say what they think about a brand and their opinion can spread a lot faster between people and get a greater effect.
The word-of-mouth has always been the strongest method to market a brand.
It is said that the word-of-mouth is seven times more effective than traditional advertising (ibid.).
Since, individuals and companies are more equal than before, many companies have started to rethink their strategy in marketing. The companies who manage to reach out to their customers are those who engage their customers in
conversation. A good example is Amazon, who has become the number one
bookstore on the internet, partially, because they have managed to create conversation between their customers. Their customers are given the possibility to review the books on the website, which has created a deeper relationship to their customers and resulted in upselling. Another way to engage consumers are so called “co-creation” and “crowdsurfing”, which mean that companies invite consumers to be a part of developing and improving their products. To overcome the challenges in this digital world a brand has to
manage creating a conversation with their customers, engage them and get
them to talk about their brand and spread it through word-of-mouth (ibid.).
3 Methodology
This chapter presents the methods that were used to conduct this study, along with a description of each method and it also clarifies the reasons for why they were used.
3.1 Literature Study
In its first part this research consists of a literature study about the history and background over music and marketing, which was important in understanding how music have been used in marketing previously and how it has developed until this day. The literature that was used was found using the search engines:
Google, Google Scholar and KTHB Primo, the search engine provided by the library of the Royal Institute of Technology. Due to the limited time frame that was available for this research, the initial literature study has to be seen as a brief introduction into the topic and does not claim to be fully comprehensive.
3.2 Case Study Research
As mentioned in the introduction, this research focused on two cases of fashion brands and their respective uses of music as a means to shape branding and create value.
“The essence of a case study, the central tendency among all types of case study, is that it tries to illuminate a decision or set of decisions: why they were taken, how they were implemented, and with what result.” (Schramm, 1971)
Using interviews with representatives from companies in the traditional music branding business was initially considered as a main method, but this path was not followed, since these representatives would not have been able to produce any information on the topic of alternative music branding.
Case study research as a method was chosen for this research, being that it was considered most suitable to answer the research question at hand. According to Yin (2014) it is advisable to use the case study as a method when a “how” or
“why” question is being asked about contemporary events where the relevant behaviors cannot be manipulated by the researcher. Since this study is
primarily based on already existing information, mainly documented
information from websites, blogs and news articles, there is little risk of data manipulation.
Flyvbjerg (2006) states that case study research provides concrete, practical (context-dependent) knowledge, instead of theoretical (context-independent) knowledge. A usual misconception is that context-independent knowledge is more valuable than context-dependent knowledge, however, in a field of study both approaches are needed. An advantage with case study research is that it provides a closeness to real-life situations, which provides the researcher with different details and perspectives of a situation. Another important remark is that “there does not and probably cannot exist predictive theory in social science”. According to Flyvbjerg general, context-independent theory has not managed to be successfully produced in social science and can therefore only offer concrete, context-dependent knowledge in the end, whereas the case study is particularly suited to produce context-dependent knowledge (Flyvbjerg, 2006).
Two cases were selected for this study. There were thoughts of adding more cases, but two cases felt more manageable in the given time frame. It was important to ensure that as much focus and attention as possible could be paid to each case. Yin (2014) recommends that one may want to settle for two or three literal replications when the theory/hypothesis is straightforward. The two cases that have been selected for this multiple-case study are literal replications, meaning that both cases were predicted to produce similar findings. This is in contrast to theoretical replication, where the cases presumably have contrasting findings. The goal was to cover both cases and ultimately draw cross-case conclusions, meaning that the data from both cases would be compiled by examining the results of each case individually and then, later, the patterns of the results would be observed across the cases (Yin, 2014).
The two digital platforms that were the focus of this study were “Burberry Acoustic” by Burberry and “Converse Rubber Tracks” by Converse. Both Burberry and Converse are fashion brands that have used alternative ways of music branding through the mentioned digital platforms. These two brands were chosen because they are both well-known globally, but at the same time they are also different. Burberry is a luxury brand and Converse is more of a
“street” brand. It was interesting to determine whether or whether not this
would make a difference.
