Branding A Key Topic At Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Conference

Interesting piece by Michael Paoletta in Inside Branded Entertainment from Billboard Biz on some of the panels at the recent Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Conference & Awards in Atlanta.

During the I’m With the Brand panel, Chaka Zulu, co-co-CEO of Disturbing Tha Peace stated:
“Co-branding with other companies and products has helped create more branding outlets,” Zulu said. “You have to ask yourself the question, ‘How can I connect my brand -- my artist -- to the brands that already that a have relationship to consumers.”

Zulu illustrated this with a recent partnership between one of his artists, Ludacris, and Pontiac. For Zulu, the deal was a natural fit, because of Ludacris’ love of cars and because of timing. It was between albums, so the ad for the Pontiac Solstice would keep Ludacris in the public’s eye in a campaign with a media buy in the millions. Ludacris appeared in the TV spot, which also featured his song, “2 Miles an Hour.”

Since the track had no accompanying video, and Pontiac needed visuals for the commercial, the auto manufacturer agreed to pay for a video. This was music to the ears of Zulu and Ludacris.