{"id":49084,"date":"2025-01-26T17:55:30","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T17:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/marketing\/brands-hit-the-right-notes-at-live-concerts-but-is-the-hype-worth-the-roi-et-brandequity\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T17:55:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T17:55:30","slug":"brands-hit-the-right-notes-at-live-concerts-but-is-the-hype-worth-the-roi-et-brandequity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=49084","title":{"rendered":"Brands hit the right notes at live concerts, but is the hype worth the ROI?, ET BrandEquity"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Brands are rocking it up at live concerts, pulling out all stops to take home a slice of fan frenzy. But does it translate to more returns?<\/p>\n

When Diljit Dosanjh performed his Dil-Luminati concert<\/a> last month in Bengaluru, among the thousands in attendance was actress Deepika Padukone. Clad in a white sweatshirt and blue denims, Padukone was enjoying the show with her friends when Dosanjh called her on stage and said he\u2019s a regular consumer of her skincare brand 82\u00b0E. Padukone tossed out packs of 82\u00b0E to the adoring crowds, while Dosanjh also promoted Mokobara bags, another brand backed by Padukone. A couple of weeks later, during his Mumbai concert, Dosanjh tossed out Mokobara strollers, grabbed by happy audience members.<\/p>\n

From Benetton to Bacardi, Cadbury to Bisleri, Mokobara to Nissan, Levi\u2019s to Maybelline \u2014 some of the biggest brands today across categories have found new marketing<\/a> love in live celebrity concerts, capitalising on the dazzling setups, high-voltage music and captive audiences.<\/p>\n

Music blitzkrieg<\/h2>\n

Think drone showers, styling, driving and hydration partners, tossing out packs to people in the crowd \u2014 brands are pulling out all stops to claim their share. Moreover, with international acts no longer glossing over India in their calendar, there is more incentive for brands to partner with music.<\/p>\n

The last year alone saw global icons such as Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Bryan Adams, Maroon 5, Sting and the Jonas Brothers<\/a> perform across Indian cities, alongside Indian sensations like Diljit Dosanjh, Karan Aujla and AP Dhillon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rise of live concerts in India<\/a> showcases the shifting cultural and entertainment preferences of today\u2019s audiences. Music, much like fashion, is a universal language and a unifier that bridges generations, making it a natural fit for us,\u201d says Ramprasad Sridharan, managing director of United Colors of Benetton, which teamed up with the Bryan Adams India tour as its official styling partner.<\/p>\n

Going forward, Sridharan adds, Benetton will explore more avenues that integrate the brand with \u201csuch experiences\u201d.<\/p>\n

Innovations galore<\/h2>\n

At Dua Lipa\u2019s Zomato Feeding India concert, she rocked the stage with \u2018Levitating x Woh Ladki Jo\u2019 mashup, while Nick Jonas had frenzied fans greeting him as \u2018Jiju\u2019 at Lollapalooza. At Bryan Adams\u2019s seven-city \u2018So Happy It Hurts\u2019 India tour, brand collaborations and marketing innovations were the name of the game.Mahesh Kanchan, marketing director, India and neighbouring countries, Bacardi, adds that other brands in their portfolio have also collaborated with live music events and concerts, such as the NH7 Weekender. \u201cWe have believed in seizing the India opportunity with strategic investments in consumer-centricity,” he says.<\/p>\n

At AP Dhillon\u2019s concert last month, chocolate maker Mondelez got a drone to shower Cadbury Fuse on audiences. \u201cSuch activations have strengthened the brand\u2019s positioning as the ideal hunger solver. Given that these are highly youth-centric events, it also helps to connect with the right target audience and build stronger affinity and brand recall,\u201d says Nitin Saini, vice-president, marketing, Mondelez India. \u201cThere is a clear trend of growing concert culture in India. We\u2019ll surely evaluate such events and find newer ways of activating them in the future,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Brands say that such partnerships are leading to resonance, visibility and new avenues to drive sales, even if only in the short term. \u201cThese associations enable us to build a strong, aspirational brand image by offering premium activations that resonate with audiences. Where possible, they also contribute to driving retail sales,\u201d says Angelo George, CEO, Bisleri International. Bisleri\u2019s premium water brand Vedica partnered with concerts by Dua Lipa and Bryan Adams, as well as at Lollapalooza.<\/p>\n

\u201cLights, music and Bryan Adams. The crowd, vibes and fun made it an experience to cherish,\u201d carmaker Nissan India, the official driven-by sponsor partner for the event, wrote on its social media handles.<\/p>\n

