Music used to be an afterthought for advertising campaigns, but not anymore! Brands increasingly recognise that music is the star player in their branding strategy. It’s a positive shift that gives composers and music creators a more prominent role in the creative process.
Producers, composers and artist managers get a seat at the table with the creatives to produce highly effective campaigns. This collaborative approach is reflected in the success of different campaign songs that go viral, partly thanks to social platforms like TikTok.
Beyond transforming the creative process, this change also brings in new income streams and bigger exposure and growth for composers, songwriters and producers. This can be beneficial for a brand too.
In this panel, we’ll talk about the developments and opportunities that these collaborations generate. Together with Dan Burt (Music Producer, Wunderman Thompson), Darre van Dijk (Creative Director, TBWA\NEBOKO) and Els Dijkhuizen (Head of Marketing, Heineken) we’ll dive in their dos and don’ts about working with copywriters, art directors, clients and composers.
Dan Burt
Music Producer, VML, USDan Burt is a Director of Music at VML (formerly known as Wunderman Thompson, the biggest agency network in the world) for over 17 years and has worked on thousands of commercial spots for global and national clients. He has brought groundbreaking music there, making branded entertainment a reality for even the most unexpected clients, including HSBC, Nestle, Diamond Trading Company and has further strengthened giants like Puma, Google, Smirnoff, Coca-Cola, Samsung, and Microsoft collaborating with artists across the music spectrum, helping start quite a few careers in the process.
Darre van Dijk
Chief Creative Officer, TBWA\NEBOKO, NLDarre has been the Chief Creative Officer of TBWA|NEBOKO since January 2016 and is part of TBWA’s Global Creative Core. He also serves as the Global Chief Creative Officer for Philips & McDonald’s within the TBWA collective. Before joining TBWA, Darre was CCO of Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam for 10 years.
With over 400 awards, including 34 Cannes Lions and a Grand Prix, Darre has worked on notable campaigns such as DELA’s “Why wait until it’s too late” and Coca-Cola’s “Choose Happiness.” As Darius Dante, he writes, composes, and produces music that has found success in pop charts and award festivals.
Darre’s work at TBWA|NEBOKO includes adidas, Dutch State Lottery, and McDonald’s campaigns. Under his leadership, the agency won Agency of the Year in 2018 and 2021. The Dutch State Lottery was named Advertiser of the Year in 2019. In 2021, VIA named him “Today’s Legend,” and Media100 declared him the most influential advertising person in 2022 and 2023.
Els Dijkhuizen
Marketing Director, Heineken Netherlands, NLEls Dijkhuizen is Marketing Director at Heineken Netherlands. She is responsible for the commercial activities of all beer brands of Heineken Netherlands. Els has a penchant for the marketing profession and combines creativity with business insight to touch the hearts of consumers. In the past, Els worked internationally for Heineken, and for other FMCG brands at Coca-Cola and Smiths Food Group (Fritolay). She is curious, creative and always looking for new opportunities to innovate and make an impact. With her results-oriented style, Els strives to transform ideas and dreams into reality together with the team. The glass is always half full, but preferably full with a nice foam head! Cheers!
Amber Roner (moderator)
Presenter, Story Art Studio, NLAs a freelance presenter and multimedia journalist, Amber Roner has been providing a platform for stories for almost 20 years. She does this with great energy as a host, interviewer and program maker for events, podcasts, TV and radio shows. In the past, among others for ESNS, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Sublime and Omroep ZWART. Now you might know her voice from the ‘Brood en Spelen’ podcast by GRAP Amsterdam, in which she talks to guests about current events and important themes in the music industry once every two weeks. Besides music, the main topics Amber likes to talk about are: sports, talent development, mental health, sustainability, diversity and inclusion.
