MSN Launches Music Marketing Blitz

MSN has launched a multi-channel ad campaign for its downloadable music service, enticing consumers to “Meet MSN Music” with an offer to buy one song and get five free.

Creative and media planning were done through McCann San Francisco, with online media handled by Avenue A/Razorfish. One Flash-based ad running on MSN’s Entertainment section reads, “Buy one song, get five free. Buy a love song, get a tearjerker, get a headbanger. Meet more music.” Other ads continue the “Meet MSN Music” theme, inviting viewers to “meet an old favorite,” “meet something catchy,” or “meet alternatives to alternative.” Others invite viewers to meet popular performers at MSN Music, including Gwen Stefani, Stevie Wonder, or a selection of new artists, concluding with “Old music. New music. All music at music.msn.com.” The promotion runs through July 10.

The campaign is the company’s first big marketing push for the service, which launched in September. The campaign will be featured across the MSN network, with MSN home page, MSN Entertainment, Hotmail and Messenger placements.

Additional online placements will be made on a mix of music and entertainment sites, including Billboard.com, Ticketmaster, CitySearch, AllMusic.com, LiveDaily, MP3.com, Vibe.com, and SonyMusic, as well as networks like BurstMedia, Fastclick, ValueClick, and Gorilla Nation Media. The campaign will also add some less targeted buys to extend reach on sites like Friendster, MySpace.com, and Community Connect.

Offline plans include outdoor creative on walls and billboards in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. These markets will also have “wild posting” ads on subways and bus shelters. Radio ads will be placed on satellite, cable, and broadcast in targeted metro markets, with giveaways planned on-air and at radio station-hosted events. Newspaper buys will be made in the four major markets, and an ad will appear in Rolling Stone in June.