For this study a multiple-case holistic design as suggested by Yin (2014) has been used. Holistic, meaning that there is only one single unit of analysis. This study examined the global nature of the organizations, which in this case is constituted by the digital platforms of each case.
3.2.1 Layout
As part of the case study the platforms and their layouts were observed. Since the two companies use two different kinds of digital platforms in order to promote their concepts of alternative music branding, it was important to focus on the layouts of each platform. They can, in this case, be thought of as physical artifacts (Yin, 2014), albeit their exclusive existence in the digital world. In order to grasp the ways of alternative music, the platforms on which they were presented, needed to be described.
3.2.2 Interview
During the case study it was decided to also incorporate interviews as a source of case study evidence. The target group for the Converse Rubber Tracks platform, and in particular the Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library, is specifically musicians, therefore, two music producers were interviewed. Both interviews were semi-structured, to allow changes in the sequence that they were asked and the possibility to add follow up questions during the interview (Kvale, 1996). The interviewees did not receive the questions prior to the interview, but they were aware of the nature of the interview.
3.2.3 Questionnaire
A questionnaire with open-ended questions was sent to the Chief Marketing Officer at Burberry and Marketing Manager at Converse via LinkedIn.
Unfortunately, none of them responded. Although being able to use them as
sources, would have offered a suitable source of data, this research still provides
a considerable amount of information, having used the methods described
above, thus extending the knowledge on the field of alternative music
branding.
4 Information About the Cases
In this section an introduction into the brands and platforms analyzed in this case study is presented.
4.1 Burberry
Burberry (see Figure 2) was founded in 1856 by the 21-year old Thomas Burberry (Burberry Group PLC, 2016). He was an apprentice draper and became a
specialist in outdoor sportswear. Back then, Burberry was called Burberrys, the
“s” was not dropped until 1999. In 1879 Burberry invented gabardine after he unsuccessfully tried to find an alternative to rubber, the only known waterproof material during that time (Vouge, 2015). Gabardine is a fabric made of worsted, cotton, polyester, or other fiber, that is firm and tightly twill-woven
(Gabardine, 2016).
Figure 2. Burberry logo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Burberry_logo.png).
In 1901 Burberry was in charge of creating uniforms for the officers of the
British Army and invented Tielocken, a water-resistant coat made out of
gabardine, which is considered the predecessor to the trench coat. In the
beginning of World War I, Burberry was asked to create a new version of the Tielocken by the administration of the British Army. He created a coat designed for the trenches, i.e. the trench coat. In 1924 Burberry created the Nova Check (see Figure 3), which is a plaid made up of checks in beige black,
Figure 3. The Nova Check pattern
(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burberry_pattern.svg).
white and red (Vouge, 2015). It was used as lining of the trench coat and is today a registered trademark of the brand (Burberry Group PLC, 2016).
The Burberry brand was at its height during the 1950s and its was often worn by Hollywood actors and actresses on the silver screen. During the 1960s the brand created a full line of accessories with the Nova Check pattern including bags, luggage, scarves and umbrellas (Vouge, 2015). The company’s export business increased significantly during the 1980s. This was primarily due to Japanese and American cravings for esteemed designer products. By the mid 1980s, two thirds of the company's sales came from exports. In 1998 the brand had
financial problems, predominantly due to the Asian economic crisis. Burberry’s financial results improved greatly during the 2000s as the Asian market
recovered and its American and European market grew (Burberry Ltd., 2001). In 2001 Christopher Bailey was appointed creative director. The brand was
modernized and targeted itself towards a younger audience (Vouge, 2015).
4.2 Burberry Acoustic
Burberry Acoustic is a platform that was launched in 2010 (see Figure 4). The platform offers access to live performances of emerging British artists that Burberry believes in, via the platform itself and YouTube (Burberry Group PLC, 2015). The artists perform acoustic versions of their songs, while wearing
clothing from Burberry’s collections (Pilkington, 2010). All the performances are commissioned, curated and filmed by Burberry and there are more than 100 videos available on the platform to date (Burberry Group PLC, 2015). Exposing local British music talents to a key target international audience promotes the brand and encourages consumer discussion with the brand (Swire, 2014).
