Music has always played an important part in TV commercials and even more so when the artist features in the video.
We sat down with Craig Currier, Vice President, Director of Advertising Markets at peermusic to chat through their recent sync with Jon Mero who not only had his track ‘Time to Celebrate’ in the latest Rooms to Go commercial, but also featured in the spot.
How did the opportunity first come about?
We’ve done multiple jobs for Rooms to Go (RTG) and developed a strong relationship with the music supervisor who works on all their campaigns.
We had already been promoting Jon Mero to all our contacts both for his music as well as potential on-screen opportunities given Jon’s strong visual appeal and they had already become a fan of Jon’s. In addition to sending his music, we had been also sending his music videos showcasing his talent as a performer and dancer.
When the music supervisor reached out for what initially was a music search, there was already interest in the possibility of Jon being featured in the campaign. Once one of his songs was selected for the campaign….it naturally led to them inquiring about his interest in being in the spot.
“When the music supervisor reached out for what initially was a music search, there was already interest in the possibility of Jon being featured in the campaign.”
What did the process look like?
The process consisted of two parallel paths’….negotiating the license fee for the use of the song and master once it was selected via the music supervisor while simultaneously discussing and negotiating Jon talent participation.
As in all music uses, the fee quote was based on the terms such as media needed, territory, term length, number of spots etc. We had already been given some fee guidelines at the search request stage, so we were able to quote and come to agreement fairly easily. Jon’s talent, onscreen participation was discussed and negotiated with the Production Company shooting and producing the campaign who has a long history of producing all Rooms to Go campaigns.
It was a fairly simple process of them presenting terms for Jon’s participation and we helped to facilitate this process. While there was a little back and forth, Jon was happy with the terms presented and after a quick review by his attorney, an agreement was signed.
What were the biggest challenges involved in making it happen?
Surprisingly, I would have to say this was one of the most challenge free I’ve worked on in my 20+ years of negotiating music licenses and talent participation.
From the initial music search and pitch…through the negotiations of both the music license and talent fees, there wasn’t really any challenges. I think this was mainly due to the music supervisor and production company being total pros at what they do.
On our side as a music publisher and in this case also handling the master side, we pride ourselves in being easy to work with, always putting the talent and client first. It also was a bonus that Jon was a huge fan of Rooms to Go and actually shopped there on a regular basis with a store literally 10 minutes from where he lived. It was really a perfect fit.
What makes it a great placement?
A great placement starts with a brand knowing their target audience and having a very defined strategy as far as how music fits in with that strategy and having a brand sound and staying true to this.
“A great placement starts with a brand knowing their target audience and having a very defined strategy as far as how music fits in with that strategy and having a brand sound and staying true to this.”
RTG has done a great job in this area utilizing great music that is fun, upbeat, infectious and accessible while featuring likeable and dynamic talent such as Julianne Hough, Cindy Crawford and Sofia Vergara.
Their spots are very much built around showcasing their popular furniture but in a fun way with music and celebrity talent. While they have primarily utilized well known talent, they also expressed a desire to start featuring up-and-coming talent to add onto the mix of more known celebrities.
Jon’s song chosen entitled “Time to Celebrate” in and by itself was a great choice and in line with both their defined music space as well as a great match to this particular campaign which was a celebration of new offerings.
What impact has it had?
The campaign has yet to launch but I would guess this will continue to build on Jon’s growing popularity. He’s had several other songs of his featured in major ad campaigns and a recent feature use in Grey’s Anatomy…and each use brings in more and more fans.
