Pepsi and Yahoo Launch Music Site

Pepsi has transitioned its summer concert TV program to an interactive music-themed Web site in a partnership with Yahoo.

Dave and Shappy’s 100-
concert road trip can be
watched at the Smash
on Yahoo! Music site

The offerings at Smash on Yahoo! Music includes original video programming from musical artists, exclusive on-demand footage including performances, lifestyle segments, interviews and animation.

The featured performance this month is British rock quartet Coldplay, with an exclusive interview and in-studio performances of their hits “Speed of Sound” and “In My Place.”

“It’s really about the unexpected,” said Chris Hollander, senior marketing manager, with Pepsi.

The site,
Smash.yahoo.com, links off of the Yahoo Music home page, which receives about 25 million visitors each month, Hollander said. The site went live June 1.

There will be plenty of interactive components, including one beginning June 20 where visitors can follow two young adults as they attend 100 concerts in 100 days. Visitors to the site can ask the two to come to their hometown to check out bands there. Cameras also follow South African heavy metal band Seether as the group goes snowboarding. A weekly segment keeps visitors up to date on news in the world of music and pop culture.

Visitors can enter a sweepstakes to win tickets to see pop star Kanye West in Miami at the Pepsi Smash Live Concert in August or Gwen Stefani in Las Vegas in October. The sweeps is also promoted offline and via local radio.

Pepsi has a history of music marketing.

“This fits perfectly with who we are and where we’re going,” Hollander said. “We think music is a great way to reach teens and young adults, and if we can combine the power of music and the expectation that we’ll be bringing great music experiences to teens with the latest, greatest technology, we think we have a real win.”

Yahoo powers the site and contributes most of the content while Pepsi brings its expertise in offline marketing to drive people to the site. Marketing includes radio, grassroots efforts, potential TV tags and promotions.

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