Figure 4. A screenshot of the Burberry Acoustic platform (https://se.burberry.com/acoustic/#/acoustic).
4.3 Converse
Founded by Marquis Mills Converse in Malden, Massachusetts 1908 (Foreman, 2014), Converse Rubber Shoe Company (see Figure 5) started out as a shoe company, which specialized in galoshes (Converse, 2016). Prior to starting the company, Converse was a general manager at Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company and at one of Boston’s largest department stores. After US Rubber absorbed Beacon, Converse started his own company. Within a year, the company had 350 employees in a new plant. By 1910 the plant was expanded and produced 4,000 pairs of rubbers and boots per day (Converse Inc., 2000).
Figure 5. Converse logo (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Converse_logo.svg).
In 1917, Converse released the Converse All Star, one of the first basketball shoes in the world and had a dramatic increase in sales (ibid.). Charles “Chuck”
H. Taylor, an active high school basketball player, joined Converse as an
ambassador and salesman in 1921. He was instrumental in improving the All
Star shoe on the court by fine-tuning the design. Taylor drove across the US to
promote the shoe and host basketball coaching clinics. He was so influential in
the development and marketing of the shoe, that it was renamed after him in
1932. For the first ever Olympic basketball championship in 1936, Taylor
designed the official shoe of Team USA, the white Chuck Taylor All Star high-
top. The shoe had patriotic red and blue lines on the sole and the same colors
in the logo (see Figure 6). During World War II, the shoe was also the official
training shoe for the US military (Foreman, 2014).
Figure 6. Today’s edition of the white Chuck Taylor All Star high-top
(https://www.americanathletics.com/tyfoon/site/products/images/49d1c159f15c65b.jpg).
During the 1940s to the 1960s, the shoe was the most popular one for any athletic activity. It was said that Converse controlled 80% of the US market at its peak. During a new fitness craze in the late 1970s, many brands, such as Adidas, Nike and Puma released high-tech performance shoes onto the market, which meant that the All Star was not the most popular athletic shoe any longer. The shoe had a brief revival in the 1980s and 1990s. It was affordable and available in an assortment of materials and colors and people such as Tommy Ramone and Kurt Cobain wore it, thus, making the shoe popular
among new clientele. Following several management changes Converse filed for bankruptcy in 2001, but was saved by Nike Inc., who steered the brand towards creative expression. In 2012 Converse reported $1.4 billion in sales, in contrast to $205 million in 2002. In an interview with Footwear News, Jim Calhoun, president and CEO of Converse said that the priority today is to be a brand
“made for, and inspired by, artists” (Foreman, 2014).
4.4 Converse Rubber Tracks
Converse Rubber Tracks was established in 2011 and is a multifaceted global
music platform (see Figure 7). Emerging artists all over the world, who are
unsigned to a record label are given the possibility to apply for the Converse
Rubber Tracks global program. According to the company, the program was
developed out of “the ambition to give back to the music community” and to
provide artists who cannot afford studio time with opportunities (Converse News, 2015). If chosen, the artists are given the opportunity to record in one of the Converse Rubber Track recording studios where they will be provided with top of the line equipment and experienced engineers to help them create original music at no cost. The artists will also retain all the rights to their own music after it has been recorded. However, in order for Converse to publish the music online and on social media sites, the artists are given the option to grant limited rights to the company (Maloy, 2011).
In 2015, Converse announced the Converse Rubber Tracks studio takeover, which is the biggest program to date. In addition to their permanent studios in Brooklyn, Boston and São Paulo, the artists could also record at various pop-up studios around the world, including Abbey Road Studios in London and Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, to name a few. Connected to the platform there is also a collection of high-quality audio samples in the Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library. It is free of charge and available to musicians all over the world
(Converse News, 2015).
Figure 7. A screenshot of the Converse Rubber Tracks platform (http://www.converse-music.com/rubbertracks/).
4.4.1 Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library
The Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library (see Figure 8) consists of audio samples that are recorded at Converse Rubber Tracks studios. The library is constantly growing and all the samples are royalty free. It is created in partnership with Indaba Music, which is an online community for musicians
“to gather, get feedback, and hone their craft” (Converse Sample Library, 2016).
