If Brahma is just trying to sell more beer in Britain this may not be the best way to do it. But if they are aiming to engage hearts and minds by showing how music can bridge the cultural divide, then give them a medal.
I’m glad to see that Trocabrahma podcasts are finally getting a plug in the mainstream media. Like many people I am so overawed by the potential of the new media I have only fairly recently realised that so-called overnight success in cyberspace actually requires a lot of daytime pushing on old media.
It is also good to see that the Guardian review in their column Click to Download picks up the point I have been trying to make about the intriguing Trocabrahma project. Commenting on the latest episode, Gruff Rhyss meets Tony Da Gatorra, the Guardian enthuses over the quirky appeal of mixing UK bands with some wonderfully off the wall Brazilian musicians, concluding: “Corporate sponsors’ cash is seldom this well spent.”
And indeed the spirit of these Troca podcasts is a world away from the booze-drenched fervour of T in the Park. Which raises an interesting question: is this marketing or corporate social responsibility? If Brahma is just trying to sell more beer in Britain this may not be the best way to do it. But if they are aiming to engage hearts and minds by showing how music can bridge the cultural divide, then give them a medal.
The podcast market has taken off like a rocket in the last year (all the best digital newsletters I get now include a tasty little video or audio snippet) but I think companies have yet to understand how to exploit the full potential of this new medium. I have found an interesting website where a new media guru Eric Schwarzman suggests that marketing departments get too hung up on numbers of downloads when what really matters is ‘depth of engagement.’ Downloading is no good unless you actually listen and – ideally – think about what you are hearing.
For sheer feel-good experience it would be hard to beat that trip round the Sao Paolo market with King Creosote. I hope this new and much more human approach to ‘brand development’ could be the start of a new respect for the real people who inhabit the ‘market place’. Meanwhile, if you want to discover what depth of engagement can mean, tune in to the beautifully crafted Trocabrahma website.
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