Promotion

The //Beats by Dre// brand takes a very effective and efficient approach of promotion in its attempt to invade the headphones market. The //Beats by Dre// brand thrives mainly on the premises of mass selling. The promotional aspect of //Beats by Dre// brand flirts between the fine line of advertising and publicity. ** Advertising ** Monster partnered with Andre Young, primarily known for his stage name, Dr. Dre, to create a line of high-end headphones capable of replicating the quality of studio sound [1]. Young is regarded as a pioneer of hip-hop and is undeniably an influential individual in the hip-hop music scene since the early 90s [2]. The partnership was later extended to up-and-coming pop star Lady Gaga along with another influential figure in the music industry, Sean Combs, also known by his stage name, Diddy [3] [4]. When potential consumers look at the //Beats by Dre// brand, they automatically associate the products to these music artists; this is the power of brand association. In a simpler sense, these products are advertised through the means of brand association. Consumers are not just buying the product for the sake of the product but more importantly, the products represented by the music artists. The brand association creates an intangible value of the product which in-turn makes the product more appealing to fans of these music artists. The Beats by Dr Dre headphones are also advertised in other commercials such as Dr. Pepper’s, “Trust me, I’m a doctor” commercial [5]. Moreover, the headphones can also be seen in various TV shows including, HBO’s Entourage and various MTV programs [6]. To focus on their target market of music listeners, Monster also decided to place their headphones into a large array of music videos across different music genres, directly advertising to a wide selection of viewers [7]. All these are examples of advertising through product placement. ** Publicity ** // Beats by Dre // also gets a fair share of their promotion done through the means of publicity. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics,  U.S.A.   basketball player, Lebron James was seen in various TV interviews sporting the Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones on his neck; especially at a worldwide stage like the Olympics, the level of publicity is magnified and works effectively as a marketing tactic. That wasn’t the only publicity incident James was involved in; for Christmas, James gave the whole Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team custom designed Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones [8]. This incident created a rippling wave effect which brought on more media coverage for the //Beats by Dre// brand, maximizing the effect of publicity. On and off the basketball court, Lebron James acts as a brand ambassador for the //Beats by Dre// brand. Lebron James is not the only brand ambassador; many other people with celebrity status like Hugh Jackman (Actor), Michael Phelps (Athlete), and Gwen Stefani (Musician) are also supporters of the brand [9]. When these celebrities are seen with the products, it automatically generates publicity, disguised as a walking marketing tool for the brand. **__ Sales Promotion __** As part of the sales promotion to celebrate the launch of the Heartbeats by Lady Gaga, Monster created a Facebook promotion page which entails giving away 30 pairs of Heartbeats for 30 days [10]. Monster and Dr. Dre has partnered with Best Buy to launch its own in-store section, “Club Beats” in specific store locations where customers could get hands-on experience with the //Beats by Dre// product line [11]. Being able to test the product gives a more solid convincing to possible consumers that the product performs like it’s advertised. **__ Personal Selling __** Personal selling of the //Beats by Dre// brand lies within the hands of its brand ambassadors. Brand ambassadors are likely to “sell” the product to a friend from their personal experience with the product. Personal selling through the word-of-mouth is more effective as it takes a more personal approach to selling, providing a higher level of trust between the brand ambassador and possible customer. **__ Market Suggestion __** One recommendation to the promotion aspect of the marketing strategy would be to set up a marketing campaign similar to the Pepsi Challenge. The premise of the Pepsi Challenge is to allow participators to sample both Pepsi and Coca-Cola in two similar cups and later asked to identify which is Pepsi. Building on the basic foundation of the Pepsi Challenge, the Beat challenge would be a comparison between iPod headphones and Beats by Dre Studio headphones. The intention of this marketing campaign is to allow people to differentiate the sound quality between normal iPod headphones and the Beats by Dre Studio headphones. This utilizes both a publicity buzz as well as a sales promotion of the product. Having this event set up around CN tower in Downtown Toronto in the summertime would create a huge buzz and bring publicity to the product. The challenge itself would also allow potential customers to try the headphones on for their own experience. Publicity has often been the driving force behind product awareness. Monster could include Beats by Dre Studio headphones as part of the gift package at award ceremonies like, Grammies, music award shows, etc. The more Monster capitalizes on the high-profile celebrities, the more chances the product would receive publicity, and hopefully lead to more sales. The advertising campaign of //Beats by Dre// brand could also be improved in terms of print advertisements. A major effort is lacking in Monster’s advertising mediums such as billboard ads, ads in bus shelters, music and technology magazines. If Monster was to invest more into the print advertising campaign, it would be able to capitalize an ever bigger market share as well as building product awareness. The //Beats by Dre// brand has been featured on television but mostly through the product placements in TV shows, music videos, etc.; if it was to have its own standalone commercial, it would attract more potential customers allowing it to expand as a band. Not only would these standalone commercials boost its product awareness, it would also enhance the music artists and the company brand.
 * __ Marketing __**

[1]  http://beatsbydre.com/about/about.aspx [2]  http://www.westcoastpioneers.com/artists/dr-dre.html [3]  http://hypebeast.com/2009/09/heartbeats-lady-gaga-headphones/ [4]  http://www.chipchick.com/2010/01/diddy-beats-in-ear-headphones.html [5]  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4mpbw68_HA [6]  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky42IpZvD0M [7]  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi0aG9AukbI [8]  http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/100310 [9]  http://coolspotters.com/electronics/monster-beats-by-dr-dre-headphones [10]  http://www.celebritymound.com/heartbeats-by-lady-gaga-news-and-facebook-giveaway/ [11]  http://www.billboard.com/news/dr-dre-to-anchor-best-buy-club-beats-sections-1004041394.story#/news/dr-dre-to-anchor-best-buy-club-beats-sections-1004041394.story