case study - the lights outthelightsout.com/files/aritchbrand_thelightsout_aeronaut...t.r.i.p. album...

Case study

Summary• For the first time in the history of music and beer, a

new studio album was released on a craft beer can• The beer became the gateway to an album about

parallel universes• The co-branded collaboration involved:

– Digital media production– A communications campaign– Interactive live events

• It earned national news coverage in MarketWatch, ADWEEK, Paste Magazine, Food & Wine, Men’s Journal, The A.V. Club and more

• The initiative succeeded despite a seemingly impossible set of hurdles

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Context• New albums from unsigned bands aren’t

being discovered in music stores• Music stores are selling vintage vinyl,

reissued classics and pop culture merch• Discovering new music online isn’t as

exciting or physically immersive• It’s like adding milk to a grocery order• However, people are going to the beer

store to discover new beers all the time

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• The Lights Out is a music and light project that wrote a sci-fi album about traveling through the multiverse, and synchronized it with a wearable light show

• Aeronaut is a brewery founded by Cornell and MIT scientists, which creates experimental beers that take drinkers on a journey

• Aritchbrand put the band and brewer together to:– Release the album on a beer can– Reintroduce the physical aspect of new music discovery– Create a complete sensory experience for music and beer

lovers, with sound, visual, touch and taste

Collaborators

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Video trailer

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https://youtu.be/uG4_4G-_FH4

From concept to launch

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• Idea to reality in less than six months:– June: Band mixes album, reaches out to brewery cold– July: First meeting at brewery– Summer/Fall: Album mastered, beer developed all

promotional assets created– November: Beer launch event– Fall-Winter: Ongoing launch support

• “The only way to get the album is by buying the beer; we want people to discover this album on the beer shelf.”

• “The beer fuels the drinker’s trip through the multiverse, and the album is the soundtrack to that journey.”

T.R.I.P. album• Short for “The Reckonings in Pandimensionality”• A collection of stories and characters from other worlds• Each song is a report back from a parallel universe• Written across three years• Recorded at Mad Oak Studios in Boston• Engineered by Benny Grotto (Aerosmith, Ben Folds, The

Magnetic Fields)• Self-funded

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T.R.I.P. album

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T.R.I.P. show• The Color Machine: a wearable light show• Invented by the band’s drummer and industrial designer• Uses 1,000 individually-assigned color-shifting LEDs• Every moment of every song is synchronized with light• The vehicle that takes the band and their audience through

the darkness between realities

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T.R.I.P. show

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T.R.I.P. beer• Named after the album• Prototyped while the brewers listened to a rough cut• Styled after the album’s theme:

– Paradoxical “Imperial Session IPA”– 7.5% ABV– Brewed as liquid sustenance for pandimensional travelers– Features rare Galaxy hops from other side of the world

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T.R.I.P. beer

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T.R.I.P. album beer packaging• Illustrated by Raul Gonzalez III (Lowriders in

Space, SpongeBob SquarePants)• Artwork modeled after the band and album

– Goggled figure is a Lights Out pandimensional traveler– Giant eye is a character from one of the songs– Capsule is the band’s Color Machine flying through a

wormhole between realities• Label contains a call-to action for drinkers:

– Tweet #TRIPME to @thelightsout and @aeronautbrewing– We’ll tell you what you’re doing right now in a parallel universe– And give you a link to the new album

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T.R.I.P. album beer packaging

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T.R.I.P. album beer packaging

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T.R.I.P. album beer packaging

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Digital asset goals• Must explain a multi-layered collaboration• Be visually compelling• Stay non-commercial• Appeal to both music and beer fans• Serve as an entry point for news media

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Digital asset challenges• Tight production schedule

– Coordinating availability between a photographer, videographer, band and brewery on canning day

– Edited video and final photos needed to be turned around in a matter of days

– Beer labels weren’t ready until the morning of the shoot

• Budget– Very limited, self-funded production budget

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Digital asset production on canning day

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Finished video

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Finished photography

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Landing page

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Launch event goals• Throw a popup concert at a rock climbing gym

– Brooklyn Boulders Somerville

• Transform the space and create an immersive, participatory experience for attendees to:– Go rock climbing in the dark with headlamps– Taste the new beer– See and hear the album performed with the synchronized light show– Wear glowing accessories at the dance party

• Appeal to music, beer and climbing fans• Utilize the space by dropping band members 50 feet

from the ceiling onto the stage to begin the show

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Launch event challenges• Coordinating several different partners

