"Off the Wall" Branded Entertainment

As I have mentioned in previous posts, branded entertainment is a huge opportunity for brands to tap into the strong emotional ties that their consumers have for their favorite musician or sports league. Our campus got a little taste of Vans branded entertainment yesterday evening on Park Ave. Upcoming artist Kelley James is on a sponsored Sorority/Fraternity Tour. Who are the sponsors? Oakleys, Muscle Milk, Vans, and Crunk Energy Drinks. All of these are very appropriate brands for the college age target audience. What better way to create the 'warm fuzzies' for your brand than to put on a concert in the street for the campus GreekLife featuring a new sexy artist? While at the concert, Vans gave away free t-shirts, hats, folders, and stickers for those who attended, and they had their huge tour bus for everyone to see. With Kelley James giving shout-outs to the brand for sponsoring the event and to the Greek organizations who worked together to host the event, everyone there was having a great time while Vans brand name was in their face.

While I was there, I first got excited about the awesome Vans hat I received. Even though I have never bought anything Vans, I was enthusiastic because of the excitement of the event. After hearing Kelley James play and falling in love, I definitely won't forget the brand name, Vans, when I think of the concert. Also the Facebook and Twitter buzz that happened all day before and after the concert was incredible word-of-mouth for the unknown artist. My best friend called me this morning asking me about the artist I posted about on my wall. She now has his newest album on iTunes. When I was telling her about the concert, she was reminded that her boyfriend's birthday was coming up, and how he loves Vans shoes.

The point of branded entertainment is 'you scratch my back, i scratch yours' on a three-way level. Vans, Kelley Jam, and FSU Greeklife all received exposure from the event; an example of an efficient win-win-win created by a brand match-up.