Brand on the Run

Brandweek,  Oct 30, 2000  by Mike Beirne

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Rhino's marketing claim to fame? Not since Motown has a music label forged a meaningful brand identity.

Once upon a time, Motown was synonymous with Martha and the Vandellas, Little Stevie Wonder and the Supremes. Simply saying the word conjured up Hitsville USA, Barry Gordy and a host of artists whose distinct sound elevated Motown from mere record manufacturer to musical movement.

Music labels today by contrast, are known primarily for the artists-cumcelebrities they've signed. Exceptions include blues-oriented Alligator Records and No Limit, which has an impresario assembling a certain rap sound. Yet widespread recognition and ascension to brand status for these companies has not been attained.

Only one music label, Rhino Records, can realistically boast otherwise. The Warner Music Group label has a 2,750-plus title catalog comprising compilations and box sets of movie and TV show theme music, doo wop, Broadway musicals, Soul Train, the Monkees, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Richard Pryor. Its eclectic content and reputation as the place to go for all things retro have formed the Rhino brand identity.

"People have called us the Smithsonian of the record business or the Smithsonian with a dance floor," said Garson Foos, svp-marketing. "We're the retro pop culture experts that get it."

David Dorn, senior director of media relations and new media, said Rhino marketers are all passionate about music. "We sit around meetings and talk about music facts and inevitably someone says you know who wrote that don't you or you know who starred in that if it's music from a movie orTVshow.Journalists, musicians and pr departments were calling us about acts that are not even on Rhino. That still happens even with department folks who put the compilations together."

The company parlayed that knowledge into its first branding event during 1997 with the Rhino Musical Aptitude Test. The RMAT--an open-book, 305-question music trivia test modeled after the SAT complete with answer sheet, No. 2 pencils, school desks, teacher's desk and chalkboard--has grown into an annual, international event. Last May the search for "Geekus Musicus Maximus" hit Tokyo, Toronto, London, Buenos Aires and Dublin, in addition to Tower Records locations in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Glasgow (in lieu of Dublin) and Mexico City will be added next year.

Rhino made the SAT spoof memorable by delivering test booklets to testing locations by armored car and leading RMAT students in the Rhino pledge of allegiance: "I pledge allegiance to Rhino Records/The Monkeys, Dick Dale and Aretha/And to the reissues/That we demand/One nation/Under a groove/In-A-Gadda Da-Vida/With Liberace and justice for all." With hosts like Alice Cooper, Dr. Demento and Devo, Rhino has reeled in significant publicity for an event that last year attracted 10,500 participants on location and via the Internet, and now includes Spin, JVC, Yahoo! and Tower as marketing partners.

"Just the picture of all these geeks, with boxes of reference books sitting at desks in the hot sun to take a test, seemed very funny to me," said Stan Goman,Tower COO. "It could be a movie."

Yet, it's business too. Publicity about music trivia got consumers thinking about old records. Tower promoted the RMAT eight weeks beforehand with POP signage and a display contest among employees. Store sales rose 10% and the RMAT is now a Tower tradition. "It's a big sales event for us not in terms of revenue but in importance said Goman. "It's just fun. Rhino is one of our favorite labels. These are the people who saved music."

Dorn is negotiating with potential partners to extend the music trivia brand into board games, books and other merchandise. Also, Alta Vista, Real Networks and other online players are interested in creating a retro music environment using Rhino's red and white logo.

The label recently joined Nabisco to launch Cool Blast Music Trivia, an online game tied in with Breath Savers mints on candystand.com a site that racks up 3.5 million visitors monthly skewing heavily toward Gen Ys and Gen Xers. "I wasn't thinking about how I can get Rhino to kids, but I saw [Cool Blast] as a great opportunity to reach people who don't know who Rhino is," said Dorn. "Everyday there is someone out there who all of a sudden discovers Aretha Franklin or John Coltrane, and just because they are 18 or 21 doesn't mean they are only going to buy Limp Bizkit or Kid Rock. There are always people out there who will seek out cool, interesting music from the past, so an opportunity to work with Cool Blast is an opportunity to reach out to people that I'm not appealing to with my Web site."

A jump through the Rhino.com link exposes new visitors to Rhino's personality through its quirky packaging. The Brain in a Box, for example, is a five-CD set of science fiction music and special effects from movies and TV shows, plus a book featuring photos and liner notes from the likes of author Ray Bradbury and Blade screenwriter David Goyer. The CD box displays a lenticular image showing a human brain floating in bubbly liquid. Another gem:Eh Paisano!, a collection of Italian crooner classics, sports the look of a Rigatoni spaghetti box.