Just a question for the class-what's up with the constant mentioning of patron tequila in many of the current rap songs? I remember hearing a blurb about rap artists potentially receiving payments from corporations for name dropping a particular product and patron appears to be the courvoisier for 2007.
Check out InsideBrandedEntertainment.com's take on the name drop phenomenon:
In 2003, executives at Courvoisier were toasting their good fortune. Thanks to a ditty called "Pass the Courvoisier," sales of the cognac were racing up the charts. The hit Busta Rhymes/P. Diddy song, released the previous year with no engineering from the brand, was credited with boosting Courvoisier sales 18.9%, per Impact, New York. Marketers took notice, and began to step up rap tie-ins with everything from cars to sneakers to cell phones.
Now, they are going further. In a deal with Maven Strategies, Lanham, Md., McDonald's earlier this year began dangling payments to rap artists who include the name of the brand in their songs—turning the music, in effect, into a product placement vehicle.
By the time McD's floated the offer, it's worth noting, rap fans were passing on the Courvoisier. In 2004, the brand that got the most overall mentions in rap songs was Hennessy, Courvoisier's industry-leading rival, according to Agenda, a San Francisco firm that tracks such instances in its American Brandstand poll. "Henn-dog" was referenced in songs from Eminem and 50 Cent, among others.
Meanwhile, Courvoisier's growth slowed to 3% in 2004, while Hennessy's shipments
jumped 5%, per Impact.
"People like a Henny and Coke more than they like Courvoisier. It sounds better," said Morris Reid, managing director of Blue Fusion, a Washington-based youth marketing agency. "I think Courvoisier dropped the ball. They should have had a Courvoisier pajama party . . . they could have done a lot of things."
For more on the hip hop branding issue, click on the link below:
Playing the Hip Hop Name Drop
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