Jermaine Dupri x Nu Pop Movement. Readers know we tend to hate on Jermaine Dupri…but that’s all in the past now. First I give him mad props for hitting the press circuit and really pushing how much social media has helped his own business and hip-hop in general. He’s becoming a positive spokesperson for the industry and we like he even more now because his watch company Nu Pop Movement is pretty legit and the designs are fresh.

And what better way to promote your own watch company than to get artists like Bow Wow and Nelly on board. Here are two new “casual” promo shots of them showing off the goods. Check the official Nu Pop site here. See Nelly’s pic after the jump…

• VIDEO: Jermaine Dupri launches “Nu Pop Movement” watch collection
• Jermaine Dupri launches Pop Watch collection
• Jermaine Dupri Talk So So Def & Nu Pop Movement
• Video: Nelly in partnership with the Olympics’ Team USA
• Jermaine Dupri launches official TAG Records site

• Lady Gaga deluxe album includes a lock of her real hair
• Dr. Dre to appear at NY Best Buy for launch of Club Beats
• Dr. Dre introduces the Lady Gaga “Heartbeats” headphones
• Dr.Dre Jimmy Iovine Alliance with Hewlett-Packard Computers
• Dr. Dre talks about how Beats headphones came to be

Clipse x MTV. MTV has been slowly rolling out more and more music videos into their programming again and hyping it up with “teaser poster” ads similar to what you would see in movie theaters. You might remember 50 Cent’s “Baby By Me” teaser poster.

Apparently Clipse isn’t too happy with what MTV designed for their “Popular Demand” poster as Malice stated on his Twitter “This add is COONRAGEOUS!!!!” In Clipse language add = ad. Take a look and decide for yourself though if the poster is offensive. Via: RR

• Clipse get support for Play Cloths clothing line
• MUSIC VIDEO: Clipse – “Popular Demand” ft Camron
• 50 Cent interview about his “Power” cologne
• YETI’s LINKS: Forbes Magazine Top Hip-Hop Earners
• Album Art: Clipse – Til the Casket Drops

Busta Rhymes at a photo shoot for Venom Energy drink, the comapany’s ambassadors include Keynon Martin from the Denver Nuggets.

Props: ConcreteLoop

• Busta Rhymes wants to trade rap for a TV career
• EXCLUSIVE: First pics of Kanye West GURU energy drink ads
• Common’s AMP Energy Drink commercial
• Busta Rhymes & Travis Barker recording for “Transformers 2″
• Kanye West launches GURU energy drink

Snoop Dogg x WWE The Dog Father appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw last month to guest host and also promote his new album Malice N Wonderland which hit stores December 8.  Through the partnership WWE broadcast Snoop’s new video “Gangsta Luv” featuring The Dream live. Check out some clips from his performance, he didn’t body slam anyone but he strong armed them.

• Jimmy Fallon & The Roots “Slow Jam” the news
• Video: MC Hammer’s new ESPN Monday Night Football ad
• Snoop Dogg takes executive job at Priority Records
• Video preview of Mos Def’s guest appearance on “House”
• VIDEO: B.O.B. x Mickey Factz x NBA Live 10 trailer

Ciara x LG. Ciara has signed on as the new official spokesperson for the upcoming Verizon LG Chocolate ad campaign. Ciara’s image, music and persona will all be used in print and TV campaigns targeting females 13-24 in hopes of increasing their share with the young adult female market. Here is the newest ad currently running on national TV programming.

• MTV nabs TV rights for “This Is It”
• PICS: Ciara’s GAP ad for skinny jeans
• Ciara signs modeling agency & clothing line deals
• Video: Shwayze’s new Pontiac Vibe commercial
• Snoop signs record label deal with MTV

Wyclef Jean x Western Union Gift Cards, Western Union established a strategic alliance with Wyclef Jean to promote West Union Money Transfer and prepaid services to consumers in the United States. The company kicked off their “Random Acts of Giving” holiday campaign by making a $225,000 donation to Wyclef’s organization Yele Haiti to support education projects.

“I am extremely proud to be part of the Western Union family,” said Wyclef Jean. “For years I have trusted Western Union to help manage my money-transfer needs worldwide. Now consumers can trust them to serve their cash gifting needs through a new prepaid Visa gift card.”

