Virgin Records
Vice President
In Dec of 1999 I was recruited by Virgin's Senior VP of Marketing to restructure Virgin’s new media efforts. This was just before all the mp3 file sharing was just starting with Napster and MP3.com. Here are a few highlights of the assignments I oversaw:
- Developed marketing partnerships with Microsoft, AOL, Delta Airlines, MTV.com, BET.com and VH1.com.
- Managed the web presence of 50+ recording artists.
- Produced award winning online properties for Janet Jackson, Mick Jagger, and Lenny Kravitz.
- Conceptualized, negotiated and implemented Microsoft’s first multi-million $ artist sponsorship campaigns for:
- MSN 8 global launch campaign with Lenny Kravitz’s “Fly Away”
- Janet Jackson tour sponsorship 2001
Microsoft Unveils Windows Media Innovation Award, Honors Lenny Kravitz as First Recipient
Microsoft to Donate $50,000 to Kravitz's Favorite Charity In Recognition of His Pioneering Uses of Digital Media Technology
REDMOND, Wash., and NEW YORK - May 6, 2002 - Microsoft Corp. and Lenny Kravitz, along with EMI subsidiary Virgin Records America, today announced that the multiplatinum recording star and the record label are inaugural recipients of the Microsoft® Windows Media(tm) Innovation Award.
Dave Fester, general manager of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft, presented the award to Kravitz in New York on May 2 for his pioneering use of digital media, including Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Windows Media digital rights management (DRM) technology, to distribute music securely and easily to fans over the Internet. The award recognizes innovative achievements in digital media from pioneering recording artists, film and music distributors, and enterprises.
The award, which Microsoft plans to present biannually, carries with it a donation of $25,000 (U.S.) in cash and $25,000 (U.S.) worth of software to be made to the recipient's favorite charity. Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates sent a letter to Kravitz congratulating him on his innovative use of digital media. Gates wrote in the letter to Kravitz, "Your experimentation with digital media is setting a groundbreaking example of how the Internet can be a secure and powerful medium for legitimate music distribution. I'm impressed by the many cool ways you're using this technology not only to share your work, but also to build personal, ongoing relationships with your fans over the Internet."
"We're establishing the Windows Media Innovation Award as our way to recognize those organizations or individuals who are using digital media in breakthrough ways," Fester said. "We're excited about presenting this award to Lenny Kravitz because of his groundbreaking example of how to deliver music on the Internet to his fans all over the world."
"Music is all about expressing yourself freely and communicating ideas," Kravitz said. "The combination of digital media and the Internet is helping me connect with my fans all over the world in new ways, and it's cool to be recognized for this."
Already widely recognized as a music-industry innovator, Kravitz's aggressive adoption of digital media technology to promote his work with existing fans while attracting new followers distinguishes him among recording artists. Microsoft's choice of Kravitz as the first recipient of the Windows Media Innovation Award was based on accomplishments such as these:
- Kravitz was the first artist to qualify for a GRAMMY Award nomination through online sales of downloads for the hit single "Dig In," which resulted in his fourth consecutive GRAMMY Award.
- He was one of the first musicians to provide a music video download, in September 2000, over the Internet. Using Windows Media DRM licensing rights controls, fans could download and view the music video to Kravitz's hit single "Again," an original song off his "Greatest Hits" album. More than 110,000 people downloaded the video in 12 weeks, far outstripping Virgin's expectation of 40,000 downloads.
- Proving digital media's effectiveness as a promotional tool, Kravitz and Virgin Records teamed with the BET cable network during Black Music Month in June 2001 on a highly successful weeklong promotion that enabled site visitors to download Outkast's remixed version of Kravitz's hit single "Again."
- Kravitz used the Windows Media format to create online remixes for the song "Believe in Me" in a contest co-sponsored with Sonic Foundry.
- He offered the first video downloads with mtv.com and vh1.com.
- Kravitz made music history by becoming the first artist to have a single qualify for a GRAMMY Award based on sales from online downloads. Using Windows Media Audio, Kravitz released the single in digital form on the Web early enough to qualify for a GRAMMY Award. Acceptance of online sales by the GRAMMY's controlling body, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, is a major step in establishing the legitimacy of online music. After qualifying for the award, Kravitz received his fourth consecutive GRAMMY Award, a GRAMMY first, for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
"Lenny has always challenged us to come up with new ideas to embrace the Internet to reach his fans," said Ty Braswell, vice president for New Media Virgin Records. "Time after time we turned to Microsoft for help with our digital media promotions, and time after time it gave us the tools we needed to be innovators."
