International Marketing Study Program 2002
DMX/AEI Music, Seattle, USA
23 January 2002
On entering the office of DMX Music, the group was immediately impressed by the eye catching and historic music memorabilia, including a life-size Elvis statue. The rest of the visit turned out to be just as impressive and highly informative.
Director of International Business, Maria Bianchi and National Accounts Manager, Juston Hubert greeted us and we proceeded on a tour of the company premises. Highlights included the programming unit, where all music material is selected and compiled for clientele and the large music library where each song is electronically catalogued to assist programmers in their work.
Later in the conference room, Director of Signature Programming, Rischel Granquist, took to the floor, filling us in on the company history and general business activities to DMX Music's major clients who included Nike, Nordstroms, Abercrombie and Finch and French perfumery Saphora. Rischel also discussed the importance of music as a core part of modern retail business strategy. The group seemed particularly surprised at the fine detail DMX Music required on its customer profile forms which aim to determine the exact "image, attitude and intent" which such major clients aspire to achieve. These forms are then used by the Programming Unit to formulate the most appropriate music mix to match the personality of the client and to ultimately encourage end users to extend the length of their retail experience.
Juston then jumped into the spotlight to discuss his job responsibilities and reinforce the need for music to act as a strategic contributor to brand personality. The presentation highlighted the importance of extensive client and market research, effective after sales care and the maintenance of good customer relations with existing and potential clients. The audience was captivated with Juston's use of interesting and humorous company examples to provide information on all these aspects of business within DMX Music. Some major points of interest included the impact that cultural differences could play on the music content of retailers and the need to understand the characteristics of the retailer's core consumer. Justin's enthusiasm and passion for his work left the group to realise that we all had a latent need for music in our lives!
Maria shed the light on the international dimension of the business particularly the merger between AEI Music and DMX Music and how this has elevated the company to the current position. Interestingly, after the merger the company resided with the DMX label due to a "strong ten year market presence and positive brand recognition" in the US market. In conjunction with this event, the company mission was reshaped to recognise the synergies to be achieved through complementary business activities. Maria's presentation highlighted a major challenge faced by the company today; being the difficulties faced in making a successful transition from being two competing companies to uniting and working together under an integrated business structure. From our impression the company appears to be achieving immediate goals, which will likely extend to subsidiaries in the international arena.
The afternoon came to a close over social chat and light refreshments. Our presenters provided each member of the group with a gracious gift, including a new DMX release CD and a fantastic DVD. Overall the group was highly impressed by the informative and insightful content of the visit and the pleasant nature of the presenters.
Thank-You DMX Music!
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