Billboard, March 05, 2005
Whether an act takes part in a sponsored tour is a matter of taste.
Maroon5, headliner for the upcoming Honda Civic Tour, signed on because the band agrees with Honda's goals.
"While we might have been wary of corporate sponsorship, we think Honda is having a positive impact on the environment," guitarist James Valentine says.
Other acts, such as Cake, say sponsored tours are becoming more of a necessity given the state of the music business. The act is headlining this spring's Virgin College Mega Tour.
Cake frontman John McCrea jokes, "We envision bands beginning to do whatever it takes to put their music out there, including wearing NASCAR-style uniforms with logos on them."
Tour organizers, sponsors and agents say the melding of music with lifestyle elements--such as interactive games and contests--makes sponsored tours appealing, particularly to youth. And, because this demographic is critical to marketers, tying in with music is fast becoming a top priority for brands.
BENEFITS FOR ALL
According to IEG Sponsorship Report, sponsorship spending is expected to rise 8% this year to $754 million, up from $695 million in 2004 (Billboard, Feb.
5).
Rob Tonkin, founder of Marketing Factory, creator and producer of the Honda Civic Tour, says Honda renewed the project for a fifth year because it is reaping branding benefits in its target market of 16- to 30-year-olds. A Honda representative declined to comment.
The 43-date 2003 Honda Civic Tour, which featured Good Charlotte and New Found Glory, grossed $7.1 million and drew 301,000 people, according to Billboard Boxscore. Only partial data is available for last year's outing.
The 2005 version also features Phantom Planet, the Donnas and the Thrills. The 35-date trek, which begins March 11, has multiple promoters including House of Blues and Clear Channel Entertainment.
"The collective marketing that goes along with this raises the profile of the tour, the band and the brand," Tonkin says. "Experiential marketing is imperative in reaching the youth market."
Tonkin says that letting the band perform "unencumbered" from brand tie-ins is critical. The main Honda branding will be in the venue's lobby, which will display two Maroon5-styled Civics that will be given away.
"You don't want the tour to be more about the sponsor than the band," adds Bruce Solar, booking agent for Cake at the Agency Group. Virgin logos will not be onstage during performances, he says.
Ann Egelhoff, senior manager of partnerships and promotion at Virgin Entertainment Group, says each stop on the 20-date tour includes a "day village" at a college--Virgin Megastores' target demographic for the tour--featuring sponsored activities from Virgin and other companies such as Dentyne.
The Virgin tour, which also features Gomez and Robbers on High Street, will be individually promoted by each university.
Though Egelhoff concedes that artists "don't totally love" doing sponsored tours, she says Virgin Megastores has an advantage because of its obvious music tie-in.
Tours that specifically tie music with sports are now being staged more frequently.
The inaugural Dew Action Sports Tour, owned by NBC Sports and CCE's motor sports division, will feature athletics, major concerts and activities sponsored by Panasonic, PlayStation and others. It begins June 9 at Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, Ky. Musical acts have not yet been determined.
"Music is so linked to these sports and is part of the lifestyle and culture of the athletes," says Wade Martin, GM of the Dew Action Sports Tour.
John Galloway, director of sports marketing for Pepsi-Cola North America, says Mountain Dew has "made a long-term investment" in music projects. The soda brand is the tour's title sponsor.
Many brands are still unsure about delving into tours, says Martin Berman, head of Integrate Marketing, producer of the Virgin tour. "There are so many layers in the music business," he notes.
Venues also face their own challenges. Bob Wagner, VP/chief marketing officer for Anaheim Arena Management, which oversees the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif., says that venues named for an automobile, for example, may have a conflict of interest in hosting a tour sponsored by a competing car.
"I need to protect the integrity of this year-round client. At the same time, I need to be cooperative with outside tours," he says. "It's a highly sensitive topic today."