Between a Rocawear and a Hard Place

Hip-Hop Icons Hope to Broaden Their Portfolios With New Fashion Lines

Originally posted by Mike Tunnicliffe in Ad Age 'Songs For Soap' 09.19.08 @ 06:39 PM

The "Grave" t-shirt from Jay-Z's Artful Dodger line.

Well the brand-music partnership space is certainly back with a vengeance after a long slow summer. I could turn this writing into a full time job if we carry on at the rate the stories are currently hitting the wires.

In time for the fall fashion season, our favorite group of "enter-preneurs" are out and about, showing off their new ranges.

First up to give us a nice twirl is the King of Branding and Business Opportunities, Jay-Z, who showed off his newly revamped Artful Dodger line at a party hosted by GQ magazine at the Chelsea Art Museum. Hova acquired Artful Dodger with partners Iconix for $15 million in cash last November. Both must be hoping that Jay-Z's legendary marketing skills can propel the Artful Dodger brand to the same capital value as his former clothing label Rocawear, which was acquired by Iconix for $204 million in early 2007.

Lupe Fiasco has announced his own new line, a natty range of t-shirt with fashion label Fruition, based on a re-designed Fila logo. This will fit nicely alongside his range of sunglasses and Fallacy Of Rome clothing line. He just needs a shoe range to finish the wardrobe off!

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, Snoop Dog is apparently weaving his Rich and Infamous clothing line and other Snoop products into his reality TV show "Father Hood" and the follow-up to his 2004 movie "Coach Snoop," which, according to Woooha.com, will generate millions of dollars worth of free exposure. Good for you Snoop, I'm glad that these shows are of use to someone.

Finally, Sears has just revealed the new fall ad campaign for the LL Cool J range of clothing featuring the rapper and, by the looks of it, his entire family.

Got to stop writing now whilst I get my kids to model those new Tunnicliffe "Tuna" hoodies that I've been developing this summer ...

It's a Brand-New Metallica

Metal Supergroup Embraces New ID and Alternative Marketing Strategies

Originally posted by Mike Tunnicliffe in Ad Age 'Songs For Soap' on 09.18.08 @ 11:52 AM

Heavy metal supergroup Metallica, who have had a reputation for heavy-handedness with illegal file sharing, fans posting videos on YouTube and journalists who don't quite play ball, have taken a refreshing new approach to the Metallica brand and marketing strategies around the launch of their much-anticipated ninth studio album, "Death Magnetic."

The album, which sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week (which was a short one due to a Friday release) and hit the No. 1 slot on the British album charts, has been accompanied by several new developments:

First, in good brand-management style, the Metallica ID has been revamped with a new logo, a "signature" typographic style and a brand kit that incorporates logos, imagery and graphics, as well as promotional items including a flag, a coffin-shaped special edition album and a vinyl boxed set. Perhaps more surprising is that the band brought in Cannes-award-winning design firm Turner Duckworth, which traditionally works for consumer brands including Coca-Cola, Palm, Amazon and South African Breweries.

The band has also pushed out quite a few new marketing initiatives. For fan-club members (of which I am now one!), anyone ordering tickets for Metallica's live shows will receive an "e-voucher" they can redeem to have the new CD mailed directly to their home for no charge. They'll also receive more "e-vouchers" to download, again free of charge, a video recording of the live show they are going to see. All of this and more, including the ability to order set lists, ticket stubs and recordings of other live shows, is available from livemetallica.com.

As any good marketer will tell you, evolving the look and feel of a brand and offering your consumers the chance to interact with it in new and compelling ways helps keep it fresh and increases "brand stickiness" or, in rock n' roll terms, it keeps your fans stuck to your side.