Western Union also held a “Lunchtime Jam Session” featuring Wyclef at the Nokia Theater in New York City to promote his EP with DJ Drama “From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion”. To purchase the gift card go to westernunion.com/wyclef

• Wyclef signs book deal with Harper Collins
• VIDEO: Wyclef talks about his shoe collab with Timberland
• Swizz Beatz helps launch Hennesy Black label
• VIDEO: Alicia Keys launches jewelry line & “Superwoman” blog
• Diddy introduces his “BlackBook” iPhone app

written by Edwin St. Fort

The success of The Blueprint 3 is highly credited to the marketing campaign behind it and to Jay-Z’s loyal fan base. Despite the album being leaked on the internet prior to its official release, The Blueprint 3 sold 476,000 copies in its first week of sales. The achievement help Jay-Z pass Elvis Presley to become the second artist with more No.1 albums in the 50 year history of the Billboard 200. The second week of sales resulted in 301,000 copies being sold dominating the Billboard #1 spot for two weeks straight. A month and a half later, Mr. Carter goes platinum selling nearly 1.3 million copies.

Let’s recap the blueprint to the  marketing campaign that resulted in successful results. The key features to this campaign were strategic partnerships and media coverage. The release became more of an event rather than just another album on the shelf. It built anticipation and sustained momentum unlike many previous releases. To begin the buzz Jay-Z released “D.O.A” creating controversy to obtain the attention of listeners to usher in the following events.

Strategic Partnerships

Rhapsody

Jay-Z teamed up with Rhapsody® and MTV to promote the highly anticipated release of his new album, “The Blueprint 3”. As part of the partnership, the entire album will be available for fans to listen to for free on Rhapsody.com and from MTV’s “The Leak”, almost two weeks prior to its official release.

Fuse

FuseTV televised Jay-Z’s “Answer the Call” concert in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Fuse will air the concert at 9pm EST on September 11th. The event was sponsored by Absolute Vodka, Roc Nation, Live Nation, and Citi.

“ANSWER THE CALL” charity concert ticket sales and concert merchandise benefited the “New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund.” Airing in HD and commercial-free on the music television network FUSE, the wildly successful sold-out concert featured artists Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Kanye West, John Mayer, Pharrell Williams, Swizz Beatz, Kid Cudi and Memphis Bleek, and ranked among the highest-rated television programs in Fuse history.

MySpace Music and DJ Hero

Jay-Z performed at a secret show on September 10th at the Gramercy Theater on East 23rd Street in Manhattan, New York with help from MySpace Music and DJ Hero, it was announced barely 24 hours in advance, and 250 fans were given free tickets. The show was to promote the new game that also features songs from Jay-Z and Eminem.

Media Coverage

Jay-Z made high-profile appearances on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,”  “Late Show With David Letterman,” BET’s  “Food For Thought,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and performances on the MTV Video Music Awards and “The Jay Leno Show” according to publicist Jana Fleishman.

Tom Biro of MTV noted that after the VMA performance of “Empire State of Mind” the record immediately went to the #1 Top Song on iTunes for the next 6 days.

Jay-Z with Rihanna and Kayne West performed the second leading single  “Run This Town”  on “The Jay Leno Show” to an estimated 17.7 million viewers according to the Nielsen Company.

He also made a highly anticipated debut appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show, which builds upon their initial conversation in Brooklyn, New York’s Marcy Projects for O magazine. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” reaches 44 million people each week. And those numbers translate into big sales for the products Oprah recommends. The product placement during the shows airing generated 134,000 copies in the 3rd week of sales.

Mr. Carter also obtain media coverage from international sources making appearance on German and French television shows.

Merchandising & Touring

Jay-Z also capitalize off the merchandising for the album. He promoted the Blueprint 3  graphic tees on Myspace, Roc4Life, and on the Live Nation website. Pharrell’s clothing line Billionaire Boys Club, designed a custom graphic t-shirt in correlation with the two artist working on a track off the The Blueprint 3 titled “So Ambitious” which was made available starting September 23, 2009 on the BBC website. The 18 city tour around the U.S and Canada continues to keep the album afloat on the Billboard charts maintaining a top 10 position.

In conclusion as record labels marketing dollars decrease corporate sponsorships seem to give artist an outlet to market themselves to a different audience. As artist become brands, strategic partnerships with other companies are essential for their marketing plans. Companies benefit by finding a way to relate to their consumer and artist get to tap into different markets to obtain more listeners. Jay-Z’s marketing plan with the Blueprint 3 is a great example that demonstrates how  great partnerships with other companies such as Rhapsody, Fuse, and DJ Hero can result in successful album sales. The “Answer The Call” concert also shows being philanthropic can also gain sales, you got to give to get.  His recent performance at Yankee Stadium shows no limit to the corporate sponsorships he can obtain as he remains one of the biggest names in pop culture.

