The Challenge
Launching in late October, EyePet was up against the competition of thousands of other family games in the bid to secure a spot on Christmas lists throughout the UK.

With the knowledge that they had something special, PlayStation wanted to get as many consumers as possible to experience first hand the magic of EyePet. Knowing that this would in turn further support sales through newly converted fans spreading positive word of mouth.

Amplify’s task was to create an EyePet experience that brought the magic of EyePet to life, ensuring consumers had the best possible experience of the game while reaching as many eyes as possible.

Amplify’s Approach
With the requirement to reach high family footfall figures shopping centres were the obvious place to house the EyePet Experience. Allowing Amplify to engage with the target audience when at leisure and in the frame of mind for purchasing.

Amply designed and created a presence that formed a seamless extension of the game. Creating stand out with rich and colourful design content, and encouraging play through interactive touch points such as 3D walls, faux grass flooring and dressing up props.  Viewing points were maximsed by removing the outer walls of the stand, opening up the experience for all to see.

The enthusiasm and skill of the expert demo staff was an essential ingredient.  Introducing EyePet through lively and engaging demonstrations, and ensuring fun throughout.

Results
A much talked about 3-week tour across the country, resulting in over 30,000 EyePet fans.

PlayStation’s objective of reaching 100,000 sales pre-Christmas was met.  And
with the resounding positive feedback from consumers ranging from ‘awesome!’ to ‘this is amazing!’, EyePet was inevitably a big hit this Christmas.

The Challenge
Amplify was approached to launch this micro-beast to Red Bull’s 400 journalists and staff. The aim of getting the company and its key voices excited and informed of the benefits of the new product. Up until now rumours had been spreading in the marketing press about the new product, all fiercely denied by Red Bull!

Amplify’s Approach
Amplify evolved the concept of The Red Bull Energy Shot being “The Worst Kept Secret” into a spy-themed spoof expose of the product scripted and delivered by a team of actors.

Breaking the story
To generate excitement prior to the event Amplify created a video email invite in the style of a self-destruct computer transmission featuring a secret agent on the run (Agent R), who breathlessly instructs the viewer (Agent B) on how to infiltrate “Project Compact”, ending with the time and place of the event.

Exposing the truth
To make the overall experience seamless Amplify ensured that our Secret Agent R from the video viral greeted guests at the door.

On entry guests were ushered into The Red Bull Energy Shot Bar, which was set up with games including golf putting, Wii Sports games and a driving simulator to communicate the message that you can down a shot whilst on the move.

Once all guests had arrived they were taken through to the main “We Are Red Bull” room, where they were given a presentation about the history of Red Bull and the launch of Red Bull Shots launch whilst surrounded by Red Bull paraphernalia.

The Red Bull Energy Shot Experience
Following this guests were taken through three small rooms in small groups - the Red Bull Energy Shot Lab, The Marketing Mix and The Perfect Store. Guests were entertained by a character in each room including an Austrian scientist who demonstrated the benefits of shrinking Red Bull to a “portable convenient” size, a statistician who dramatised the marketing strategy and a shopkeeper who showed guests around the perfect store.

The Results
Feedback about the campaign from the client, staff and journalists was overwhelming - Red Bull described it as “the best launch they had ever held”. The accompanying video footage of the email invite and event itself was also a major talking point and was used to showcase the launch to HQ in Austria.

Tasked with attracting the strongest candidates to apply for graduate roles and internships, Amplify needed to reach the right students in the right places and stand out against their competitors.

This academic year saw Hewitt targeting students and graduates with different personality traits and skills sets, attracting a broader range of potential candidates to the business.

With developing objectives came the scope to evolve existing creative that would speak to all audience types, as well as show sensitivity and awareness of the current economic climate.

Ampllfy’s Approach
Stand out creative
Using the recruitment objectives as the guiding principle Amplify identified differences between the potential employee groups, those that would be attracted to either consultancy, pensions, actuarial or investment roles within the business. Drawing out the common personality traits of these students Amplify sought to use copy and imagery that would attract and appeal to them, encouraging in them a need to find out more.

