Pepsi isn’t an official World Cup sponsor (hello, Coca-Cola) so it can’t mention the tournament by name in its marketing this summer. However, just like Coke, the company is putting music at the heart of its campaign. Pepsi is setting up its own label, MSC Sounds, partnerning with Universal’s Caroline division for distribution. The first release is an album – Beats of the Beautiful Game – with football-accompanying tracks from the likes of Janelle Monae, Rita Ora and Timbaland. Digital will be key to the album’s promotion: a new track will be debuted every week, as well as videos on YouTube and Pepsi’s own website. Billboard reports that the album will be the launchpad for Pepsi’s more grassroots Music Accelerator initiative for emerging artists. “The fundamental assumption in the whole platform is that we believe in and trust the online audience. You don’t have to beat them over the head with a brand message,” said Pepsi’s Frank Cooper.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…