Running from now until September, the multimedia marketing and editorial campaign will give readers more than four months of exclusive content, including unrivalled coverage of the biggest music festivals, from Glastonbury to Glyndebourne.
Launching the season today, Chris Lawson, Content Sales & Marketing Director, GNM said: “Summer is the perfect time of year to celebrate music, and our most ambitious themed marketing season to date will have something for everyone, ranging from showcasing new bands to increased coverage of opera. Alongside our expanded editorial content, we will be supporting the season with a summer-long digital and marketing campaign, targeting music fans across mobile, online and in-paper.”
Music Loves Summer is designed to be the most engaging, collaborative and comprehensive guide to the summer’s music news, reviews and festivals. It aims to drive digital engagement and participation, and develop audiences who can discover and enjoy GNM’s music content across a variety of online platforms, including the mobile site – m.guardian.co.uk - and guardian.co.uk. Music fans will also be targeted on a range of music-related channels, with branded Guardian channels on YouTube, Spotify and Facebook, amongst others, being rolled out throughout the season.
Throughout the season, readers will be invited to share their own experiences and photos from festivals and gigs, some of which will run in the Guardian’s Film & Music supplement and on guardian.co.uk.
The season will also showcase new musical talent, with an exclusive gig bringing to life the Guardian’s popular New Band of the Day column. The gig will feature singer-songwriter Rumer, Britain’s fastest-rising rapper Wretch 32, and retro-modern indie-pop band Summer Camp.
Summary highlights of the Music Loves Summer season:
Music Power 100: a new Guardian list of the most influential people in the UK music industry.
Lady Gaga and the Arctic Monkeys: exclusive interviews.
Festival guide: More festivals than ever before, opportunities to win tickets and festival calendars distributed at key travel points.
Supplements: A seven-day in-paper music series about the history of modern music, a music photography print series and a classical music and opera supplement.
Music Loves Summer is the latest themed marketing season from GNM, and builds on the success of its Film and Start Happy seasons. It will be supported by an extensive media campaign created by Wieden & Kennedy, London, including radio, digital, consumer press adverts, digital rail and underground advertising and promotion across guardian.co.uk, the Guardian and The Observer.