In March, Kravitz and Virgin Records co-sponsored a digital song remix contest in which fans downloaded Sonic Foundry's free ACID XPress software to remix Kravitz's song "Believe in Me." Fans submitted entries in WMA format, offering CD-quality audio in half the file size of an MP3 file. The contest winner received an all-expenses-paid weeklong trip to the Winter Music Conference in Miami from March 23-30, courtesy of Virgin Records, and an autographed guitar from Kravitz during a ceremony at the conference. The winning remix of "Believe in Me" is featured at ACID Planet's Web site, http://www.acidplanet.com/contests/lennykravitz
Microsoft Kicks Off $300 Million Marketing Blitz for MSN 8
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| "It's Better With the Butterfly" Marketing Campaign Begins Today in Superior, Wis.; Launch to Build on Great Momentum With 9 Million MSN Subscriptions |
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SUPERIOR, Wis., Oct. 14, 2002 — Drawing on the name of this Midwestern city, Microsoft Corp. today launched a $300 million U.S. marketing campaign for MSN® 8, an Internet service with superior communications, browsing and online safety controls. "We are investing $300 million to communicate with people about MSN 8 because we want consumers to know that finally there is a better alternative to the status quo when it comes to Internet services," said Yusuf Mehdi, vice president for MSN. "We believe when consumers compare MSN 8 with their existing service, MSN will win, hands down, because it allows consumers to communicate better, protect their family better and browse better than ever." Today's scheduled event in Superior, Wis., and the simultaneous unveiling of a massive billboard in New York City's Times Square will begin the countdown to the Oct. 24 launch of MSN 8 in the United States and build on the consumer momentum for MSN, which today announced that its total monthly subscriptions reached 9 million in September. The "it's better with the butterfly" campaign, which runs through mid-2003, is the largest ever for MSN. Built around the MSN butterfly logo, the campaign demonstrates to consumers how Microsoft has used innovative technology to meet consumer demand for a better Internet service, something a majority of Americans want. According to a recent Harris Interactive Poll, three out of four Americans are not impressed with their current online service provider.* "We are kicking off our campaign in Superior today to let consumers know that we've heard their complaints about other Internet services and that we're confident MSN 8 is superior to any other Internet service on the market," said Bob Visse, director of MSN marketing at Microsoft. "MSN 8 gives consumers a reason to be enthusiastic about the promise of the Internet. Now people can expect less unwanted e-mail, more effective parental controls and a better overall browsing experience." The marketing campaign includes broadcast, print, radio and online advertisements that show a rainbow assortment of MSN butterfly characters demonstrating how MSN 8 resolves the biggest Internet frustrations for consumers. The ads will begin appearing nationwide Oct. 24. They were directed by Phil Joanou, who among other things directed the sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun." Developed by McCann-Erickson/San Francisco, the ads present powerful messages in a light-hearted tone, showing the butterfly characters helping consumers reduce the flow of spam and more easily get involved in the online lives of their children. Other ads highlight additional features built into MSN 8 to address the desire of consumers to more easily communicate with friends and family via instant messaging, create vibrant e-mail messages with photos and other personalized touches, and experience a new level of personalization with their Internet experience. In addition, Microsoft will launch its largest-ever online advertising push Oct. 24. The five-day online blitz for MSN 8, developed by interactive advertising agency Avenue A Inc., is designed to reach more than 90 percent of the available and active Internet audience. Rocker Lenny Kravitz's hit single "Fly Away" from the Virgin Records album "Lenny Kravitz Greatest Hits" will be the featured song in the MSN 8 advertising spots. The Grammy® award-winning artist will also perform a live private concert during the MSN 8 launch event, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 24, in New York City's Central Park. In addition to the advertising campaign, other marketing activities will include direct mail, online and channel programs as well as exciting new programs to be announced at launch. The Oct. 24 launch will signal the debut of MSN 8 in the United States, with availability in other parts of the world in the coming months. MSN to Be Exclusive Online Sponsor For Janet Jackson's "All for You World Tour 2001"
David Byrne to Provide Promotional Music for Windows XP
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