Olivier Robert-Murphy
101 Great Minds on Music Brands and Behavior
Olivier Robert-Murphy, Global Head of New Business, Universal Music Group, London
Robert-Murphy started his career at Procter and Gamble. His time at P&G would prepare him for the various management posts he held soon after: From 1997 until 1999, Robert-Murphy was a Deputy Managing Director with Polygram Video, followed by his time as International Vice President (Marketing) for Universal Pictures International in 1999, and VP DVD and Strategic Marketing for Universal Music Group International in 2001. He was promoted to his current position of Global Head of New Business at UMG in 2011. Robert-Murphy has a strong track record in setting up successful operations in challenging environments and has shown the ability to turnaround failing businesses as a trouble-shooter called in to handle crisis situations.
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“The sound associated to a brand is key.”
— OLIVIER ROBERT-MURPHY, GLOBAL HEAD OF NEW BUSINESS, UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP, LONDON
Reese: Can you tell me a little bit about what your job entails at Universal Music Group?
Robert-Murphy: I run a global structure called Universal Music and Brands. We provide business solutions to brands using music assets. You see, brands are facing a big challenge: 72% of all consumers won’t care if their favorite brands disappear tomorrow. That means brands either need to recruit new customers every day, or they need to create loyalty with their existing consumers. They need to turn their consumers into fans. And the best way to do that is through music, because the number one interest of young consumers these days is music and the artists behind that music. So you need to start using music as an asset in a very creative way. And that’s exactly what we do. I can give you an example: We did a showcase of Ellie Goulding, and streamed it live. The audience came for the music, but they also came for the story, the context. And it just so happens that this story and the context were brought to the consumers by HP – our client.
Reese: What does your process look like, from the first contact with the client to the final music strategy?
Robert-Murphy: First, you have to listen to the brand and understand what issues they’re facing. We usually talk to the CMO/CEO, that level directly. Based on that, we tailor a creative strategy for them.
Reese: What comes afterwards?
Robert-Murphy: You have to do data research. That’s really important. Every company should be focusing
more on why they’re selling a specific product, and not what they’re selling and how they’re selling it. Do you think Apple sells computers? No. Apple is creating the generation of the future, the products of the future. It just so happens that they also sell computers. Coca-Cola, do you think they’re selling a beverage? No. They’re selling happiness. It’s similar with music: Artists don’t sell CDs. They sell emotions and moments. That’s where data is very important. When you understand the why of the brand, and you match it with the why of the artist and the music they off er, it becomes a wonderful win-win situation.
Reese: In an ideal world, should these partnerships between artists and brands be long-term or shortterm?
Robert-Murphy: As a brand, you need to think longterm. The reason is simple. It’s like media buying: How do you calculate your GRP, your gross rating point, for a media campaign on TV? You look at your reach, and your repetition. Your repetition is absolutely key. Nobody will remember you if they watch your ad just once. That’s why we built a program for HP: Every day, every month, you have a showcase on your computer and you can watch it live, you can win concert tickets, or meet your favorite artists. We give you tailored video content, exclusive tracks. The audience constantly engages with your brand. You create a repetition. That will have an impact on the brand equity and the brand itself. I don’t think, though, that matching your brand with one specific artist is the solution. You should collaborate with different artists every month and bring in new audiences based on your target audience.
Reese: How do you determine which artist fits the requirement of a specific brand? Do you create some sort of a style guide for the brand?
Robert-Murphy: Do you think Frank Sinatra is more about Red Bull, or more about Jack Daniels? Jack Daniels, of course. This one is obvious, but thankfully there are tools to actually test this. You can defi ne brand affinities while honoring an artists’ natural affinity and maintaining integrity for both the brand and an artist.
Reese: How do these tools work? Do you develop algorithms?
Robert-Murphy: We have dedicated teams who extract the relevant information from social media. We know what the fans of an artist like and do not like, and we know what the brand wants to communicate. So it’s a matter of matching the two.
Reese: So I could give you a brand with certain values, and you could probably shortlist a certain number of artists that would make a good match for me?
Robert-Murphy: Yes, but it’s changing really quickly. You have to do constant consumer research.
Reese: How do you determine the cost of a music strategy? Do you only work with artists that are signed to Universal?
Robert-Murphy: Mostly, yes, but not exclusively. There’s a connection between what we deliver and what we charge, of course. For HP, we’re delivering a certain number of assets over a period of three years. We delivered to them 281 money-can’t-buy experiences last year alone. So it really depends on the size of the audience you want to reach, and on the extent of the activation you’re planning to achieve. In some cases, we deliver the platform, and even the technology, as well as the resources around it. And, by the way, we’re paying the artist every single time, as our artists are key in everything we do, their music and their connection to their fans are vital in this equation.
“Music is the number one driver for emotions, worldwide.“
Reese: Do you do any testing on the impact of these projects?
Robert-Murphy: Yes. We call it “return on engagement.” How many people did we reach? We have a tool that measures the engagement of the audience. When we put on artist showcases, each consumer stays an average 11 minutes. 11 minutes of pure engagement – with the brand being everywhere, the product being there. If you compare that with traditional media buying on TV, radio campaigns, print ads and billboards – if I’m just going to spend a small amount on a music strategy instead, I’m going to see the reach and I can calculate the earned media. Additionally, there are, of course, a lot of intangible benefits that you can’t measure. Back to the example of the HP showcases: HP will automatically become cooler in the perception of all these kids, although that’s obviously a bit more difficult to measure.
Reese: What do you think of audio signatures? Do you think they work?
Robert-Murphy: I used to work for Procter & Gamble. I’ve been trained at the four “P’s”: Price, Place, Product, Promotion… all marketers learn that. Today, it’s all about the four “E’s”: Engagement, Experience, Exclusivity, and Emotion. Anything that can create an emotion – like music – is essential for your brand. Think about the music playing at a store - for me, that is a signature. You don’t realize it consciously, and that’s why I absolutely believe that sound – not necessarily a signature per se – but:
“The sound associated to the brand is key.”
Reese: My research looks into the direct correlation between brand value and a brand’s audio behavior. If you look at the Fortune 5 – they all have very strict audio standards. Why do still so few brands engage in audio branding then?
Robert-Murphy: It’s not my area of expertise, but I believe that for a lot of brands the issue could be that it takes such a long time to truly establish it. It takes time to create a signature and for the consumer to remember it. I mentioned repetition – every consumer would need to be touched by the same five notes a hundred times. It means that every brand needs a very clear strategy and objective, and a long-term view, thinking ahead 20 years or so. In today’s world, brands change all the time, there are mergers, splits, and consolidations… You have to be persistent, because it’s not going to happen quickly.
Reese: What would be your core message that you want to get across in this interview?
Robert-Murphy: I would say: Turn your customers into fans. Emotion is a key factor for that. And music is the number one driver for emotions, worldwide.
Note: The interview took place in Cannes on June 26th, 2015.
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