Category: Online Advertising

by Mark Sherman

While the interactive revolution is here, the effective use of iconic media content on the web remains in its adolescence.

Over the past decade, we’ve seen the type of content used in online ad campaigns rapidly evolve from mostly static copy with a few graphics or images, to include more dynamic media such as flash animation and most recently, pop music and video. But it’s all just the beginning.

Brands are increasingly looking for ways to break through a cluttered online environment and to figure out how to attract consumers to their message rather than the traditional model of simply pushing the message out to them. As brands focus on drawing people in, iconic content – most notably music and celebrity content – is playing a significant role.

Music in particular, is starting to make noise online.  Music has the power to move, inspire and excite, and thus advertisers are harnessing pop’s powerful potential more frequently than ever. While the commissioning of original jingles for ads is plummeting, licensing music from established and emerging artists is soaring.

‘Synchronisation’ licence income – that is, income from the use of music in advertisements, films and games – is a growing revenue stream for the recording industry.  For example, in the UK, the home of some major record labels, income from sync licensing has grown by 20.1% over the past year according to the BPI (previously the British Phonographic Industry) – and this is a figure that looks set to continue rising. 

In the digital era, this is the result of several factors, including the music industry seeking new revenue streams and the fact that broadband and better technologies make it easier than ever to add music to an online ad campaign.

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