Figure 8. A screenshot of the Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library (https://www.conversesamplelibrary.com/).
5 Analysis and Results
This chapter applies the trends that have been discussed in Chapter 2 and presents the findings of the cases analyzed in this case study.
5.1 The Five Trends
The findings will be applied to the trends that are presented under section 2.3 as suggested by Lusensky (2011), which according to him have led to the new role of music in branding and communication.
5.1.1 Trend 1: Music Has Become a Soundtrack to Our Lives
The digitalization of music combined with technology has made it more
convenient for people to listen to music at any time. Moreover, it is crucial that marketers understand that music is and should be treated as its own media form (Lusensky, 2011).
In 2015, Burberry made yet another step in turning Burberry Acoustic into “a soundtrack to our lives”, by becoming the first brand to have its own channel on Apple Music. This gives music fans the opportunity to follow Burberry’s channel, which partially is an extension of Burberry Acoustic. Moreover, they can access behind-the-scenes stories, where artists share information on their creative processes and inspiration and also share the content on social media (Burberry Group PLC, 2015).
Songs from the “Converse Rubber Tracks Studio takeover program” are available on SoundCloud, an online audio distribution platform. SoundCloud let people stream music for free on their desktop and mobile devices. This makes it easy for people to listen to the songs whenever they want and
wherever they are. Furthermore, videos from Burberry Acoustic and Converse Rubber Tracks session can be viewed on YouTube.
5.1.2 Trend 2: It Has Become More Difficult to Make Yourself Heard
There are more companies on the market than ever before; at the same time
people pay less attention than ever before. Companies need to be unique and
differentiate themselves to stand out from the crowd and be memorable for customers (Lusensky, 2011).
For a company, sometimes standing out also means a change of the marketing strategy. Burberry is a 160-year-old brand and was in trouble from weakening in relevance, but it became relevant again by putting its customer first. Burberry also shifted their targeting group to millennials and invested in digital
innovation, such as Burberry Acoustic (Ching, 2014).
The opening of the first Rubber Track Studio in Brooklyn in 2010 was a result of several important strategic marketing decisions by Converse. Even though Converse offers the artists free recording at the studio, Rubber Tracks has still done a lot for the brand (O’Toole, 2013).
Converse has built a top-quality recording studio for the cost of a national TV ad campaign. As the benefits of a broadcast campaign are “disposable”, it is better to aim for a deep and lasting impact with its core customers. Instead of looking at others for inspiration, Converse had found the inspiration within themselves, as Rubber Tracks was based on an insight about its customers. Of course, it was a considerable risk building a recording studio, since it does not deliver any quantifiable or immediate return, but “the reward for bringing an unconventional strategy to life is outsized return, as Converse is beginning to see from Rubber Tracks” (ibid.)
On a website called “Marketing”, Converse Rubber Tracks is listed as one of the
“10 best brand music strategies of 2015”. By identifying artists not just as
creative partners, but also as their core consumers, “Converse owned musicians as a loyal audience” and has managed to differentiate itself from other sneaker brands through music (Raso, 2015).
5.1.3 Trend 3: Emotions Are Becoming More Important in Marketing
During the time of purchase, people’s decision making is often emotionally based. Therefore, emotions are important in branding of a product and in the building of a strong brand. It is crucial for the brand to understand what type of emotions it awakes in its customers and what type of association these
emotions create (Lusensky, 2011).
Burberry uses music to evoke emotion and connect with their customers. Music is a common thread through everything Burberry does, from the digital to the physical. The reason why music is such a big part of Burberry’s marketing strategy is largely because of Christopher Bailey, the Chief Creative Officer and CEO of Burberry and his love for music (Tuned Global, 2014).
In an interview in the Guardian, Bailey gives his opinion on music. “It's like anything that's emotional, it's a feeling. But it's like the weather, it affects the spirit of everything". Further, he uses words such as "authentic", "emotive" and
"organic" to describe music and explains that it is music that "definitely, often, usually" before anything else, “sets the directional mood for what we're working on" (Barton, 2013).
