Country Admit It You Love It
Posted: 30 Apr 2001 12:08 pm
CMA Announces Innovative Branding Initiative for Country Music; Campaign Introduces Contemporary Logo and Tagline
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--April 30, 2001--After several months of research and development, the Country Music Association has announced the initial findings of its comprehensive brand development project for Country Music. The resulting tagline and logo are the first steps toward evolving an enhanced identity for the format that expands the consumer base and solidifies the core audience.
"Country Music stands alone in its breadth of support and talent to initiate a campaign of this magnitude and importance," said Kitty Moon Emery, who chairs the CMA Marketing and Communications Committee, responsible for the brand initiative. "We are working together as an industry to impact the future. No other genre has the platform and ability to pull our industry leaders together - despite the fact that they are competitors - for a common cause."
Since September, award-winning, major advertising agency GSD&M, based in Austin, Texas, has conducted quantitative national consumer research, along with 31 focus groups in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and Nashville. The goal was to assess current perceptions of Country Music among consumers and identify the format's most distinctive and compelling aspects.
The research was designed to identify the core values of Country Music. The extensive research effort provided the basis to better brand Country Music in order to distinguish its appeal and unique characteristics.
When asked about Country Music, people most frequently said that Country Music is about "real life." The focus groups also told GSD&M that Country Music was rooted in a unique style of storytelling; linked them to their homes and families; and put them in touch with their emotions. The consensus was that the power of Country Music is found in the stories it tells and its connections with the listener.
Even with the enormous success of so many artists, Country Music is often associated with stereotypes that prevent listeners from embracing the music. With "values-based branding," GSD&M and CMA intend to focus on what's at the heart of the genre -- the powerful connection that all types of people have with the music. The resulting tagline is a challenge to everyone who has ever connected with a Country song or a specific artist, but may not feel a current connection to the format as a whole, or is reluctant to share their enjoyment of the music with others.
The tagline declares: "Country. Admit it. You love it."(SM)
A clean and contemporary type font is utilized for the tagline. The logo appearing along with the tagline is a highly stylized icon graphic that can eventually stand alone as a logo for Country Music.
"This is another important first for CMA since, in so far as we can tell, no one has ever attempted to brand a type of music. It is also a great example of what a trade organization can undertake to expand the base of commerce for its constituents," observed CMA Executive Director Ed Benson. "We have looked closely at other campaigns like `Got Milk?' and Cotton Incorporated's `The Fabric of Our Lives' and what they have meant for their industries. We are also very fortunate to be working with GSD&M which has so effectively employed its `values-based branding' approach for major national clients."
Following development of the tagline and logo, GSD&M conducted additional research to test their effect on actual consumers and received overwhelming support of both the tagline and logo. Several more steps need to be taken before the campaign rollout later this year. GSD&M will develop the creative for various media along with the media plan to hit targeted consumers; CMA will secure media and promotional partners as well as industry support for the campaign; and the actual launch plans must be finalized and executed.
CMA was the first trade group formed to promote a type of music when it was founded in 1958. GSD&M's culture of creativity inspires award-winning work for redefining brands such as Southwest Airlines, DreamWorks SKG, Chili's Grill and Bar, Wal-Mart, SBC Communications, MasterCard, Land Rover, Pennzoil and Charles Schwab.
ATTENTION EDITORS: A high-resolution, downloadable version of the logo and tagline is available at CMApress.com. This is a protected website with restrictions on use and access. The site is for your convenience and is not for public use.
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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--April 30, 2001--After several months of research and development, the Country Music Association has announced the initial findings of its comprehensive brand development project for Country Music. The resulting tagline and logo are the first steps toward evolving an enhanced identity for the format that expands the consumer base and solidifies the core audience.
"Country Music stands alone in its breadth of support and talent to initiate a campaign of this magnitude and importance," said Kitty Moon Emery, who chairs the CMA Marketing and Communications Committee, responsible for the brand initiative. "We are working together as an industry to impact the future. No other genre has the platform and ability to pull our industry leaders together - despite the fact that they are competitors - for a common cause."
Since September, award-winning, major advertising agency GSD&M, based in Austin, Texas, has conducted quantitative national consumer research, along with 31 focus groups in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and Nashville. The goal was to assess current perceptions of Country Music among consumers and identify the format's most distinctive and compelling aspects.
The research was designed to identify the core values of Country Music. The extensive research effort provided the basis to better brand Country Music in order to distinguish its appeal and unique characteristics.
When asked about Country Music, people most frequently said that Country Music is about "real life." The focus groups also told GSD&M that Country Music was rooted in a unique style of storytelling; linked them to their homes and families; and put them in touch with their emotions. The consensus was that the power of Country Music is found in the stories it tells and its connections with the listener.
Even with the enormous success of so many artists, Country Music is often associated with stereotypes that prevent listeners from embracing the music. With "values-based branding," GSD&M and CMA intend to focus on what's at the heart of the genre -- the powerful connection that all types of people have with the music. The resulting tagline is a challenge to everyone who has ever connected with a Country song or a specific artist, but may not feel a current connection to the format as a whole, or is reluctant to share their enjoyment of the music with others.
The tagline declares: "Country. Admit it. You love it."(SM)
A clean and contemporary type font is utilized for the tagline. The logo appearing along with the tagline is a highly stylized icon graphic that can eventually stand alone as a logo for Country Music.
"This is another important first for CMA since, in so far as we can tell, no one has ever attempted to brand a type of music. It is also a great example of what a trade organization can undertake to expand the base of commerce for its constituents," observed CMA Executive Director Ed Benson. "We have looked closely at other campaigns like `Got Milk?' and Cotton Incorporated's `The Fabric of Our Lives' and what they have meant for their industries. We are also very fortunate to be working with GSD&M which has so effectively employed its `values-based branding' approach for major national clients."
Following development of the tagline and logo, GSD&M conducted additional research to test their effect on actual consumers and received overwhelming support of both the tagline and logo. Several more steps need to be taken before the campaign rollout later this year. GSD&M will develop the creative for various media along with the media plan to hit targeted consumers; CMA will secure media and promotional partners as well as industry support for the campaign; and the actual launch plans must be finalized and executed.
CMA was the first trade group formed to promote a type of music when it was founded in 1958. GSD&M's culture of creativity inspires award-winning work for redefining brands such as Southwest Airlines, DreamWorks SKG, Chili's Grill and Bar, Wal-Mart, SBC Communications, MasterCard, Land Rover, Pennzoil and Charles Schwab.
ATTENTION EDITORS: A high-resolution, downloadable version of the logo and tagline is available at CMApress.com. This is a protected website with restrictions on use and access. The site is for your convenience and is not for public use.
------------------
Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047