• VIDEO: Jay-Z’s Rhapsody Music TV Ad
• PICS: Def Jam To Release “The Blueprint Collector’s Edition”
• Nas makes good on deal & continues to push Fila
• L.A. Times Disclose Drake’s Record Deal
• VIDEO: Eminem featured in “Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2″ TV ad

Dayam I wish this was a real movie. Love the freakin’ Wu. Don’t forget to watch Part I. Here’s hoping Part III doesn’t end up with RZA’s head in a box.

• Xzibit taking acting career to next level
• Video: Inside look at production design of “Notorious”
• Beyonce’s “Obsessed” #1 at the Box Office
• 50 Cent Twitter ghostwriter goes public
• Eminem finally talks about his new book “The Way I Am”

Usher x VIP Fragrance. Usher behind the scenes of the VIP fragrance campaign, he describes it being  marketed to the elegant individual. The cologne and his new album will be released in 2010.

• Diddy drafts off Obama to help sell new Sean John cologne
• Common launches cologne w/ Diesel called “Only the Brave”
• 50 Cent “Power by 50″ cologne print ad
• PICS: Usher’s new “GOT MILK?” ad & video campaign
• Diddy’s new I Am King/Queen fragrance marketing plans

Far East Movement x Chester French x LMFAO x Pepsi. Pepsi is urban right? It’s hip…it’s cool. Continuing with its urban marketing efforts, Pepsi has launched a user generated online campaign called “Ultimate Refresh.” Basically users can take video clips of artists such as LMFAO, Far East Movement and Chester French and mix them all up on Pepsi’s Digital Mixing player.

The user generated videos can then be uploaded on to UltimateRefresh.com which are then judged by Will.i.am, who will produce a final song and video incorporating his favorite user-generated content into a remixed version of LMFAO’s “La La La.” Video above is a sample of one of these “Ultimate Refresh” video mixes.

• Video: T-Pain in new Pepsi ad and marketing campaign
• Video: Will.I.Am’s Pepsi Super Bowl ad
• VIDEO: Will.I.Am & LMFAO in new Pepsi “Refresh” ad
• “I am Legend” Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD set
• Jadakiss denies getting paid for Coogi song placement

Eminem x Call of Duty. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most anticipated games of the year. Although it already has record pre-sales, Activision is turning the marketing heat up with this new TV spot featuring the Eminem’s “Till I Collapse.” Remember kids…music licensing money is no small change.

• Video: Soulja Boy claims he is the best Xbox 360 player ALIVE
• Christina Milian’s house is kinda nice
• WoooHa featured in AdAge Eminem article
• The Cool Kids with exclusive NBA 2K9 track
• Ludacris secret track “Press The Start Button” tribute to video games

50 Cent x Power by 50. As we reported earlier, 50 Cent is set for a mall tour tomorrow to kick off the publicity campaign for his upcoming Power by 50 cologne. The cologne will be sold exclusively at Macy’s. Now the official print ad which will be featured in national men’s magazines has been released.

It was only a matter of time before 50 entered the lucrative fragrance and cosmetics business. Let’s see if it can move units though like “Get Rich or Die Tryin.”

• 50 Cent interview about his “Power” cologne
• New Diddy “I Am King” cologne print ads
• VIDEO: 50 Cent claims he has hip-hop blogs all figured out
• VIDEO: 50 Cent Speaks at Power by 50 Mall Tour
• Common launches cologne w/ Diesel called “Only the Brave”

The ODB documentary Dirty: One Word Can Change the World hits theaters in New York Nov 10th and Los Angeles Nov 13th. Directed by Dirty’s cousin Raison Allah, the documentary commemorates the colorful rapper’s life though personal interviews with the Wu-Tang Clan, Sunz of Man, Killarmy, the Black Knight, and the Brooklyn Zu. Go here for ticket info. Via: AHH

• Wu-Tang Clan x FILA boots advertisement
• Pics and soundtrack listing for upcoming Wu-Tang documentary
• Video: Wu-Tang Clan documentary coming in November
• Fila’s Wu-Tang Clan boots finally hit the market
• Introducing Our Newest Member to the WoooHa Team

Dude n Nem x McDonalds. With over one billion served what better way to get some publicity than to do an entire song and music video about McDonalds. You know the fast food chain loves it as well as they have spent millions in “ethnic marketing” targeting African-Americans and Latinos this past year. Next we are going to see rappers signed to fast food joints and not record labels.

• Pharrell busts out the McDonalds song…in a McDonalds
• VIDEO: Dwele’s McDonalds McCafe ad
• Feature: Why did The Gap go “urban” and can they pull it off?
• PICS: Beyonce & Solange Promote Handbags in Japan
• E-40 taking Wing Stop restaurant to next level