FEATURE: THE NEW BRAND TALENT.

A wealth of today's youth-oriented brands are dedicated to discovering and breaking new unsigned talent. And, despite negligible success with previous discoveries, that commitment is on the increase

By Stuart Clarke

DESPITE THE ONGOING ECONOMIC TROUBLES OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, there is no more valuable asset to today's marketing gurus than that of music and the artist.

Whether it is the hip folk-pop song to underscore a national television ad campaign or endorsement via product placement in a promo video, few would argue that music is a clever way to sell your product. In short, it works.

But in recent years, marketers have become increasingly creative and, in a bid to reach the consumer at a grass roots level, brands have become involved in a series of talent searches where the quest for the hottest unsigned artists is key.

There is certainly no shortage of such competitions - just this month Motorola announced its quest for a "Motorokr Star" - and each differs to some degree, from Red Stripe's emphasis on live talent, to O2's desire to put unsigned talent in touch with the music business. The overriding concern, however, is whether any of them actually work.

Alongside a line-up boasting Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn, journalist Lisa Verrico and Dylan White Promotion And Management founder Dylan White, Fascination A&R manager Jordan Jay was chosen to oversee proceedings for the O2 Undiscovered competition in 2007.