Companies Call on Artists to Launch Cell Phones
Samsung Mobile phones and AT&T Wireless have announced plans to sponsor concerts to promote their new mobile phone technology, a move deemed necessary to build on the media blitz that Apple Inc. has experienced with its new iPhone.
The concerts will feature an impressive line up artists including Ludacris, the Bravery, Kinky, Queens of the Stone Age, the All-American Rejects, and Plain White T’s. Fans can obtain free tickets via radio promotions, consumer competitions, and various AT&T retail outlets. The concert tours start August 14 in Los Angeles, with additional dates through September in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, New York and San Francisco. . .
Each venue will contain tattoo parlors and technology booths for fans to enhance their cell phones with various swag, such as a Ludacris “bling” or an All-American Rejects aesthetic. Concert goers also will be given a 1GB Samsung memory card as part of the promotion. The concerts will only last about an hour, leaving plenty of time for fans to shop at the cell phone kiosks.
This is not the first time major music artists have endorsed mobile phone technology. Recently, John Mayer, who has previously had a relationship with Apple, instead hooked up with a sponsorship from the makers of the Blackberry.
Mayer contracted with RIM to promote Blackberry’s new “Curve”. Mayer’s sponsored tour began on June 1, about a month before Apple launched the iPhone. On a community blog, Mayer wrote, “I would like to thank the blogging community for linking to my review of the Curve! No one would have known if it weren’t for you!”
