Citibank Offers Users Backstage Passes
A new holiday sweepstakes from Citibank will give cardholders a chance to experience live music up close, with a sweepstakes run in conjunction with an integrated promotion with artists Mary J. Blige and Nickelback and live music promoter Live Nation.
Through Dec. 28, every time card members use their Citi credit cards, they will be entered to win one of two grand prizes: either a backstage pass to visit with Nickelback during their next three-city North American tour, or a chance to be in the studio with Blige for an exclusive recording session.
The two grand-prize winners will also get $5,000 in spending money. One hundred first-prize winners will receive $1,000 Live Nation gift cards with which they can attend any Live Nation concert in the U.S.
The sweepstakes will be promoted in TV, print and online ads featuring Nickelback and Blige.
The ads, created by Citi’s agency of record Publicis, will show the artists interacting with fans and will fit into Citibank’s ongoing “What’s Your Story?” campaign. Current cardholders will also see the sweepstakes promoted in e-mail, in their card statements and on the Citi Cards Web site.
Visitors to the sweepstakes Web site can also play an interactive “Hear Your Story” game, in which they select a “thought starter” to pick a song theme, then choose words from a small selection to complete a Blige or Nickelback lyric and hear a few bars of the song. They can then click through to iTunes to purchase the song.
Another site feature, “Discover Their Stories,” lets users click through photo galleries for either of the two artists.
Digital agency Atmosphere BBDO has also created a music application for the campaign to be syndicated over the Facebook social network.
“Citi is always looking for new ways to engage our customers,” Citi Cards executive vice president Debra Coughlin said in a release. “This promotion demonstrates the one-of-a-kind experiences we can offer through our partnership with Live Nation.”
Citi signed a marketing alliance with music promotion conglomerate Live Nation in February 2008 and has integrated other artists the company represents, such as Madonna and Jay-Z, into Citi live music promotions. But this sweepstakes will be the first time Live Nation performers will appear in ads for Citi Cards.
Live Nation bills itself as the world’s largest live music company. In July the company signed a global recording, touring and merchandising deal—known in the entertainment industry as a “360 deal”—with Canadian band Nickelback. Live Nation has also worked with Mary J. Blige, most recently on her “Heart of the City” tour with Jay-Z.