What do people want?<\/h2>\n

Bacardi\u2019s Dewar\u2019s blended scotch whisky partnered with Bryan Adams\u2019s concert, which the company says was a result of \u201cmeticulously studying its target audience\u201d. Vijay Dev, category lead, consumer marketing, global whiskies, Bacardi, says: \u201cWhen evaluating the Bryan Adams collaboration, our research indicated a strong resonance of \u201990s music with our target consumers. India emerged as a powerhouse of Adams\u2019s global fandom, ranking among his top five social media strongholds. This wasn\u2019t just a musical trend; it was also a cultural zeitgeist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mahesh Kanchan, marketing director, India and neighbouring countries, Bacardi, adds that other brands in their portfolio have also collaborated with live music events and concerts, such as the NH7 Weekender. \u201cWe have believed in seizing the India opportunity with strategic investments in consumer-centricity and operational excellence,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

But going forward, where would this take us? Will it change the way concerts are marketed? Industry watchers say the trend is too new to gauge long-term returns on investments. \u201cWe don\u2019t know yet if concert-branding will bring in concrete results. As of now, it\u2019s a tick in the box \u2014 as far as innovation and marketing goes, combined with a lot of traction on social media. The outlays are not very large. But will it move the needle for the brand in the long term? I\u2019m not so sure,\u201d says Sandeep Goyal, chairman, Rediffusion.<\/p>\n

Booking rush<\/h2>\n

Globally, the rush for tickets by the biggest bands has often proven overwhelming. Taylor Swift famously crashed Ticketmaster\u2019s site, while in India, tickets to Coldplay\u2019s upcoming concerts were sold out in a matter of minutes. BookMyShow, Zomato Insider and Saregama are among the companies fuelling the live concerts business, with ticket sales ranging from Rs 2,500 to over Rs 50,000.<\/p>\n

The artists are promoting brands for a sizeable fee, which are included as clauses in their contracts. \u201cThe fees charged for a recent show by a global star was astronomical, but the brands were willing to shell out the amount, given the high visibility of the tour,\u201d says a senior executive at an event management company directly involved with the concert.<\/p>\n

BookMyShow said in a Throwback 2024 report that music tourism became one of the defining trends of the year, with more than 4,77,393 fans travelling outside their cities to attend live events. \u201c#Livemusic emerged as a shared language that transcended borders. Coldplay\u2019s unprecedented demand showcased the sheer fandom in India. Tier-2 cities became vibrant hubs for live events, breaking away from the shadows of metros to stake their claim in the entertainment landscape,\u201d the ticket booking website wrote, adding that tier-2 cities saw a massive 682% growth in live events, from Kanpur to Shillong to Gandhinagar. According to the report, India saw 27,000 live events including music, comedy and theatre in January-November, 35% more than the previous year.<\/p>\n

Coldplay\u2019s India concerts were sold out in minutes and brands like Starbucks and Rapido posted on Instagram on how they were keen to collaborate with the band\u2019s events. <\/p>\n

For many brands, it\u2019s also a first-mover niche to get noticed. \u201cDiljit Dosanjh shares a little bit of pyaar and a whole lot of moko magic,\u201d Mokobara wrote on Instagram days before Dosanjh\u2019s multi-city concert kicked off. The luggage maker is betting on music concerts as a standout marketing niche, and is now a constant at Dosanjh\u2019s concerts.<\/p>\n

Levi\u2019s, on the other hand, partnered with Dosanjh to launch limited-edition tees, hoodies and sweatshirts at the tour. At Lollapalooza, meanwhile, cosmetics brand Maybelline collaborated for the first time with a music festival.<\/p>\n

The flip side<\/h2>\n

Despite all the hype, however, there\u2019s backlash building up over inadequate infrastructure, lapses in crowd management and lack of adequate food and hygiene, threatening to dampen all the marketing blitz. Mohandas Pai, former CFO at Infosys, complained on X after a Bryan Adams concert, saying organiser Zomato was only accepting cash for food and drinks.<\/p>\n

Singer Monali Thakur, who called off her concert midway in Varanasi in December, also cited infrastructural challenges. \u201cI am disheartened that my team and I were so excited to perform here. Let\u2019s not talk about the infrastructure and its condition, as that is the management\u2019s responsibility. I can\u2019t explain what they have done to the stage just so they can steal money,\u201d she said, in a video that has since gone viral.<\/p>\n

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