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November 2005 - Strategy Magazine
Brands of the Year

Overall Brand of the Year
Much accomplishment

by Natalia Williams
page 37

Surprised? Trust us, look again. At 21, MuchMusic remains one of the most agile, relevant, tuned-in and beloved brands in the country. It's partly a by-product of keeping pace with its target market: It's hard to not be cool and innovative when you're reaching out to sometimeish teens. But it's also because of the brand's seamless ability to connect, engage and even challenge this target market so convincingly that it's been awarded strategy's overall Brand of the Year.

From brand experiences (ever try manoeuvring down Toronto's Queen Street during one of its events?) to brand extensions like MuchPhone and Razer, to jumping into the world of digital media with the abandon of, well, a teenager, while not forsaking its identity, you'd be hard pressed to find another brand that hits those buttons so consistently and skilfully. And with fickle teens no less.

"It's become one of the pre-eminent Canadian youth culture icons," says Mike Farrell, partner at Toronto agency Youthography. "[Much] has become a destination as well as a media outlet. [Its Web site] is a destination...and it's launched all these different subbrands, and new products so all of this adds up to a very healthy brand."

Stellar as well. Take the Much phone, for example. First launched a year ago, it's sold double initial projections. "It's been a powerful tool because it's all about access to MuchMusic and evolving our relationship to let [the audience] get closer," says Roma Khanna, SVP content of MuchMusic's owner CHUM TV. "The idea that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen come to Much and if you have a Much phone you're getting exclusive clips, audio and video - things that you just can't get anywhere else - that's something we can offer our audience and something they want from us."

Its shop.muchmusic.com Web site, which launched in 2004, has sold more than 1.5 million downloads of ringtones and screen graphics, which, they claim, makes the site Canada's top online destination for wireless content. Partnering with Sony BMG Music Canada and Universal Music Canada, they've created "TrueTones," which gives them licences necessary to offer teens the actual versions of songs from their favourite artists.

"The ringtone store has been a huge success for us," says Khanna, who until recently was the head of CHUM's interactive division. "It's largely driven [by the sale] of ringtones, but we're seeing increased interest in games, video clips and photographs. We don't market [those options]...but people are finding it and downloading it." And given the synergy Much has with its audience, the brand handlers are certainly taking notes.

That's because interactivity has became a hallmark of the brand. Taking cues from its audience, and even tossing around words like "respect," have been key to the brand's continued success. "[We] understand how fickle they are, how quickly they change. [We have] a respect for that," says David Kines, VP music and youth channels. "We're not afraid to change quickly either. We can turn on a dime.... One year Power Rangers are cool and the next year they're not. [Youth are] like that with their TV and media. We're not afraid to roll with that."

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