Led Zeppelin – Mothership – A True Story

This was scary stuff for Warner Music. It was their first attempt in creating a true multi channel strategy with the incorporation of an online plan with eCommerce being the only method to purchase the CD set. The pressure was on for Warner Music not only to do something, but to do it right. Their colleagues around the world regularly apply online channels to sell concert tickets, apparel, and music.

When Warner Music approached the Exceed Online and Alkemi New Zealand team they had no idea what needed to happen, but they knew what they wanted: to sell as many CD sets as possible in a three week period. An interesting “spin” to the project was working alongside The Rock and The Warehouse who contributed a trip to the UK to watch Led Zeppelin play live in London. This was critical information to learn early in the planning process to ensure the selling process matched the buyer’s secondary (primary for many) buying intention of entering the draw.

For this project to be a success, Exceed Online and Alkemi New Zealand needed to:

1 ) Develop a plan to sell as many CD’s as possible in a three week period.
2 ) Have the project team link the shopping cart to a secure payment option in order to build credibility thus prompting visitors to purchase online (and reduce operating costs for the admin team).
3 ) Utilise a software platform with an administration area to hold all customer information, due to the grand prize being audited for authenticity.
4 ) Design a website to comply with the Led Zeppelin brand guidelines.
5 ) Develop a strategic layout of the website with the purpose for visitors to select the more expense CD set option (comes with a DVD).
6 ) Integrate the design to the admin area and style all the information pages.
7 ) Work with The Rock and The Warehouse.
8 ) Develop a cost effective online marketing plan for the three week campaign to drive qualified traffic to the site.

This is a typical brief for Exceed and Alkemi, however, due to the late arrival of the prize, there was only 6 days to achieve all 8 key elements above. Now that is a challenge!

After a lot of teamwork, long hours, and grey hairs, all the above was achieved on time and on budget.

The efforts of Exceed Online and Alkemi New Zealand’s resulted in:

1) Over 1,300 CD sets sold in three weeks.
2) 92% of the CD sets sold were the more expensive option.
3) The online sales represented for Warner’s New Zealand the most successful launch of the Mothership CD, per capita, in the entire World.
4) Site wide conversion rate was 21% (global average 2%).
5) Pay Per Click marketing contributed 10% of total sales with a conversion rate of 17%, with a media cost of revenue calculated at 3.8%.

Even though this was not a typical client brief, the results indicate a common example of what can happen when Exceed and Alkemi are given the opportunity to conduct the planning, the strategy, the project management, and the online marketing.

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