Strap lines were created that tied into one central theme ‘Make It Your Business To…’  - a statement that can be interpreted as a direct call to action for the potential employee or as a statement of intent for Hewitt as a business.

The clean, simplistic style that formed the previous campaigns’ visual identity was retained and incorporated as a nod to the recognition that had been built up amongst students and careers staff over previous years.

Stand out presence
The creative look and feel was carried through the event presence, but how can further stand out be created at careers fairs?

Amplify introduced modern functionality to create an interactive area for Hewitt that cut through within the busy careers fair environment. This allowed students to find out about Hewitt and input their data in their own time - with Hewitt staff on hand to guide and help if required.

Stand out amplification
Working in partnership with the universities, Amplify’s fair presence followed a strategic promotional push through flyering and posters on campus, activated by Hewitt interns and street teams.

To continue the conversation and give students further access to information the website was refreshed to align with the new look and feel and to make the user journey simpler, signposting the application route clearly to ultimately enable smooth and easy application.

Results
Since Amplify began running Hewitt’s graduate recruitment campaigns they have seen a 17.5% increase in the number of people registering interest in the graduate program, 25% more graduates identified by Hewitt as definite follow up’s and a 60% growth in the number of intern applications.

The fully interactive set allowed Hewitt to stand out further amongst competitors and draw interest from students that they might not have otherwise attracted. Activity saw large numbers of applicants for both the graduate programme and from 1st and 2nd year students interested in the intern programme offered.

In a difficult year Hewitt’s physical and online presence demonstrated that the business is both progressive and evolving with the climate.

It is 1.30pm at a train station on the east coast of Spain. The ticket office attendant informs us that the train to Alicante is full and the next one is due at 7.30pm. Exactly 10 minutes after our plane is due to depart back to the UK. Four taxis,  three trains and a plane ride later we roll into London at 2am; exhausted, sunburnt and broke… but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cast your mind back a few years and your choice of music festival read as this:  Glastonbury, Monsters of Rock, V Festival, T in the Park and Reading.  Those with a continental touch would make it out to Germany’s Rock Am Ring, while the really adventurous would brave it with 1.4 million Brazilians watching Guns N’ Roses and er.. Lisa Stansfield at Rock in Rio.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the calendar became populated with new names and festivals revived from their heydays such as Isle of Wight. The result is that the festival season is now year round, but the main players tend to run from The Great Escape in May through to Bestival in September. Efestivals, the music festival bible, lists 655 festivals in the UK alone in 2009. That is a potential captive audience of several million that brands can target in increasingly creative, relevant and supportive ways.

Backyard

While there have been some casualties, such as Big Green Gathering and Beachdown, the demand for live music has led to scores of success stories. Since 2000 there has been a phenomenal rise of “backyard” events put on for friends, many of which have evolved into boutique festivals that command the respect of both fans and brands alike.

The Green Man Festival, in the Breacon Beacons,  Wales, started in 2003 and was attended by 300 people on a single day. The following year it expanded to 1,000 people over two days and attracted early performances from the likes of Four Tet, Fionn Regan and Joanna Newsom. This year Green Man has developed to a 10,000 capacity four-day event incorporating literature, film,  theatre and comedy as well as the music.

It is this incorporation of other art forms that has helped develop the niche of the boutique festival from the homemade to the mass market. Many people who have attended festivals for years have grown tired of the huge crowds and similar, youth focussed line-ups offered by the major festivals. Now they leave the fun and games to be had at the likes of V and Reading to the kids… or are now taking kids of their own to these relaxed family-friendly affairs.

Amplify recently created the Branch and Root experience and bar at Camp Bestival on the Dorset coast for Red Bull Cola. During a rare foray into the crowds to watch comedian Lee Mack, I encountered a wall of pushchairs so dense that I assumed that there had been a collective effort to protect the tent from the wrath of the sea. It certainly was an experience for Mack too, who commented that he’d “never been heckled by a five year old jumping up and down whilst sticking out his tongue.”

