Zippo And Bandsintown Team Up To Drive Higher Engagement With Artists And Their Fans

NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Famous for its windproof pocket lighters, Zippo® announced today it has partnered with Bandsintown, the world's largest concert discovery application with a monthly reach to over 30 million fans, to further strengthen the brand's connection with musicians while generating new revenue opportunities for artists through custom Zippo merchandizing on social networks.

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The partnership between Zippo and Bandsintown centers on music and how to engage with artists and their fans in innovative new ways:

For Fans: Bandsintown now powers the iconic brand's popular Virtual Zippo® Lighter application on iOS and Android, linking to concert tour dates for fan's favorite artists directly within the free Zippo app.

For Artists: Via Bandsintown's direct-to-fan "Specials" platform, artists have the opportunity to sell customized band lighters directly to fans, generating tour revenue beyond t-shirts and albums. Zippo selected Bandsintown Specials -- launched last summer to allow artists to promote event-related merchandise and unique fan experiences -- as its distribution method due to the tool's ability to reach fans directly through an artist's social networks like Facebook and Twitter, allowing direct interaction between the artist and fan and introducing Zippo to a new generation of consumers.

"Zippo's music marketing program -- Encore -- highlights our rich heritage in music and art through unique on-site festival activations, contests, and impactful programs that engage fans both online and off," said Brent Tyler, Global Brand Manager, Zippo Manufacturing Company. "Through our Virtual Zippo Lighter app and our partnership with Bandsintown, we can now more deeply engage with Bandsintown concert-goers during live music events, bringing the same look and feel of Zippo's iconic lighter to mobile devices. What's more, Bandsintown Specials offers us a strong grassroots distribution channel to collaborate with artists to sell customized lighters to their fans."

"We are now starting to see how music is becoming an increasingly critical part of a brands marketing mix," said Julien Mitelberg, CEO of Bandsintown. "Through our Artist Platform, we are now connecting 160K artists with their fan base and with this announcement, we are evolving our business to help artists and brands align."

An early example of the partnership is on display by metal band and Bandsintown artist BATTLECROSS. Using Bandsintown Specials, the band's management team polled their nearly 40,000 Facebook fans on which Zippo Windproof Lighter out of four custom designs they would like to see put into production, with hundreds of fans chiming in to voice their opinion. The final design was selected and is currently on sale for $29.95 through the band's Facebook page.

"The engagement between BATTLECROSS and its devoted fan base was through the roof, which demonstrates how fruitful this partnership between Zippo and Bandsintown can be for artists and their fans," said Velda Garcia Fayz of the Fayz Media Group, who manages BATTLECROSS. "The fan response was the most responded to post in the bands' history, giving an opportunity for brands like Zippo to be part of that engagement and benefit by investing directly into reaching fans through mobile platforms and social media marketing."

Zippo Encore, the company's music campaign, has been on the road this summer sponsoring three of 2013's biggest summer tours: Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival, featuring Alice in Chains, Jane's Addiction and Coheed and Cambria; the 6^th annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, featuring Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch and Mastodon; and country superstar Lee Brice's tour with Brad Paisley. Also in summer festival news, Bandsintown is the official Facebook application of the 2013 Vans Warped Tour for the second year running.

The Virtual Zippo® Lighter application, powered by Bandsintown, is free to install and available now for both iOS and Android users.

About Zippo

One of the most recognized brands in the world, Zippo was founded in the fall of 1932 by George G. Blaisdell in Bradford, PA, where it has manufactured over 500 million windproof lighters. With the exception of improvements to the flint wheel and modifications in case finishes, the product remains unchanged and is backed by the company's famous lifetime guarantee – "It works, or we fix it free.™" Zippo's diverse product line includes lighter accessories; butane candle lighters; watches, fragrance, and lifestyle accessories for men; and a robust line of heat and flame products for outdoor enthusiasts. Zippo markets in over 160 countries and also owns the Ronson brand of lighters and fuel and W.R. Case and Sons Cutlery Company, both based in Bradford, PA. For more information, visit Zippo.com.

About Bandsintown

Bandsintown is the largest concert discovery app in the world with over 6M registered users, powering the tour dates for over 160K artists and reaching 30M unique fans per month. It was designed with artists and fans in mind by gathering information from a user's music library to create a customized Concert Cloud that visually represents a music fans DNA. For fans, Bandsintown provides a personalized way to track their favorite artists and to discover new touring artists, based on their musical preferences and location, so they never miss another live show. For artists, Bandsintown provides a best-in-class platform that allows artists to promote their live concerts and to sell tickets and merchandise, leveraging Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, MySpace and more. Bandsintown is owned by Cellfish Media, Inc. For more information, visit Bandsintown.com, our blog at blog.bandsintown.com, @Bandsintown or facebook.com/Bandsintown.

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc. Bandsintown™ and the Bandsintown logo™ are trademarks owned exclusively by Cellfish Media, Inc.

Media Contacts:

Laurie Jakobsen
Jaybird Communications
(646) 484-6764
[email protected]

Jo Temah Gabrielski
DeVries for Zippo
(212) 891-0477
[email protected]  

SOURCE Zippo; Bandsintown

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