Relentless ropes in 50 Cent and Rudimental to amplify content push with MTV
Relentless is working with musicians Florence and the Machine, 50 Cent and Rudimental to amplify their content marketing tie-up with MTV.
The stars, alongside three yet-to-be-confirmed acts, will feature individually in six, half an hour chat shows - 'Relentless Ultra presents Soundchain' - that are peppered with performances. It follows the same format as the show’s debut last year though DJ Nick Grimshaw has replaced Zane Lowe following his unexpected departure to Apple earlier this year.
Lowe’s exit, while not planned for, gave the show’s creators JJ Stereo a chance to shake up the tone of the interviews with Grimshaw’s own rapport with the stars, of which the third with Rudimental was filmed earlier this month. The remaining five will follow throughout the summer with the brand taking care to ensure its appearances during the interviews comes across as thoughtful rather than straight product plugs.
John Paveley, creative director at JJ Stereo, said recruiting the show's interviewees was an “intense part” of the production process that tried to source talent that fit the show rather than just focus on headline grabbers. It’s similar to how the brand built its line-up last year when it featured artists including Kasabian, Nas and Ed Sheeran.
“If you look at series one it was a really brilliant line-up but all of them were relevant to the audience,” said Paveley. “Relentless have been very sympathetic to the fact that we’re aiming high and that we may not get everyone that we want. We’ve been very aware that there are other [Relentless] campaigns happening throughout the year. We have to feed in their brand values and a lot of their graphics and products.”
It is backed by a more expansive digital plan in comparison to the first series alongside in-store promotions and its sponsorship of the Reading and Leeds festivals.
Relentless’ continued partnership with MTV builds on the brand’s five-year music strategy, targeting 18-to-30-year-olds.
The show, which runs on MTV Music, follows the recent launch of the Relentless Mango variant.