Opportunity

This scene should not scare brands off; on the contrary it presents a massive opportunity for to make significant impacts within this environment through appropriate and relevant positioning. This new breed of festival may not go for the big and brash branded areas seen at more commercial events. However, with lateral thinking into what are the key characteristics of each festival and how a brand can position themselves, they can be seen to be adding value in the eyes of the festival organisers. With there being so many festivals out there this also means brands can pick and choose which is appropriate for their needs rather than be forced to shoe-horn activity in to an environment that doesn’t want it.

The Branch and Root experience managed to add theatre, music and mystery to Camp Bestival, as well as a much needed over 18s, late night area for those without children in tow. With Rowntree’s Randoms, Amplify has looked at the aspirational activities of the 16-24 year old target age group such as extreme sports, adding White Air and Freeze Festivals to its tour schedule.

Foreign Soil

It is not just in the UK where the festival boom has impacted. Benicassim, Exit,  Sonar,  Iceland Airwaves,  Roskilde are leading names on a growing list of festivals across Europe and beyond where music festivals have grown from nothing. The predominately British voices in the crowd further highlight the national festival obsession. With the draw of warmer climes, budget flights and cheap tickets, the UK audience are taking advantage of festival holidays.

Though it started in ‘94, it wasn’t until 2005 I noticed Oasis and The Cure were headlining a festival I had never heard of, Benicassim. Five days later for £80 with £39.99 return flights to Valencia, I was soaking up the sun at a mainly Spanish affair. Fast-forward to 2009 and the £160 ticket and £250 each way Valencia flights are a perfect example of how the festival market has grown.

In 2005, Benicassim only featured two sponsors – Heineken and Red Bull. This year, there were about eight prominent brands with Heineken having to step up its activity with its ‘chilled’  experience in order to prevent it becoming lost in the crowd.

The upshot from the growth of the music festival for brands is that they no longer feel forced to tag their name to any festival so that they are seen to tick the youth market box. Now there is the freedom to match a brand with a festival that has the same values and audience as their own. The positive association gained from adding value to the festival illustrated by Red Bull’s the ‘Branch and Root’, should mean that the elephant in the room, ROI, is met over time in a natural, organic way.

Brand, event organiser and artist share their take.

Festivals have evolved from being a niche interest for avid music fans to a gigantic commercial enterprise. But how do marketers cut through the noise in an increasingly crowded space? We ask a brand, a festival organiser and an artist to find out how brands can work together to create the perfect event.

Festivals are a unique and special environment for marketers. Away from everyday necessities and creature comforts, the festival consumer is part of a captive audience hell-bent on having fun, making them a highly desirable part of the marketing strategy for any brand within the entertainment space. Emma Nagashima, Special Projects Manager for Sony Computer Entertainment UK explains: “Festivals are a destination for mass social interaction. They’re a great target for an entertainment brand such as PlayStation, as festival goers are in the mindset to be entertained.”

With this in mind it’s no wonder that seemingly every brand wants a piece of the action. But as festivals have snowballed to become a huge commercial market, brands have had to get smarter about their approach to sponsorship. “It’s not about just having a huge logo on the back of the stage – no one buys that any more” says Olly Dixon, one-third of the band Filthy Dukes. It’s now a given approach in the marketing world that it’s not about sponsorship, it’s partnership – brands have to add value to the consumer to be accepted by festival organisers.

The most successful partnerships go one step further by identifying a need that makes them integral to the experience for punters. Ben Challis, General Counsel for Glastonbury, points out that “The best received brands are ones that provide a service to the festival-goer rather than just working to their own needs. At Glastonbury, the Orange Chill ‘n’  Charge tent is massively popular because people need to recharge their phones as they are using them constantly; talking to friends, taking pictures,  filming.”