– Keeping a band, brewery and climbing gym in sync

• Serving alcohol at a non-bar– Obtaining necessary license to serve beer in a popup venue

• Performing music at a non-music venue– Bringing in a stage, sound system, lighting, personnel

• Tight production schedule– Planning to ensure the beer would be brewed in time for the event

• Timing– Happening just before Thanksgiving– Happening in the week of a dazed and somber post-election atmosphere

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Launch event cross-promotion: Facebook

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Launch event cross-promotion: Twitter

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Launch event prep

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Launch event performance

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Launch event attendees

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Launch event highlights: Twitter

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Launch event highlights: Facebook

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“Singer enters by dropping from ceiling” “I got my beer!! 🍻🍻” “One of the coolest concerts I’ve been to”

“The Lights Out Party” “Album release show!! ❤ ” “Specially made for the concert I’m at”

Launch event highlights: Instagram

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“Pretty awesome watching people climb in the dark” “The Lights Out are 👍👍👍 trust me on this” “Wow.”

“That Lights Out album release” “Beer is awesome can’t wait for the show! “Pairing workout w/ The Lights Out great decision”

Comm campaign: goals• Launch a national news story out of Boston• Leave no stone unturned, developing multiple

editorial angles for culture, lifestyle, music, business, beer, food, beverage, technology, design, science and art media – all with the same product

• Generate an undeniable amount of quality press that would surpass the geographic footprint of the collaboration

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Comm campaign: anticipated challenges• Scale

– Unsigned independent band + small independent brewery

• Competitive/Subjective categories– Music and food are very personally-opinionated editorial topics

• Tight outreach schedule– Mastered album, beer, assets wouldn’t be ready till two weeks before launch

• Timing– Holiday season, vacations and national holidays were hitting just after launch

• Budget– Very limited, self-funded expense budget

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U.S. election

Thanksgiving

Christmas

New Year’s

Inauguration Day

Washington march

U.S. travel ban

Super Bowl

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

Anticipated + Unanticipated media hurdles

Regional beer launch Nat’l Beer Can Day Global digital release

Cutting through unprecedented media noise• Built in multiple, staggered announcements

– 1: Global partnership announcement with video trailer and press release 11/1

– 2: Regional beer launch/interactive events 11/12 – 2/1– 3: National Beer Can Appreciation Day 1/24– 4: Global digital album launch 2/1– 5: Global music video launch (forthcoming)

• Bringing in credible national industry voices– Ulf Oesterle, chair of the Department of Music and

Entertainment Industries at Syracuse University

• Conducting outreach to UK media during election media meltdown

– “Flying an airplane around a weather system”

• Pegging release to progressive distribution platform

– Giving fans an opportunity to support the ACLU via Bandcamp donations during launch week

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Partnership announcement

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Creative mailer

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Culture earned media highlights

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Lifestyle earned media highlights

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Music earned media highlights

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Business earned media highlights

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Food earned media highlights

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Beverage earned media highlights

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Beer earned media highlights

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Sci-tech earned media highlights

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Regional earned media highlights (1 of 3)

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Regional earned media highlights (2 of 3)

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Regional earned media highlights (3 of 3)

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College earned media highlights

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Russia

International earned media highlights

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Finland Thailand

Paid media

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Media-driven social highlights: Instagram

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Media-driven social highlights: Facebook

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Media-driven social highlights: Facebook

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Media-driven social highlights: Twitter

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Media-driven social highlights: Twitter

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T.R.I.P. in stores

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Consumer-driven social highlights: Twitter

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Consumer-driven social highlights: Twitter

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Consumer-driven social highlights: Twitter (😆)

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Consumer-driven social highlights: Instagram

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Consumer-driven social highlights: Untappd

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Consumer-driven social highlights: Untappd

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Feedback• “A new strategy” (MarketWatch)• “Yes, it's real” (Alternative Press)• “Out of this world” (Men's Journal)• “Tangible pleasures” (Paste Magazine)• “Unconventional ingenuity” (The A.V. Club)• “A new high in album dropping” (UPROXX)• “We’re actually living in the future” (WIRED)• "This is a very, very cool innovation” (Fortune)• “Takes co-branding to the next level” (ADWEEK)• “Some of the biggest developments for packaging” (Food & Wine)

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43 Bowdoin Street, Suite CBoston, MA 02114(617) 302-7230contact@aritchbrand.com