Music has become such a key component, that Burberry even has a full-time music team. This team consists of two people who, according to Bailey, "really are musos". With them, he has "the most random conversations that I would be embarrassed to have with anybody else. I can talk to them about a feeling or a particular kind of voice and they will just suggest an artist" (ibid.).
In an article on Atlanta Blackstar’s website, a US-based news outlet, it says that the use of music continues to be the most reliable tool for companies, when trying to connect with consumers emotionally. Further, information is given on how Converse has chosen a more far-reaching way of enhancing its brand and uses the original music by up-and-coming artists to promote its new collections and thus, having attained a reciprocal relationship with the music. “The
sneakers help sell the music, which helps sell the sneakers” (Chiles, 2012).
5.1.4 Trend 4: Brands Become Experiences
Many brands today do not just sell products, but rather offer experiences. By offering experiences consumers will more likely experience a higher value, which will lead to a willingness to pay a higher price. As a strong experience is based on a strong story, storytelling is getting more important for companies (Lusensky, 2011).
In an interview from 2013 with the former CEO of Burberry, Angela Ahrendts,
she spoke about how important storytelling is for the brand and that they
wanted a story that everybody “could see and feel, and not just the emotion,
but also the energy”. As Burberry decided to target a different group, the
millennial consumer, they also had to speak in their language, which was
becoming digital. They studied the customer and adjusted their strategies, in order to be relevant and authentic to them (Future of StoryTelling, 2013).
Burberry is aware that the millennial consumer is heavily influenced by music, therefore, there is a music angle in everything they do. When a Burberry Acoustic video is uploaded to the platform, it can also be streamed to Burberry stores, outdoor sights and be watched on mobile devices. Thus, “Burberry Acoustic was online, Burberry Acoustic becomes live offline”. The brand tries hard to blur the lines of digital and physical, calling its flagship store on Regent Street in London, the store of the future. It is designed for the customers to feel like they are walking into Burberry World, which is what the website is called, when walking into the store (ibid.).
Converse Rubber Tracks Live is a concert series where prominent headliners select by hand an emerging artist, who has previously recorded at a Converse Rubber Tracks studio, to be the opening performance for every show. This series was launched in 2012 in New York, but has since then expanded to more cities, such as Los Angeles, Beijing, Mexico City, London and Moscow, to name a few. All tickets to the concerts are free and people have to respond in order to sign up via a link to receive tickets to a concert (Converse News 2, 2015).
5.1.5 Trend 5: Conversation as a Way to Market
Digital technology has contributed in shifting the power from the companies to the consumers. People are able to make themselves heard through social
media, therefore, it is important for companies to engage their consumers in conversation with them and get them to talk about their brand (Lusensky, 2011).
“I grew up in a physical world, and I speak English. The next generation is growing up in a digital world, and they speak social“ (Angela Ahrendts, as quoted in Ching, 2014).
WaveMetrix, is a company that analyzes consumer discussions on social media by using a combination of technology and human coding (WaveMetrix, 2016).
In 2010, right after Burberry Acoustic was launched, WaveMetrix wrote about how Burberry Acoustic, Burberry’s fashion collections and products, drove customers into discussion on social media.
Here is a direct quote from the website of what the customers have said about Burberry Acoustic on social media:
“Burberry Acoustic is “pretty cool” and a “nice project”: Consumers
“thank Burberry” for sharing the “quality music” and “providing us with great new artists”. They praise the “wonderful” music that “should be released on an album”. However, a few say Burberry’s music tastes are
“bad” or “not my cup of tea”.” (Pilkington, 2010).
In an interview with Mashable, Geoff Cottrill, the Chief Marketing Officer of Converse, explained that Converse’s philosophy in social media is to act like a good party guest, by bringing something to the table, but also to listen more than to talk, as well as not involving campaigns from other channels in a platform for conversation. Fans want an emotional connection and Converse is trying to be a good host for that connection by being a participant in the discussion (Wasserman, 2011).
