examples?

Currently there are advertisements of companies etc on festival stages and leaflets. How will brands develop to keep up with the developments that will be made in the next few years?

This has been a fairly common thing for quite a few years; it's not uncommon to see a Yamaha, Fender or Gibson banner across the front of a stage at a festival - whether this actually results in more Yamaha, Fender, or Gibson gear being sold is probably best determined by the simple fact that these companies continue to do this kind of advertising.

I guess it probably makes a difference; there might be a young musician in the audience who sees his favorite band playing on a stage with a Monster Cable banner across the front... and goes out the next day to buy a Monster Cable for his guitar...
although I'd be more apt to believe that the same young musician would be likely influenced in a greater way by seeing which guitar, amp, or drum kit that the guys in his favorite bands are actually using themselves.

Do I think that Starbucks sells more cappuccino because they have a big banner on a festival stage? I honestly don't know. Again, one would assume that the profit outweighs the cost, because they obviously continue to do it...

Speaking only in a musical sense, products are developed, updated or released, based on what they feel the consumer wants the most... notice I said "want"... not what they need the most... but what they want the most..

Several years ago, it started becoming apparent to a few professional studio gear manufacturers that there was a serious want for a good quality entry-level mic pre/audio I-O for the home studio market (which is one of the fastest growing markets out there) and within a short time, both Presonus and Focusrite - who are both manufacturers of professional audio gear - had released affordable but good quality multi-channel mic pres/audio interfaces.

It didn't take long for other companies to quickly follow suite, because both Presonus and Focusrite saw a great level of success with those units that they had developed.

Just a few years previous to those models being put on the market, it was all but unheard of for a home level recording hobbyist to be able to afford even one Class A mic pre, never mind 2 to 4 of them, but now there were rack pieces with 4, 6, 8, and even 16 and 24 channels available, for a fraction of the cost that it would have cost to purchase just a few years previous to that.

Sure, they filled a "need"... but the key, I think, is that they also made their consumers want to buy those products. "Need" are things of necessity: like toilet paper and motor oil. "Want" are thet hings we don't necessarily need, but enjoy: wine, gourmet food, boutique coffee, and, for home studios, gear that users feel will make them sound better at what they do.

But hey, what do I know? I failed economics in college, and I didn't fair all that much better at marketing, either, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt... a very small grain. ;)

d.

Robert G, post: 426404, member: 48951 wrote: Hi.

How do you think Sponsorship and branding will change within the next couple of years?

I don't see any indication that it will change. I can't see any better way to convince me that a product works that seing an artists or engineer use it.

Sennheiser is quite active in Quebec, Canada. A few bands I know got sponsored and received free mics for their gigs.

I'd like to have a sponsorship from Neumann ! Please, send me a U81, U49 and some match KM185 etc... ;)