The Power of the Pivot: How WMX Thrived in an Uncertain Time

The company39s success in creating custom content opportunities with brands became more difficult quotwhen we couldn39t create them in personquot said Kurt CampbellAnderson Head of Studio at WMX Warner Music Group39s services division that connects artists with fans and amplifies brands quotWe pivoted the way that we looked at our approachesquotThe changes were made in response to a key question quotHow do we still make compelling content and opportunities that reach our audiencequot The answer came in part by retooling the WMG studio operations in ways that were often speedier than adjustments by movie and television studiosquotWe started creating turnkey content opportunities and then taking them to brands with thematic alignment optionsquot CampbellAnderson said quotIf their passion point was mental health awareness WMX would find talent that could specifically speak to it in such a way that the brand said 39Cool that39s us39quotThat approach differs from a more traditional model quottrying to build a bespoke opportunity from the ground up with every client So it was a bit of reverse engineeringquot he explainedCoupling speed and safety were top priorities quotWe like anyone else used a ton of remote filming capabilities and we built some of those from the ground upquot CampbellAnderson said quotThe nice thing that39s evolved in the way we work even now is we39re still using a lot of those techniques to keep costs in check timelines in check and to do things for brands in better and faster waysquotThis evolution gives you a bigger playground to work withinquot he continued quotWe now get to talk to new people that we weren39t previously able to get in the studio with us and it also opens up untapped international opportunitiesquotCiting the successes of Africanbased Warner artists from Omah Lay to CKay CampbellAnderson said quotbecause we39re a little bit nimbler and we39re approaching quickly we39re now able to get on the ground with the artists immediately do things that help them in their marketing and get them in front of a wider global audience which is something our brands wantquotBefore the pandemic WMG was successful in creating a number of intimate performances before small groups of superfans that were livestreamed The studio is building on that concept by partnering with a new platform named Reachme that will allow such streamed performances to play out simultaneously to the social media sites of all involvedquotLabel socials brand socials publisher socials artists39 socials TikTok YouTube Instagram Twitter Reddit and Twitch all at one timequot CampbellAnderson noted Realtime fan feeds will also be integrated quotso there can be one connective tissue where everyone39s getting to comment at the same time and same place I think it39s going to be groundbreaking and awesomequotBy reaching fans on their own favorite social media sites artists can also respond to their comments quotIt will give more opportunities for fans to connect with artists but also from an artist perspective it will hopefully help them grow their fan basequot he saidOne such impending campaign that will benefit both artist and audience is with TMobile and Live from Nowheresville quotWe39re creating scenic live performances with ontherise WMG artists in entirely remote locations in partnership with the brandquot he explainedInnovative ways to align with brands have allowed WMX to step up at a time when a lot of companies39 marketing staffs have had to downsize And that in turn led to the Pivot Award quotWe kept a huge number of our preexisting clients but also gained a bunch of new ones from Bose and American Eagle to Guitar Center Microsoft Modeloquot CampbellAnderson said quotSo there was a silver lining to what had been for many a dark two yearsquotWhile there39s been an openness to try innovative things at Warner Music Group the core mission hasn39t changed quotIt39s still content via great storytellingquot he concludedClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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The Power of the Pivot: How WMX Thrived in an Uncertain Time

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Roger Catlin

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The Power of the Pivot: How WMX Thrived in an Uncertain Time

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