Qdoba Mexican Grill and Touch, the design team of Muzak, recently acquired by Mood Media, have partnered to promote rising independent music talent.
Qdoba now features a new artist each month, selected by Touch to best reflect the chain's artisanal, handcrafted aesthetic. Every month, Touch selects the new artist, licenses a free download and delivers it to Qdoba's website via a proprietary web player.
During the month of June, Qdoba.com is offering a free download of "Fathers Be Kind" by Ivan & Alyosha, a duo which recently cracked the iTunes Top 100.
"The connection between fresh food and fresh talent is the crux of this campaign. It is the 'must have' factor," said Doug Thielen, Qdoba's manager of non-traditional marketing & public relations. "We rely on the team at Touch to identify artists with the right sound at just the right moment in their careers, and they have had a great track record."
As part of their shared commitment to indie talent, Touch and Qdoba partnered to promote many of these featured acts at a two-day event during 2011's SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas in March. The event received 14,000 RSVPs and more than 2,000 VIP attendees sampled Qdoba's new products.
Touch is also currently developing a free download campaign for visitors to Qdoba's booth at the upcoming Village Voice 4 Knots Music Festival on July 16 in New York City.
"A well-crafted music sponsorship is good for the recording artist, good for the music label and good for the sponsor," said Lorne Abony, chairman and CEO of Mood Media Corporation. "The key is finding ways to extend the brand story through fully integrated media programs that drive exposure from live events, in-store and online. That is where we shine."
