Sting had a problem.
His 1999 album Brand New Day needed a push.
Radio stations were giving Sting's solo effort little airplay.
The album's leadoff song Desert Rose was struggling for air time.
And worse, audiences were turning away from radio stations and disc jockeys for music selection.
Audiences were heading to this new-fangled technology called the Internet and music-sharing sites for music selection.
Sting's longtime manager Miles Copeland knew a new approach was needed.
A new approach with more reach and more mass.
Copeland pitched the use of Desert Rose for a car commercial.
And not just any car commercial but a Jaguar car commercial where Sting and the use of Desert Rose would be free with a tiny catch.
The tiny catch?
The final Jaguar car commercial had to have the look and feel of an ad for Deseret Rose.
While the record label budgeted nearly $2 million to promote the song and shoot the corresponding music video, Jaguar would dump nine times that amount just for the media buy.
Instead of waiting for the audience to find the song on the radio, the song was going for more reach and more mass on a different platform.
A paid television commercial was the new tactic Copeland was looking for with more reach and more mass.
To this day, Brand New Days remains Sting's best-selling, non-compilation album selling nearly six million copies worldwide.
No one doubts Jaguar’s use of Sting’s song in their car commercial as the reason for the album’s enduring success.
You can watch the Jaguar commercial here and the music video here.
Today Louis Vuitton is employing a similar tactic of allowing artists to benefit from the company's more reach and more mass.
Le Monde reports that the world's number one luxury goods company continues strengthening its relationships with visual artists.
Like in 1999, we see the convergence between luxury brands and artists again.
Luxury brands working with an artist can take a pedestrian item and make it into something exquisite, plus get it in front of many potential customers.
"The customer no longer feels like a simple consumer: He becomes an aesthete buying an exceptional piece." -- Christophe Rioux, a professor specializing in luxury and creative industries at Sciences Po university in Paris
Louis Vuitton has over 50 million Instagram followers and 460 stores worldwide - more reach and more mass than most artists could ever develop.
Alex Israel, a regular collaborator with Louis Vuitton, sees the luxury world as an opportunity for more reach and more mass communication.
He says: "I get to access Vuitton's incredible audience."
In his 1975 book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again), Andy Warhol predicted this tactic of more reach and more mass with the convergence between luxury brands and artists.
In the book, Warhol wrote: "Someday, all department stores will become museums, and all museums will become department stores."
Your communications effort may not warrant the collaboration of luxury brands like Jaguar and Louis Vuitton.
Still, there is a brand, an institution, an author, or a non-governmental organization in the world that would benefit from a collaboration.
If you need help finding a new tactic with more reach and more mass, Caracal is here to help.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
ITK Daily is geopolitical business intelligence for senior executives with global ambition.
ITK Daily curates news @ the intersection of globalization, disruption, politics, culture, + sport and provides actionable insights and sharp commentary.
