If you watch Lady Gaga’s promotion for her newest single (‘Bad Romance’), you will see various advertisements for gadgets and fashion brands.

The video has eight product placements, including Parrot by Philippe Stark, Nemiroff vodka, Heartbeats earphones, HP Envy lap top, Nintendo Wii, Burberry, and Safari sunglasses.

The product placements give the brands great exposure. On the side of the artist, it provides an alternative revenue stream. 

Music video product placements are an emerging trend. It illustrates a shift in music marketing. As album sales continue to plummet, artists and producers need new ways to generate revenue. The brands, on the other hand, are looking for ways to be associated with top endorsers to make their products more appealing.

The scenario makes product placement the ultimate solution.

Source: UTalkMarketing.com
 

When it comes to brand integration, MTV is one of the best in the industry. And the network is reaching higher as it is about to introduce the first ever branded MTV Music Video Award, the Pepsi Rock Band Video Award.

Pepsi recently bought the rights to the award, which will be presented during the latest MTV Video Music Awards show. The award is a culmination of the brand’s “Rock Band” campaign, which was co-sponsored by the network.

Almost 700 gamers participated in the contest for a chance to win their very own Moon man award. Each group created their own “Rock Band” inspired music video and integrated the Pepsi brand in the mix.

The contestants that win will accept the award as a part of a lead into a 30-second commercial featuring Pepsi.

“Pepsi's been involved with the VMAs for a very long time, and has always been involved with the latest thing going on in the music industry,” commented Meg Hammond, senior marketing manager for Pepsi. “This year we wanted to do something that tied into one of the biggest things you can get at the VMAs. This is the first Moonman ever given away to a non-professional, so we wanted to do something with 'Rock Band' where people could make videos and showcase their talent.”

Other sponsors for the VMAs will be Taco Bell, Verizon Wireless, Sears, and Sony Pictures.

“The VMAs is the biggest thing we do all year,” commented John Shea, executive VP of integrated marketing for MTV. “It allows us to evolve and demonstrate our prowess with advertisers and marketing partners. It has a major impact on music downloads, it's significant to our artist relationships. And it's the most significant opportunity to demonstrate our creative prowess.”

Source: AdvertisingAge
 

Island Def Jam Music Group's artist and producer Jeremih has teamed up with Moderati to allow fans to create their own mixes from three of the artist's hits - "Birthday Sex", "Birthday Sex (Uptempo)" and "My Ride." To celebrate the release, fans can promote the link to the Jeremih Romplr on tweettow.in (http://tweettow.in/jeremih) for a chance to win free Romplrs and autographed Jeremih CDs and t-shirts. Also for a limited time the regularly priced $2.99 Jeremih "Birthday Sex" Romplr: Remix is available at the reduced special price of 99 cents.

"With the Jeremih 'Birthday sex' Romplr: Remix I'm giving my fans the ability to make their own birthday sex…right on their iPhone!" said Jeremih.

With Romplr, fans can now connect to artists' music in a whole new personal way by creating their own versions of a song and being part of the creative process. Jeremih "Birthday Sex" Romplr: Remix gives fans unprecedented access to the key elements of the original recordings and provides creative tools to really connect with and personalize Jeremih's tracks. Fans can then record and share their mixes via Facebook, Twitter, email, or on www.romplr.com, the online interactive music companion site.

"We see Romplr as a great innovation in digital music. It gives fans the ability to create a deeper connection to Island Def Jam artists and most of all, brings fans closer to the music they love," stated Christian Jorg, IDJ's SVP / New Media & Commerce.

With Jeremih "Birthday Sex" Romplr: Remix, America's leading mobile content agency, Moderati, continues to cement its position in branded mobile entertainment. The company's Virtual Zippo Lighter iPhone application ranked #18 on Comscore's all-time iPhone application downloads list and its recently released Romplrs for Soulja Boy Tell 'Em and The Alchemist both charted in the Top Paid Music Apps on iTunes.

"The fact that Romplr has already enjoyed top slots in Paid Music Apps in the iTunes App Store proves that consumers want more from their music and are willing to pay for it. Romplr is allowing fans to express themselves and connect to their favourite music in a whole new way, which is really exciting for our label, artist and brand partners," said Jon Vlassopulos, CEO of Moderati.

Jeremih "Birthday Sex" Romplr: Remix is now available on iTunes at a special one-week promotional price of $0.99. To learn more, visit: www.romplr.com. Future artists and smartphone applications will be announced soon. Follow @romplrRemix on Twitter to stay in the mix.

About Island Def Jam Records

The Island Def Jam Music Group is home to a multi-cultural and diverse family of artists and has fast become one of the most successful labels in the industry. It is comprised of Island Records and Def Jam Recordings, and is in partnerships with Disturbing Tha Peace and Slip N Slide. The roster boasts an array of talented artists, including Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, The Killers, The-Dream, Fabolous, Melissa Etheridge, Justin Bieber, LL Cool J, NAS, Chrisette Michele, Kristinia DeBarge, Bon Jovi, Ludacris, Lionel Richie, Rihanna, Hoobastank, Jeremih, Sum 41, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy and Ne-Yo.

About Moderati, a Bellrock Media Company

Moderati is a digital content agency that helps media companies and consumer brands connect with their consumers through the creation of engaging entertainment experiences. The company delivers the best digital content to consumers when, where and how they want it, with a mission to engage and entertain through creativity, technology and humor. Moderati has deep roots in mobile content and entertainment, and has been a trusted partner of top-tier wireless carriers and major media companies since 2001, having delivered over 100M individual content downloads. The company is a subsidiary of Japan's leading branded entertainment production company, Bellrock Media, backed by Yoshimoto Kogyo, the largest pure play media company in Japan with interests in TV, talent representation, film, music, physical venues and consumer products. Moderati is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

For more information, visit the Website at http://www.moderati.com. 

FameCast is making a shift to branded entertainment by making its mark in contests, which feature aspiring musicians and big name clients.

The company provides corporations and event producers marketing campaigns that center on music and other entertainment contests. FameCast also produces FameCast TV, an online platform featuring the contestants.

FameCast started as an online music contest with a traffic-based advertising method, says Matt Hovis—co-founder of the company. However, the company has made many changes in the business model for the past two years.

“We’ve shifted completely to that of a branded entertainment platform, with a current focus on contest centered marketing campaigns, which has proven to be of real interest to the corporate world while remaining a place of new opportunity for emerging talent,” says Hovis. “It’s really resonating in the market place, and we’re doing good business.”

Some of the company’s clients include Western Union, Fender, Pac-Sun, Guitar Center, and Joe’s Jeans. 

Not all of the company’s projects are centered on music. FameCast recently organized a modeling contest for Joe’s Jeans and helped redesign the retailer’s online storefront. The company is currently working on a sports-related contest and entrepreneurship campaign for Western Union.

“Contests are quickly becoming an established means of generating online activity, generating buzz and viral messaging,” says Hovis. “It’s been an excellent way for artists to be discovered.”

Source: Austin Business Journal