Brands don’t have to be practical to make themselves useful – as fun is the primary goal for the typical reveller,  any brand that provides an environment where they can keep themselves entertained also works a treat. PlayStation’s SingStar tent, where karaoke fans could busy themselves performing cheesy classics in fancy dress went down a storm with punters, making it a great success for PlayStation. Likewise Rowntree’s Randoms silent discos, spacehopper races and silly games have attracted audience numbers worthy of the big name acts.

For the festival organiser, the key is to identify which brands can fulfil different needs for the crowd and bring them together to become part of the experience. Ben reasons that “They need to become part of the festival itself, working together.” Brands also benefit from joining forces to achieve goals and reach audiences they wouldn’t have been able to do alone – whether it be media, drinks or comms. “Partners really help us speak to audiences in a relevant way and achieve more for our budget.” Emma explains.

As well as performing a function that forms part of the event plan, brands have to have a feel and a synergy that fits in with the overall identity of the festival. Ben cites Tuborg as an example for Glastonbury: “Tuborg has managed to build itself up again from being just another lager that you may drink on the Continent to a beer associated with credible music. The reason that Michael Eavis was keen to work with Tuborg is that it is part of the Carlsberg group and works as a charitable foundation, so its ethos reflects the festival’s.”

Making brand involvement in festivals a success for the organiser, the brand, the artists and the audience can be compared to a group of mates bringing different talents to a party to make the overall experience more fun, more comfortable and ultimately more enjoyable for the party-goer. Olly sums this up nicely with his experience of throwing a party for Walkman: “I worked on an event for Walkman where we recreated a house party. With a combination of money, creativity and freedom from the brand we put on amazing party that culminated in Dizzee Rascal &  The Sugar Hill Gang performing ‘Rappers Delight’ together, with Dizzee coming up with a new verse. That is when special things can happen that could only work with a brand’s involvement and their positive attitude to allowing the creative process to develop something totally unique.”

Young people, aged 16-25, have always shown a desire to stand out from the crowd whilst not straying too far from the tribes that they are part of. Defined largely by the places they go, the clothes they wear and the music they listen to, individuals within the youth demographic welcome the opportunity to make an impression with the newest, freshest, quirkiest product on the market. The youth consumers desire for self-expression within all elements of their life is a challenge laid at the door of brands and one which some have chosen to answer.

In June 08, Nike launched PHOTOID, a mobile initiative that allows the consumer to take a photo of something on their mobile phone, text it to Nike and have a shot of a customised shoe returned to them, based on two colours from their photo. The shoe is superimposed over the image the consumer sends, showing how the photo and footwear mesh and they can then go on to purchase via the website and share their design with friends. Taking inspiration from their local environment or a place further afield that they have visited allows the individual to create something unique and of relevance to them whilst trading on the social currency of the Nike brand.

It is the various personal motivations and benefits associated with customisation opportunities that provide this model with the potential to grow and develop into multiple product sectors. As an extension of product customisation, some brands have taken it a step further to co-creation, where the consumer ultimately comes up with the product for them. The value of having the ability to harness customer insights and connect directly with their beliefs, desires and needs by handing some of the control over to them cannot be underestimated.

From designing your own Lego model via Lego Factory to having the chance to see your crisp recipe on the supermarket shelves with Walker’s competition “Do us a flavour”, the widest scope of brands are inviting their consumers to get involved in the future of their product range.

Music festivals have become the single most defining sign of a British Summer.  From the start of festival season in Brighton for the Great Escape, all the way through to September’s Bestival, each weekend sees people head in their thousands to various farms, forests and parklands across the nation.

Individual festivals will come and go, but collectively they will remain omnipresent. Mankind has been gathering outdoors together in large groups, dancing, singing, drinking and listening to music since the dawn of time. We are social beings. 

Music festivals have become a key area of activity for brands in recent years, enabling them to reach vast numbers of potential consumers through one activity. Armed with the knowledge that this environment is so important to brands, festival organisers have started to adopt differing approaches to what they are seeking from their brand partners – added value or added revenue?