Cottrill believes that by showing respect and trust to the consumers, the brand can profit through strong advocacy. “Having millions of advocates can be very powerful. One just has to let go and trust the consumers” (ibid.). As of June 2015, over 1,000 artists have recorded in one of the permanent Rubber Tracks studios and 600 artists have recorded in one of the worldwide pop-up studios (Bernstein, 2015), which means that these “appreciative musicians and their social graphs are saying nice things about Converse”. Cottrill said that “people are media”, when treated right they will spread the good word (O’Toole, 2013).
To date, Converse has 37.5 million fans, while their parent company, Nike has 24.3 million fans and their competitor Adidas has 27.7 million fans on
Facebook.
5.2 The Layout of the Platforms
5.2.1 The Layout of Burberry Acoustic
When scrolling down the platform, one can see images of the artists. As the pointer hovers over one of the images the name of the artist, the song title and the filming location of the performance appear on top of the image. When clicking the image, a video player emerges as an overlay window on the middle of the screen and the video automatically starts to play (see Figure 9).
Figure 9. A screenshot of the emerging video player (https://se.burberry.com/acoustic/#/acoustic).
5.2.2 The Layout of Converse Rubber Tracks
On the Converse Rubber Tracks website there is world map with a heading that reads, “Select a region on the map to register”. When clicking on one of the regions, an option to select a city in that region, where Converse Rubber Tracks provides recording sessions, becomes available. Each option links to a new page where there is information about the recording studio in each respective city and the option to either register for recording dates in that studio, or to fill out a form to receive information on future sessions.
When scrolling down, there are images and names, of some of the artists who have recorded in one of the Converse Rubber Track studios (see Figure 10).
Information about the artists and links to their social media and/or websites
pops-up in an overlay window when the images are being clicked on.
Figure 10. A screenshot of platform when scrolling down (http://www.converse-music.com/rubbertracks/).
5.2.2.1 The Layout of Converse Rubber Track Sample Library
On the top right side of the front page there is an option called “featured mixes”. Here, it is possible to listen to songs that were created using the samples from the library. On the top left side, there is a slideshow of featured sessions. There are also images and the name of the musicians that have recorded in the Rubber Tracks studios on the front page of the platform.
Hovering over one image with the pointer will give the user the option to click a play symbol that will start playing the track.
When one of the images is clicked on, a new page with an overview with
information about the artist and the session becomes available (see Figure 11),
as well as a YouTube video from the session itself and the free samples. The
samples are divided in three categories, one shots, loops and stems.
Figure 11. A screenshot of the page the opens when the image on the precious site is clicked on (https://www.conversesamplelibrary.com/pack/hubweek-jamathon-sessions).
5.3 Interviews
Since the targeted group for the Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library is music makers, interviews with two music producers that have used the sample library were conducted. This was done in order to get an understanding of how the interviewees see the brand and how they relate to it as consumers and users of the Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library.
5.3.1 Interview 1
The first interview was conducted with John Åhlin. Åhlin is a music producer and freelance musician based in Stockholm. He is also part of an electro-pop duo called Among Pines that recently released their debut single.
Åhlin discovered the Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library through the
online community Indaba. He received an email about a competition where it
was required to use samples from this particular library and he also recalls that
he often saw a targeted ad on Facebook for the sample library. His opinion was
that it is easy to find samples in the library and he prefers the categorization of
the samples divided in different recording sessions by different artist. Åhlin
knows many of the artists that are featured on the platform, therefore, he also
knows the musical style of the artists, which makes it easier for him when
searching for samples.
He expressed that he really liked the fact that the Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library is free and that the high quality of the samples is satisfying.
Usually, free samples libraries have low quality samples and are very unorganized, Åhlin explains. At first, when he started using the Converse library, he was bothered by the fact that he had to listen to each of the samples and download them one at a time, instead of downloading all of them at once, but now he understands the concept behind it. When all the samples are downloaded at once, people will not listen through all of them and experience them the same way. He said that he could not really find anything negative with the library, he just feels that it is working for the advantage of the music community.
