British hip-hop star Dizzee Rascal scoops MEF-supported award for 'Use of Mobile' at the BT Interactive Music Awards
December 9th, 2003. At the BT Interactive Music Awards, London, 2nd December, 'The Best Use of Mobile Award' was awarded to Dizzee Rascal. The award judges were particularly impressed with the campaign's simplicity and effectiveness in achieving its stated objectives. The category was supported and awarded at the ceremony by the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF).
The site for Dizzee's album "Boy In Da Corner" was powered by YR Media for Dizzee's label XL Recordings, part of the Beggars Group of labels.
Fans of Dizzee were encouraged to visit the site and enter personal details in exchange for mobile content, including mono and poly tones, logos, picture messages and colour wallpapers. Free content was staggered, so users were incentivised to return to the site regularly to download content.
Simon Wheeler, Head of New Media, XL Recordings, said: "When we started working with Dizzee he was a relatively unknown artist. We knew that one of the main forms of communication in the UK garage scene was the mobile phone, so using mobile technology was the ideal way to build interest in this unique artist. Dizzee now has a large fan base, many of whom take part in our mobile and on-line community, and has won the Mercury Music Prize. The BT IMA Award for 'Best Use of Mobile' is recognition of the part that mobile technology has played in Dizzee's awesome success."
Seth Johnson, Marketing Director, YR Media, said: "The key to the campaign was that Dizzee's label recognized the importance of building a fan database and seeing mobile as an important medium. Once a database was built we worked with the label to produce a mobile campaign that was effective and tailored to the demographic. The campaign offered the fans the feeling of real interaction with the artist in what is, after all, an incredibly personal medium. I am happy to say that this award and Dizzee's recent success means that we have far outstripped our original aims."
"At a time when the mobile has replaced the radio for most teenagers, the MEF believes that it is crucial for all in the music business to embrace mobile technology both to create fan base communities and undertake innovative strategies for generating new revenue streams," says Rimma Perelmuter, General Secretary, Mobile Entertainment Forum. "The Dizzee campaign is an object lesson in how to use mobile technology to increase awareness and generate a following."
Dominic Pride, MEF's strategic partner for music and an award judge, commented: "The Dizzee campaign was beautiful in its simplicity - clearly mapping the market behaviour and heavy use of mobile with high quality mobile content. This is an excellent example of a campaign well delivered."
"With estimates that the world wide ringtone market has surpassed the Billion Euro mark, mobile music has legitimately established itself as a new service category at the cross roads of the music and the mobile industries. 2004 will see an explosion in activity, with mobile music services becoming ever more personalized, localized and billable," said, Patrick Parodi, Vice Chairperson, Mobile Entertainment Forum.
"This year we will see the proliferation of polyphonic ringtones, mobile music recognition services, caller ring back tones, and even mobile music video streaming and download, providing a richer mobile music experience. I look forward to seeing 2004's innovative entries for the best mobile music service," added Parodi.
For more information, please visit the following websites:
www.mobilentertainmentforum.com
www.ima03.com
www.Dizzeerascal.co.uk
www.xlrecordings.com
www.yrmedia.com