The Story

brass is the magazine about young adults and money. Fresher than Forbes or Fortune, this publication targets Gen-Y with articles, interviews, and statistics that are relevant for them. Not only is the content original – so is the marketing. At brass, they know that the under-30 crowd doesn’t respond well to flat ads, without also being engaged through an experience or connection – which is why they asked an 18-year old high school student to record a theme song for the company.

Bryan Sims – CEO of brass|MEDIA Inc. - met the talented teenager while speaking to New York high school students as part of the brass|STUDENT PROGRAM. The student, Ray Blackwell, was trying to get his own music label up and running by reading investing books and saving 50% of his minimum-wage paycheck to invest. In other words, he was the embodiment of the brass brand – young, entrepreneurial, and driven – the type of person that magazine’s readers would connect with.

Bryan suggested that he would pay Ray to create a song for brass. With the help of his mom and brother, Ray recorded a sample song that completely embodies what the company is all about. Bryan and the folks at brass were so impressed that they hired TICE Records to produce the full track, and put together this video containing lyrics for the song.

What does this say about brass? For one, they understand how to use non-traditional marketing. The song and video will complement the brand experience people have in print, online, and in person. More importantly though, it shows that the brass knows how to connect with its audience. By shining the spotlight on a young person readers can relate to, the magazine demonstrates that it is in touch with its readership’s financial situation and their goals in life. And all that for the cost of a single page ad.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 9:09 am and is filed under Other, Bank Branding, Credit Union Branding, Kick Ass Ideas & Musings, Bank Marketing, Experiential Marketing, Branding, Credit Union Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.