Further, Åhlin stated that he believes that he now has more respect for the Converse brand, but he also added that he grew up in a time where you were a
“winner” if you wore Converse All Stars, because people who was considered
“alternative” or “cool” with ripped jeans wore these kind of shoes. “There are some brands that you grow up with that you just like”, he said. He grew up listening to hip hop and rock music and later also other genres of music. Many musicians wore Converse and to Åhlin the brand is rather associated with music. He also likes the Converse Rubber Track program, where artist get to record for free, which is advantageous for the music community.
He mentioned that it feels like Converse is spending a lot of money “to give back” to the music community. When asked why that is, he answered: “So that we would buy shoes and love the brand”. “For me, there is no conflict, although I am aware of the strong branding and identity creation, I do not dislike the brand or find it negative” he added. To Åhlin the brand feels genuine and he can relate to it. When buying clothing he believes that he buys brands that he can relate to. Åhlin said that he always has a pair of Converse at home, at the time of the interview he was wearing a pair of white Converse All Star low-tops.
He thinks that the shoes are accessible, nice looking, reasonably priced and that they fit with every type of clothing.
Since Åhlin started to use the samples library, he saw Converse more as a brand in the music business. It is true that a lot of artist wore Converse, but also skaters, punk rockers and alternative people in general wore Converse, he said.
Prior to the use of the sample library he did not know that Converse had
recording studios, thus, he believes that his view of the brand has changed. But
he does not believe that he would buy a brand’s products, simply because they
are involved in the production of music. He buys a brand’s products because he likes them and can somehow identify with them. “I feel like I am a pretty
alternative person” he said laughing. The interview ended with him saying that:
” When a brand does something you believe is good, the trust for the brand also increases”.
5.3.2 Interview 2
For the second interview, Måns Billner was the interviewee. Billner lives in Stockholm, he is a full-time music producer and mixing engineer and does everything from mastering music recordings to creating jingles and audio logos.
Billner found the Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library, when searching for samples through the search engine Google. He thought the layout of the platform decent, but he also mentioned that he would like more descriptive information about the music genre and the type of samples on the front page, since, he did not know any of the artist featured on the platform. He expressed that it makes it more time consuming for him to find samples. “Usually, when I look for samples I kind of already know what I am looking for”, he said.
Many sample libraries are quite expensive to use, and free sample libraries usually have low quality samples, in that sense, the sample library provided by Converse is good, Billner said. However, he also found it to be negative that the Converse sample library is competing with the ones that are not free, since the Converse library may affect those who produce samples as a living, and it may even put people out of business. “So, there are advantages and disadvantages with this”, he explained.
When asked if his liking of the brand had grown stronger Billner said that he
did not even know that the samples library was provided by Converse until very
recently, and that he feels very neutral towards the brand. He had never felt
that he was relating to the brand in any way and had never in his life bought
any of the brand’s products. “I don’t really care about brands” he said. When it
comes to clothing, Billner simply prefers to wear clothing that is affordable and
comfortable and would not spend money on a product because it is of a specific
brand. Although he had used the Converse sample library, it will probably not
lead him to buying products from Converse, he expressed.
6 Discussion
In this chapter the key findings and the research itself will be discussed.
Furthermore, criticism of the methods used in this study and suggestions for further research are made.
6.1 The Five Trends
What can be derived from analyzing the findings, is that the trends as
suggested by Lusensky (2011), apply to both cases in this study. Burberry and Converse use music as a media form to communicate to their target audience and have in turn managed to turn their consumers into fans of their brands (Trend 1). Both brands have managed to differentiate themselves and establish themselves in the customers’ minds through the use of music (Trend 2). They understand that using music is an effective way to emotionally connect their consumers to their brands (Trend 3). It is identifiable, that both brands attempt to turn the music on their platforms into experiences. Burberry, by having the music from Burberry Acoustic played in their stores and on the runways of their fashion shows, and Converse, by having Rubber Tracks Live, letting their consumers and fans having the opportunity to see some of the artists that have recorded in one of the Rubber Tracks studios, playing live as a supporting act to a famous headliner for free (Trend 4). Furthermore, both brands seems to have recognize that social media is powerful and can both help and hurt a brand, but more importantly it has to be included in the marketing strategy in order for brands to connect to a certain target group, especially younger consumers, such as millennials (Trend 5).
