Devoured by a Fox

Can social music transform Motorola

Motorola recently aired its first Super Bowl ad in four years for the Motorola ‘Devour’ handset with a high profile endorsement from actress Megan Fox. The clearly male-orientated ad depicted Megan Fox photographing herself in an outdoor bubble bath pondering what would happen if she shared the photo online. The result it seems would have caused power outages, make men fall off ladders and see boys lock themselves in their rooms.

The mobile brand says that this is “just the beginning” of a larger devices push, and that a series of new ads will play up different features, such as social networking and – more importantly – music, depending on the intended audiences. Whether the music ads will feature the Transformers actress (with or without her real thumb) or opt for a more direct music endorsement remains to be seen.

What is interesting though is that Motorola Ventures has just led a new investment round in social media music player TuneWiki. Although financial details were not disclosed it does see the brand making a concentrated move towards social music activity. “Music is rapidly emerging as a key feature for smart phones, and TuneWiki is changing the experience of listening to music from a solitary experience to a social one,” said Reese Schroeder, managing director of Motorola Ventures. Motorola believes the TuneWiki social media player will “dramatically change the way people will listen to and interact with music”.

As the company ponders spinning off its handset division from its other ventures and plans to launch around 20 Android handsets this year, will music now feature prominently in its turnaround endeavors? In 2009, Motorola’s mobile division generated $7.1B in sales, a considerable slump on the $12.1B seen in 2008.

The new Devour handset is targeted directly at 18 to 34-year-old males – hence the introduction of a near naked Megan Fox. If the actress is to appeal to this audience in a more musically inclined way perhaps she should move from the bath to singing in the shower – much like Burger King’s campaign from last year. The social element it used by teaming with Spotify would have been useful – had Spotify actually launched in the US as intended at the close of last year.

One of Motorola’s most successful attempts at music endorsement and social sharing can be seen in the 2008 tie up with Asian pop star Jay Chou. Part of the endorsement campaign, which ran in the Hong Kong International Airport, pushed the RAZR handset by inviting users (via a giant billboard) to say goodbye to their loved ones. It also offered personal messages from the singer.