Droga5 Named Ad Agency of Record for the Rhapsody Brand; Optimedia US
Selected as Media Buyer
NEW YORK, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Rhapsody(R) America, the joint
venture from MTV Networks and RealNetworks(R) (Nasdaq: RNWK) offering the
market's leading digital music service, has selected advertising agency,
Droga5, and media buying and planning agency, Optimedia US, to lead the
U.S. brand advertising and media planning for the Rhapsody service.
Harnessing Droga5's creative expertise and Optimedia's strength in media
buying, the companies are working together to create an innovative,
multi-million dollar advertising campaign to build the Rhapsody brand and
raise consumer awareness for Rhapsody's true "music wherever you are,
whenever you want it" experience.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070821/AQTU905LOGO-a)
"The Rhapsody brand is poised for growth and we're confident that our
partners, Droga5 and Optimedia US, will help us raise awareness among music
fans about the best way to connect with the music and the artists they
love," said Neil Smith, vice president of marketing for Rhapsody. "Droga5's
successful track record working with hip, big-name brands and Optimedia's
thorough approach to advertising across all media makes for a powerful
combination that will maximize the effectiveness of our advertising
efforts."
"Rhapsody is a remarkable service that instantly changes the way you
think about music," said David Droga, Creative Chairman of Droga5. "We're
creating an integrated campaign that fully communicates the emotional power
of the Rhapsody experience."
The newest Droga5-produced Rhapsody spot begins airing this week and
features music from the Indie-pop act Throw Me the Statue. The spot
highlights all the ways Rhapsody weaves music throughout everyday life with
a variety of Rhapsody-enhanced devices and will run through Q2 2008.
The new Throw Me the Statue Rhapsody creative builds on the success of
the recent Droga5-produced ad featuring emerging artist Sara Bareilles.
That inspired ad captured the spontaneous and satisfying music discovery
experience Rhapsody offers and drove unprecedented interest in Sara
Bareilles on Rhapsody and reinvigorated both physical and digital download
album sales for the new artist.
Optimedia US will develop overall strategy for and the implementation
of national broadcast, online and print media buys for Droga5-developed
creative. The current wave of Rhapsody brand campaign television spots that
combine the efforts of Droga5 and Optimedia US break this week and will
appear on channels including MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central.
Added Antony Young, president, Optimedia US, "Rhapsody is poised to be
one of the most influential companies in the music business, and we are
developing innovative media programs to drive adoption of this service by
consumers."
A second major Droga5-produced campaign featuring world-class directors
will debut in Q3-4 over multiple Viacom properties, and will continue to
showcase the Rhapsody experience along with the suite of innovative
Rhapsody- enhanced in-home and portable music devices.
Rhapsody delivers five million songs a day to music lovers through more
consumer touch points than any other service. Through partnerships with
industry leaders like TiVo, Philips, SanDisk, Logitech and Sonos, Rhapsody
has created a complete digital music experience on the PC, throughout the
home and on the go. Rhapsody offers consumers unlimited access to millions
of songs, professionally programmed music channels and exclusive content
from MTV Networks' premier MTV, VH1 and CMT music brands.
RNWK-G
ABOUT RHAPSODY
Rhapsody(R) offers an integrated and immersive digital music experience
accessible to consumers via their computer, portable music device and soon
their mobile phone. Rhapsody is the exclusive digital music service for
RealNetworks(R) and for MTV Networks' music and pop-culture brands in the
United States. Rhapsody is a service of Rhapsody America LLC, a joint
venture between MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA) (NYSE: VIA.B)
and RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK).
ABOUT DROGA5
Droga5 (Droga5.com) is an independent advertising agency headquartered
in New York. Led by Creative Chairman David Droga, the former Worldwide
Creative Officer of the global Publicis Groupe. Droga5 clients include
Unicef, Ecko Unlimited, Pernod Ricard, Esquire, TracFone, the New Museum of
Contemporary Art, and VB beer.
ABOUT OPTIMEDIA US
Optimedia US (http://www.optimedia-us.com/) is a media agency that
specializes in integrated marketing communications strategies. Its
proposition is summed up in the expression "Never Settle, Never Stop ... "
Optimedia is an agency that loves to challenge. With offices in New York,
Dallas, Indianapolis, San Francisco and Seattle, Optimedia works on such
clients as T- Mobile, Nestle, L'Oreal, Lancome, Sanofi-Aventis and British
Airways. Optimedia is owned by Publicis Groupe, the largest media agency
services group in the US. It is part of the ZO Worldwide Network.
SOURCE Rhapsody America
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Related links:
http://www.realnetworks.com
http://www.Droga5.com http://www.optimedia-us.com
Photo Notes:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070821/AQTU905LOGO-a
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Ronda Scott of RealNetworks, +1-415-934-2016,
rscott@real.com
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