EXPERIENCE

We were recently negotiating a festival presence on behalf of one of our clients and were told by the festival owner’s representative on his behalf: “What XXXX essentially wants is to get as much money, for as little space as possible.” Needless to say we advised the client to decline to take the negotiations any further.

On the other hand there are some amazing festivals that see the investment in adding to the experience as opposed to purely financial. Last year we created and managed Red Bull’s ‘Hellfire Club’ – built into the trees and woodland at the boutique Scottish Festival ‘Connect.’ 

The activity generated huge sales in an environment designed and delivered to expose the brand’s values and was engaged on a deep level by the c.20k target consumers. The activity added value for the organiser by creating an additional arena that was consistently busy and offered another dimension to their festival – what consumers recognised as a key part of the festival experience. The brand and festival complemented one another perfectly.

Done well, this approach can offer a return on investment and act as part of an integrated strategy. However if implemented as a tick box for tackling the ‘youth’ market or because your competitors are successful at it then it will certainly fail to be an effective route.

The danger with operating in such a competitive environment is leaving your consumers left scratching their heads, trying to work out why certain brands were invading their festivals. Sloggi’s at fair-weather festival favourite V, anyone? Surely this was an activity better suited to mainstream clubs or close to point of purchase? Or how about the Superdrug bus at SW4? Not exactly the kind of “super drugs” many of these festival-goers were trying to locate.

LIFESTYLE CHOICE

Many music fans make a conscientious choice to go to festivals above going on holiday abroad. This gives you a feel of how important the experience is to them and how much they care about their bands. If a brand enhances their experience they are accepted and loved. If they get in the way they are filtered out or rejected.

Brands should be looking to achieve both return on investment and the best way to reach their audience. Where can they really add value and show understanding and empathy to consumers? Festivals are just one of many routes to connect with consumers but looking at the brand and the business needs should easily decide whether it is the correct route to take.

Concepts should work through the line and be capable of being amplified through every channel. If you are going to go to festivals, what value has it beyond the experience itself – in digital, across trade, in PR, on-pack, on TV and beyond?

One industry that really needs to think about whether festivals are correct is the charities sector. Benefiting from donations collected at festivals is good and well, however, trying to engage with the next generation of supporters and activists is not right. Please stop with your tombola-style marketing and actually evaluate your activity. OxJam is a brilliant example of getting it right but contrast that with the empty Oxfam Humankind tent at V and you can see the awful waste – something not uncommon in this sector. One charity when analysed was spending £89 for every sign-off. You could almost buy them a ticket for that!

Due to the acceptance of music festivals as part of British culture, they have evolved from a niche experience for hard-core music fans as festival-goers have become more and more mainstream. Therefore, whilst certain consumers become numb or seek out more boutique festivals, a new generation is exposed. The right brands in the right place will always cut through.

Dos and Don’ts:

*    In the first instance make sure you’re there for the right reasons and that it is the best use of the spend

*    In the run up and follow up from the experience make sure your presence is amplified appropriately through every channel

*    Does your experience shout your brand values, differentiate you and make you stand out ?

*    Don’t see the activity as one huge activity. See it as a home for lots of 1-2-1 interactions with your target consumers. How can you increase the quantity and quality of interactions?

*    Don’t get carried away at the event. Always ask ‘could this be working harder?’

With traditional entertainment mediums being forced to reappraise themselves in the face of rising digital distribution and falling audiences, can brands help galvanise them? We look at how this can be done effectively, without seeming forced and un-natural.

Amplify recently ran a future-proofing workshop for a leading FMCG brand. One of the questions asked was to define who they thought their key competitors were and could be in order to establish how we could make them appear broader than their immediate competitor set.

The ‘threat’ that many brands face now is that beyond their core business they are competing as ‘entertainment brands’. Rather than a ‘threat’ this should be seen as a ‘great opportunity.’ Consumers are increasingly hungry for content and, as the lines blur between the two, the entertainment industry is willing to collaborate and enter into brand partnerships – particularly the struggling record labels. This provides the chance for brands to create truly innovative, rich experiences that generate compelling content – a huge step away from the traditional ‘tagging’ and sponsorship route.

