To begin with, music brings to mind emotions in people and these emotions can be negative or positive. Endorsement of products and services in the music industry is profitable for every company that invests in it and for every musician. Moreover, companies are also beneficiaries of this endorsement deals because it is a way to gain publicity of their offerings in a particular market. This publicity is usually considered to be the cheaper option compared to prime-time advertising.
For example, when media houses are covering celebrity news, and they mention a particular musician, the company that endorsed him/her gains by the free publicity, and the public - who are the consumers - considers their decisions to purchase a given product.
These endorsement deals are like a double-edged sword because if a musician/celebrity is involved in scandalous activities, the company that invested in him/her, will not like to be associated with the scandal. For example, a musician in the USA popularly known as Chris Brown is full of scandals almost every month. His scandals are not limited to his country of origin, but it spreads to other geographical locations of the world. Therefore, few corporations would consider investing their money in endorsements of their products through Chris Brown; who is full of gossip.
This leads me to the research question, which inquires whether Brand Managers’ appraisal to invest money in endorsing their products and services through music is recommended or not. Brand Managers can consider investing money in endorsement through music by estimating the impact and influence music has on a wide scale. The various benefits of endorsement through music are in more detail in the following paragraphs.
Everybody listens to music
Imagine sitting in a boardroom of a big corporation and the Chairperson of the Board requests for a review of their advertising expenditure in relation to their revenues; you are asked as the Head of Department in charge of the portfolio, regarding advertising and other related tasks such as public relations, for a comprehensive presentation. The Head of that Department outlines the pros and the cons of endorsing certain musicians in order to gain on publicity of their products. Moreover, the corporation saves on big advertising budgets that have slots in TV, radio and the internet.
Furthermore, everybody listens to music. The late James Brown in USA referred to music as universal language, in fact, if people were computers it would be the same as binary codes. Every product is eligible to be associated with the kind of soundtrack attached to it.
Age is nothing but a number
Another benefit that the Head of Department gives to the board is that age is nothing but a number. A famous musician, who is now dead, once said that everybody is old enough to listen to whatever genre of music he/she likes. Even a baby can enjoy a tune although it cannot sing-along to the song. Brand Managers usually exploit this by attaching their baby related products; it can be babies’ cloths, babies’ food and toys.
Some people like slow music while others like it fast.
Slow jams or music are often associated with romance; therefore, such a studio recording is for people of between 20-40 years of age. On the other hand, fast-paced music is for the younger generation and incorporates teenagers.
An Addictive Drug
Music can manipulate people into doing something. Firstly, music is like an addictive drug and Brand Managers are aware of this. For example, corporations use of jingles on advertising platform such as TV, radio and the internet to target a specific group of people into purchasing their products or services. A drug dealer works in a similar way but he is often illegitimate and the government agencies usually arrests them when they are caught undertaking illegal activities any day.
There is no gender inequity in music
In a world full of inequalities of different nature, and in various societies there is no inequality when it comes to music, especially gender based inequality. Almost everybody can dance to his or her favorite tunes, even noble men and women. What varies is the style of dancing people use. In traditional African societies …
Endorsements can elevate societies.
When a corporation employs a single musician to endorse some of their products or services, he/she becomes some sort of a leader and role model in a society. This way other musicians will also be interested in endorsing a company’s products and services. Soon enough everybody in a particular society will be enjoying an endorsed brand.
CONCLUSION
In winding up this paper, I found that endorsement of products and services in Kenya is still at its infancy compared to other developed countries. Music is a universal language, and therefore, everybody listens to music; people listen to it regardless of their age, while others prefer slow music as opposed to fast ones. Furthermore, music can lead people to act in a way that suggest they have lost control of their bodies/minds. I also found out that there is no gender inequity in music measuring up to other inequities in any given society. Finally, I concluded that endorsements in general have the potential to elevate societies to greater heights economically.
Brand managers ought to proceed with their profitable plans to invest in endorsements of their products and services. To put it in a non-technical language, endorsement is simply displaying a company’s product offerings to the public. This can be in sports or sponsorship of events. Perhaps I might dwell on that topic on another day.
