• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, May 4, 2011

Starbucks has partnered with MOG Music Network (MMN) to provide music fans with exclusive access to video coverage of the Bonnaroo Buzz Tour leading up to the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (June 9-12 in Manchester, Tenn). The coverage is sponsored by Starbucks' Frappuccino beverages line.

This inaugural pre-Bonnaroo tour, presented/sponsored by StubHub! and produced by Superfly Presents (also producers of the festival), celebrates the 10th anniversary of Bonnaroo. Concerts will take place in 13 cities across the country between May 17 and June 9. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals is the headline band for the tour. Supporting acts include Future Birds, Gary Clark Jr., The Black Box Revelation and comedian Julian McCullough.

Starbucks was seeking a music-oriented platform to reach the 18-24 demographic (and secondarily, women 25-34), as one key element in its larger campaign for its Frappuccino beverages, according to Alex Brough, SVP of sales and strategy for MMN. Those demographics are core audiences for MMN, the nation's largest music content destination/advertising network (1,500-plus music sites that reach nearly 40 million people per month), says Brough.

MMN, a division of music media company MOG, Inc., worked with Superfly to set up the deal for Starbucks Frappuccino to sponsor video coverage of the tour. "Starbucks is very proud of its association with music and helping to introduce its fans to emerging artists, and this tour, like Bonnaroo itself, features new as well as established artists," notes Brough. "Starbucks, of course, doesn't believe in just putting a sponsorship logo on something -- they were interested because this is an opportunity to provide the target audience with valued content that they can't get through any other venue." A custom, Starbucks Frappuccino-branded video module or widget enabling access to a wide range of content -- including behind-the-scenes b-roll, video interviews, performance clips and a map and full schedule for the tour -- will be syndicated to/accessible through select MMN sites such as SoundSpike.com, PopMatters.com and BaebleMusic.com (the sites will also provide editorial/social media support for the campaign).

Consumers can use the map within the module to click on specific cities and access more location-specific tour information. In addition, some of the content will be made available to MMN's network of influential music bloggers, who can integrate links/access into their editorial content. The bloggers will also receive tickets to Buzz Tour events for coverage/review purposes, and their posts/tweets on their social media networks are expected to generate significant awareness and exposure for Starbucks Frappuccino's sponsorship of the tour coverage, says Brough.

This week, Starbucks got the Frappuccino buzz rolling with ads on targeted music sites such as Some Kind of Awesome and SetList.fm promoting a half-price Frappuccino "Happy Hour" event in Starbucks stores from 3 to 5 p.m. May 6 through 15. The ads include a store-finder tool and drive consumers to the beverages' site (frappuccino. com). Starting May 12, when the tour module goes live, Starbucks will be running online ads specifically promoting Frappuccino's sponsorship of the video coverage, with links to access more information.