ENGAGE

Broadly speaking marketing can be split into two ends of the spectrum: awareness through to affinity. A brand such as Carling – when pursuing music – took the ‘buy it’ approach. Their logo appeared everywhere yet consumers didn’t feel the affinity – they were merely forced to drink their lager in the venues and festivals they sponsored. Similarly many branded, club-based events offer nothing more than what you could get on a normal Friday and Saturday night in most cities.

To properly engage with consumers it’s not enough to slap your logo everywhere; you need to show empathy and add value to the target consumers’ lifestyles. Brands need to integrate.

Great examples of this are obvious:

•    When Groove Armada’s deal came to a close with Jive Records they instead signed to drinks giant Bacardi – a close fit. Groove Armada found new channels to market and distribute their music, and Bacardi benefited from the duo’s exclusive content and fanbase.

•    Nokia is offering a new revenue model to the big four record labels with its ‘Nokia Comes With Music’. The labels get ‘paid’ for the music they produce whilst consumers feel a loyalty to Nokia as they ‘house’ their virtual record collection.

•    O2 has a legitimate claim on music with the access they bring through their sponsorship of the former Millennium Dome. Yes, the O2 arena gets name-checked on a regular basis but, more importantly, O2 customers get their hands on tickets in advance of the general public – and can win access to O2’s special hospitality boxes.

LIVE

It will be interesting to see which route HMV takes with its recent acquisition of live venues, including Hammersmith Apollo and Kentish Town Forum. As well as securing naming rights at the venues for the next 10 years, the venture also frees up the possibility of merchandising and CD sales; an area previously in the domain of the artist.

It’s in the ‘live arena’ where brands can add real value to their activity and make genuine connections with the buying public. Amplify breaks the levels of consumer engagement into four stages: expose, explain, experience and endorse. Mass advertising such as TV and press buying ‘expose’, but two-way experiences do a far better job in terms of gaining advocates that ‘endorse’.

However events on their own should not be seen as a complete campaign solution – they need to be amplified. Events create the drivers, for example to win over journalists or bloggers, or the content created can be leveraged digitally to reach a wider audience than just those physically.

Examples of this approach that work effectively in the live music environment are numerous, however it’s not strictly confined to that market – the approach is starting to cross over into TV and film.

There’s a proliferation of branded television programmes; contra deals with TV companies ‘short on content’ are everywhere: The ‘JD Set’, T-Mobile’s ‘Transmission’, ‘Shockwaves Album Chart Show’… What is key with these programmes is that they’re screened at the right times so they actually get an audience (so many are ignored as they’re pushed to early hours) and more importantly they tell the brand story. Branded shows range from not so great examples such as Nokia’s’ Green Room’ through to the genuinely compelling Red Bull’s ‘Air Race’ and Orange ‘Mobile Act’.

With film, Orange brought a welcome boost to the cinema going public with ‘Orange Wednesdays’. This approach meant they were able to cement the association through their in-cinema ‘Turn off your phone’ ads, which ensured their subsequent sponsorship of the BAFTAs seemed natural.

Recently Virgin Media took a more prosumer approach as ‘Virgin Shorts’ engaged over 6,000 young filmmakers – showcasing their winning entries at cinemas across the UK.

In the campaigns we’re working on, social media and other interactive technologies such as mobile, can further enhance what an entertainment property has to offer a brand. San Miguel ‘Hidden Depths’ is a great example of this. We used bloggers to excite and pre-promote branded activity, creating an alternative to paid for media – if you get these super-influencers to talk about your brand, they’re more trusted than those coming from the brand itself. Once the content has been generated we then seed it and disseminate it via these bloggers.

Digital also forms the basis of many of the CRM systems we’ve been creating – those that sign-up to sanmiguel.co.uk get unique access to interviews, mixes, events and videos.

