Such is the case with the video game's promotional partnership with Pepsi, which includes an under-the-cap promotion as well as the creation and award of a new category at the MTV Video Music Awards in mid-September. Just as Rock Band has become instrumental (pun intended) in introducing new music to consumers, Pepsi's history of music promotion -- from sponsoring acts such as Madonna and Michael Jackson to a promotion to help launch Apple's iTunes -- made the brand a natural fit.

"[Rock Band] is really about an authentic music experience, and while [the game's producers] were open to co-marketing partners, they didn't want to sell out," says Christina Glorioso, vice president of marketing partnerships for MTV Games, tells Marketing Daily. (The companies behind Rock Band include MTV and game maker Harmonix.) "We wanted to make sure anything was really authentic."

The summer-long promotion, "Drink Up, Rock Out," includes an under-the-cap promotion through which consumers of specially marked bottles of Pepsi products can win Rock Band music tracks and games via special codes. "We're giving away tons of content," Glorioso says. "One of the reasons they wanted to work with us [was that] they felt Rock Band was the new wave of experiencing music. They believe we are the fathers of reinventing the music industry."

But the bigger coup is getting the MTV Video Music Awards to include a new category of Rock Band users "playing" their own videos. Culled from 650 entries, the game makers and show producers narrowed the nominees to five videos. The videos can be viewed at www.PepsiRockband.com, where consumers can also cast their vote for a winner. The winning band will get a chance to attend the award show and accept a "Moonman" statue during the show's telecast on Sept. 13. "It's really incorporated as a piece of the show -- it's a new category," Glorioso says, noting that the category is among those listed on the VMA's official Web site.

Despite MTV's partnership with Rock Band, getting on the Video Music Awards required a leap of faith from all parties, Glorioso says. "It was a real risk to get it in the VMAs because there could have been a question of quality," she says. "We've seen organically that our fans are really passionate, so we took the risk."

The contest will be promoted through heavy viral promotion, through which Rock Band fans can campaign for votes for their favorite band. There will also be promotional television spots on MTV and other Viacom networks, as well as online promotion on MTV.com, Glorioso says. Pepsi is also including information about the promotion in their consumer e-mail blasts, she says.

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