This morning I got in the car, turned on the radio, and immediately remembered that I have got to TiVo Suits this Thursday. There wasn’t a Suits commercial on the radio. There was something better: “Love Me Again” by John Newman was playing. This is a song that I couldn’t have named 24 hours ago, but USA has managed to forever associate it in my mind with Suits, by making it the soundtrack to the Season 3 trailer.
Dual Marketing
Long before marketers began considering this type of dual advertising with music, they were intertwining products. As long ago as the 1950s, characters in shows like The Burns and Allen show were suggesting that viewers drink Carnation Evaporated Milk. Rather than interrupt the show with commercials, Burns and Allen (and many other shows of the time) wove the advertisement into their show.
Times have changed, and advertising has evolved in two directions. While we now have commercials interrupting our broadcasts, we also see companies buying product placement, sponsoring sports teams, and some, coming full circle, are using storylines for one product as a way to advertise another.
Coming Full Circle
Suits and John Newman both get exposure from the season 3 trailer, but they’re not the only ones sharing ad space. General Electric and Budweiser teamed up at the 2012 Superbowl, and Proctor and Gamble combined two of their own products in one commercial - Old Spice and Charmin.
All of these combinations help build brand awareness, but there’s something different about combining music and another product. It’s an assault of the senses, in the best way possible. It connects something predominantly visual with auditory and rhythmic sensations. It opens a whole new world for content marketing.