The danger in adopting this approach is that the content is not relevant and the activity becomes forced. Brands need to fully understand the consumers they’re targeting and the cultural context they’re living in, and look at why their brand is relevant to their lives. Demonstrate empathy and added value and you’ll win their respect, their hearts and their minds. Get it wrong and at best they won’t notice you and at worse you’ll face their scorn.

DIGITAL

The one guarantee through this recession is that digital media will continue to innovate, so it’s now even more relevant for brands to market themselves correctly online. What digital does do when approached in the right way is to deliver a long-term dialogue, which can turn the ‘quick chat’ of attendance at an event to a ‘meaningful conversation’.Digital shouldn’t be used because it is perceived as being cheap; to make good quality viral films that generate high viewing rates costs money. If anything with TV you can assume a certain amount of people watch it because it’s there. With online for anyone who passes it on, it reflects on them – so it needs to be good.

The biggest fear for brands when stepping away from traditional forms of marketing is the inability to evaluate the return on investment. With measurability being at the forefront of every campaign, Amplify has developed an evaluation model that quantifies the depth of interaction with consumers – and ultimately advocacy. This is measured both through online and offline means, and gives a fuller and more holistic picture of the campaign.

Online we can measure buzz using a mix of sophisticated algorithms and human analysis. Computer programs are yet to understand the subtleties and nuance of colloquialism and sarcasm. Offline we work with independent research agencies to measure physical word of mouth and increase in sales through both qualitative and quantitative research.

It’s clear that soon the symbiotic relationship between brands and entertainment will be developed into increasingly sophisticated methods of co-existence. Played right the benefits to both parties will be substantial; for the brand they can create empathy, affinity and awareness with huge numbers of potential consumers, while the world of entertainment should find reason to embrace, rather than fear, the corporate world.

My younger brother is a student, so naturally Facebook keeps directing me to photographs of him in ridiculous states of fancy dress. When I challenge him as to why he brings shame on the family name on a public forum, he usually states: "it was for charity". "OK, what charity was it for?" I ask, ""I dunno, cancer or something" comes the reply.

These are just two of the problems that all charities face in the modern climate where they are all competing for the same headspace in the youth market. People have neither the money nor time to be coerced when not on their own terms; they have become savvy to a blanket approach. If an organisation does manage to make a connection, in the second instance in a very basic and un-emotive way, their individuality is lost into the cluttered messaging of rival charities clambering for attention.

Connections

Amplify are experts in making the right connections with audiences, which is a method that charities need to adopt in order to have meaningful relationships and dialogue with the soundbite generation. They need to generate interesting dialogue and content for their audience, servicing the youth market's need to have continual entertainment, as well as encouraging and prompting much needed responses to their activity.

Christian Aid recently appointed ex-PlayStation marketer, Katrin Owusu, to help create their sub-brand, Ctrl.Alt.Shift, a proposition designed to engage 18-25 year olds in global development issues. The intention was not to ask for money, but to make people aware of issues that are relevant to their own lives, and in turn become an active voice against those issues.

Ctrl.Alt.Shift recognised that they aren't competing with other charities for their audience's attention, but any brand that is targeting youth headspace. "We want them to wear Ctrl.Alt.Shift in the same way that they would wear their favourite brands, an iPod, the Nike swoosh - something that they feel says who they are. The fact that they are doing 'good' is almost incidental, they are becoming politicised via their engagement with Ctrl.Alt.Shift and taken on a journey that will lead them to a real understanding and engagement with the issues, and empower them to change their world" says Owusu.

It is an approach even Macmillan, who focus primarily on helping people dealing with cancer, terminal cancer patients and their families, have accepted - they must appeal to people beyond those directly affected. Clara Avery, Head of Supporter Insight & Development at Macmillan Trade Marketing and Customer Insight at MacMillan, says "we now do more work around product and proposition development for people in their mid-30's and I think there'll be lots of opportunities for us to talk about how we can successfully engage them through experiential to generate income."