During the data collection for both cases, it was expected that there might occur deviances in the empirical findings compared with the theoretic framework, especially in relation to the five trends described above. In most cases, the empirical findings have a tendency to, at least at some points, deviate from the predictions of the theoretical models. However, the five trends in question display a sufficient amount of width, which is most probably the reason for why there were no deviances in the empirical findings.
6.2 Layout
The layouts of the Burberry Acoustic platform and the Converse Rubber Tracks
platform display many similar layout features. They both have squared images
next to each other and when clicked on, an overlay window appears. In the case of the Burberry Acoustic platform a video player emerges, and in the Converse Rubber Tracks platform a window with information emerges.
The Burberry Acoustic platform is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and the emotions it evokes through its look goes hand in hand with the videos and the music. Each video features artists perform acoustic versions of their original songs, often in a “typical” British setting, such as Tower Bridge, Regent's Canal and Albert Hall in Manchester, among others. These settings serve as
atmospheric backdrops in the videos, aiming at matching the music being performed.
Even though, as mentioned earlier, the Converse Rubber Tracks platform has similar features, when looking at it, it does not evoke the same emotions. The look and the feel are not as polished as the Burberry Acoustic platform, but that is not necessarily a bad thing, it is just different from it. My belief it that the Converse Rubber Track platform is supposed to have a rougher, “street-feel”.
Moreover, not all the links on the Converse Rubber Tracks platform function as they should, and it feels rather chaotic and a somewhat more unorganized than the Burberry Acoustic platform. However, it should be taken into account that the Burberry Acoustic platform is only on one single page, whereas the
Converse Rubber Tracks platform has several subpages, i.a., Rubber Tracks Live and the Sample Library.
The Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library has a clean and simple layout. The layout is very logical and understandable, even as a researcher, who is not one of the site’s given users, it was not confusing or hard to understand where to click in order to find and listen to the samples.
6.3 Interviews
The interviews were very interesting, since the opinions and perspectives from the two interviewees were in many ways contrasting. The assumption is that the Converse brand is hoping that the majority of their target group is more similar to Åhlin, than to Billner. What these interviews have shown, is that in order to brand a fashion company by the use of music successfully, the
individual in the target group has to be interested in fashion to begin with.
If a person does not place a great importance on what they are wearing, this person will likely not buy fashion from a specific brand just because the brand is somehow involved with music, even in this case when both interviewees are music producers. Billner did not think that he would buy a product from Converse, whereas Åhlin was even wearing a pair of Converse shoes during the interview. It is highly unlikely that everyone in a company’s target group will equally like a product or a service. People who belong in the same target group are still individuals and are prone to have different preferences.
It would be realistic to assume that companies are aware of that not everyone in their target group is acceptive towards being emotionally connected to a brand, but their hopes are presumably to get as many people as possible from that target group to like the brand. Thus, if a majority of a specific target group likes a specific brand as a result of the brand’s marketing efforts, it is successful.
Some conditions just cannot be helped, e.g. if a Burberry consumer does not like acoustic music, it will conceivably be difficult for this consumer to like Burberry Acoustic.
The Converse brand in particular has a special relationship to music. Many prominent musicians used to wear Converse All Stars and are nowadays serving as role models to many of the people that listen to and create music. As in the case when Åhlin gave his view on the brand during his upbringing. The
circumstance that Converse now is “giving back to the music community”, will likely make the people who already favor this brand to like them even more and by that, Converse has created an even stronger relationship and connection with their consumers by “giving back”.
Åhlin also mentioned that he was aware of the branding, but that he was not bothered by it. Consumers today are more aware of branding than in old times and the belief is also that consumers do not want to feel deceived by a brand.
Therefore, it is important for brands that want to connect with their consumers emotionally to be “authentic” and “real”.
6.4 Method Criticism
6.4.1 Literature Criticism
It is taken into consideration that not all useful data for this study was found
using the search methods described under section 3.1. Furthermore, there was
also literature that appeared useful that was not available; therefore, other relevant literature may have been left out of this study. Nevertheless, the literature that was used was considered to be adequate for conducting the research.
6.4.1.1 Theory Criticism
