What have they got in common? Both have launched brand extensions in the last few days that you might not have seen coming.
Kanye, the platinum-selling hip hop producer, rapper, and blogger extraordinaire (seriously, it’s actually really good), has launched his own travel website, KanyeTravel.com. On the face of it, the sharp point is that it’d link up with his fan site and allow him to sell travel packages bundled with tickets. But I wonder if it’s just of a question of an easy category to white-label, a market gap, and a trial to see how far the Kanye brand will stretch. More details at AdAge.
I’m actually a bit surprised this wasn’t approached as a premium boutique proposition rather than what looks like a simple and fairly crude skin over the Travelocity engine. I think that would’ve added to, rather than potentially diluted his brand, and set him up as a cultural curator of sorts, which is what he is doing with his blog. Possibly this is stage one we’re seeing.
For Red Bull’s part, they appear to be launching their own record label, Red Bull Records.
“They are a lifestyle-based brand that does a lot with snowboarders, skaters, the young Hollywood set, so they think they could have success breaking rock bands.”
Some people might see this as a brand losing focus; after all, this is a caffeinated drinks maker, right? But I think it’s brilliant. Red Bull has up until recently focused exclusively on activation and brand energy rather than traditional advertising, and they are willing to experiment and get their hands dirty to get results. They have experience with arts and culture patronage, with projects like The Art of Can and Illume. And they clearly are tapped right in to youth culture, sponsoring everything from b-boy competitions to extreme sports. So why not think this could work?
The best brands are becoming media companies in their own right, and Red Bull has a blueprint in place for claiming the right to claim true patronage of emerging talent, and capitalizing off the opportunities and credibility available from getting in at the ground floor. It’s a much more powerful story than say The Gap’s endless and meaningless celebrity tie-ups.
It’s ultimately a more difficult and risky proposition than your usual celebrity sponsorship, but the reward will be much deeper and longer-lasting if it works.
2 Responses to “Kanye West & Red Bull”