The Fame Route

Traditionally once a charity has identified the need to appeal to a mass audience, their first reaction is to get the endorsement of a celebrity in order to appeal to their young fans, to encourage them to think 'If she feels this then I should too'. The danger in doing this random tagging of the charity with a name without reason is that seems contrived and the audience is too shrewd for this.

Embrace lead singer Danny McNamara is involved with Versus Cancer, a charity which was local and involved issues close to his heart. He feels that "If they dress you up and get you saying things that the charity has given you to say then people will see through it. Hopefully charities are getting smart and realising if you want celebrity endorsements then they shouldn't put people in situations that they don't feel comfortable with."

It could be suggested that celebrities sign up for charity work as a way of keeping in the public eye but there are hundreds of examples where their work is done under the radar. Shynola are acclaimed animators whose clients read as a who's who of music but they rarely seek limelight. Despite this one of their members, Chris Harding, became a mentor to a young filmmaker for Ctrl.Alt.Shift. He said, "If I have time and I feel I have something useful to offer then I am inspired to help".

So what is the answer when we live in a celebrity-obsessed culture? Without the press coverage generated by celebrity association how will a charity break through into the public consciousness, when the UK is the most saturated charity market? Particularly when the success stories can be found readily such as Joanna Lumley taking the Gurkhas plight to the House of Commons vote and Jade Goody's death sparking huge awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of smear tests.

Despite these success stories there is a case that can be argued that states celebrity advocates flatten the debate and remove the nuances of the charity. Does sending a Leona Lewis out to Africa to report of the 'real people' she has seen really make an impact or have we seen and heard it all before? Does this become white noise in the same way that we block out the charity worker who tries to stop you on the street?

Versus Cancer is not unique in combining issues with music but one area where they excel is by making every single person who supports them part of the "line-up", alongside their idols. When anyone registers on the site they get a unique badge that shows how quickly they 'got on board'. Music fan and charity supporter Becky Richards is listed at badge number 62, seven ahead of McNamara. Versus Cancer recognise that every supporter counts and that you are side-by-side with the stars in your support of the cause.

Versus Cancer opt for the tried and trusted method for stepping out the shadow of door knocking and tin rattling - music. Bob Geldof kick started this with Live Aid - arguably the most famous charity event of all time - with a message of "give us your ***ing money". Simple but effective.

In the modern climate, despite the ailing music industry, the live market is booming and this is reflected in the number of charity gigs - Teenage Cancer Trust, OxJam, Love Music Hate Racism... the danger is that this again becomes yet another gig with no reinforcement of the issues in focus to an audience that is captive and receptive to the messaging.

Forward thinking

New approaches must be adopted to develop the brand advocacy that is required. One route is through allowing the content and messaging to be dictated by the audience you are trying to reach. In the case of Ctrl.Alt.Shift "people submit their own content allowing us to bring the issues from the outside in. We are getting people to decide what they believe is wrong in the world" says Owusu. Ctrl.Alt.Shift then provide the opportunity to showcase that talent through film, art, photography, with events, competitions to work with established names and online heroing of their work. This gives incentives to contribute their own opinion in an environment that reinforces the over-arching key messaging and issues.

The t-shirt brand Jake's of Soho was started to raise money for Jake, a little boy with cerebral palsy. To the casual shopper this is not a message that is forced down their throats nor is it hidden as a trick into giving either. They operate a simple model that says "if you like this t-shirt then buy it. It just so happens you'll also be helping children lead a better quality of life." They have also benefitted from celebrity endorsement with David Beckham, Chris Moyles and Simon Pegg being supporters. Where Beckham and fashion are concerned it is such an important part of his personal marketing that you don't get him wearing your clothes unless they make him continue to look one of the coolest men on the planet.

So...

With these success stories there is a common theme; all the charities have looked at their audience and considered what makes their audience tick. With 100 other charities queuing to speak to your audience a few days, hours or minutes after you have had your shot, it is important to ensure the conversation is in a language that will be understood, in an environment that is comfortable and totally on their terms. If charities to do this fail then they might not have lost them forever, but the white noise will be filtered out.