Warner Music UK (WMUK) has announced today that its Brand Partnerships Team has rebranded to WMX. The refresh reflects the teams updated offering, which is built around six core pillars - talent, strategy, creative, campaign management, production and amplification – all of which are deep-rooted into the wider Warner Music business.

WMX has been set up with the goal of not only connecting culturally relevant brands with artists but as an incubator for delivering creative campaigns that meaningfully connect with music fans, influence popular culture and drive organic conversation. As a creative collaborations unit housed within a major music company, the team is able to marry their industry expertise with company data to establish campaigns which deliver both commercially and culturally for both the artist and the brand.

The new structure gifts WMX a hybrid skillset across brand communications and music. The results are culturally engaging, insight-driven, narrative-rich activations that put the brand collaborators at the heart of personable stories with Warner artists. Being part of the Warner Music ecosystem, gives WMX access to a network that they can tap into during the production and amplification stage of campaigns - from Warner Music's production company Warner Music Entertainment, through to Uproxx, who provide expert owned media strategy and media buying.

Bob Workman, SVP, WMX, says: “This is the first time we’ve been able to bring a strategic approach to creative, talent work, production, campaign management and media all under one roof. I’m excited that WMX places independent creative thinking at the forefront of our offering and that we’ve been able to bring this to fruition in 2020 when, more than ever, the marketing landscape for both brands and artists asks for engaging narratives that contribute to social and cultural discourse.”

WMX have worked with amongst others, Clarks Originals, Red Bull, Samsung, Ellesse, Pepsi, Beats, Heinz, Levi's ® Music Project and Sony Electronics, winning several awards in the process. Picking out the award wins, the team won a competitive pitch to work on Levi's ® Music Project; a global platform that brings together the music industry's most relevant artists, experts and professional educators to provide access to music education for the next generation. Their subsequent work won them a Shots Branded Entertainment Award for the resulting film about the Liverpool project, and this summer a D&AD Pencil Award for the project's Zine. The "Levi's ® Music Project Zine" was a bespoke physical publication available in Liverpool and documented the journey of 13 young local up-and-coming artists, shining a spotlight on the art, music and photography created in the six-month run-up to the LMP events across the city. The Zine also profiled local mentors and talent, such as Daniel Sturridge.

Rhodri Evans, Brand Content & Experience Director, Levi’s Europe, added: “In WMX we have found a partner that truly understands our brand and what The Levi’s Music Project is about. What’s more they are able to translate this understanding into an excellence of execution that has not only created some truly inspiring and award-winning content, but also helped us deliver tangible benefits to numerous communities and hundreds of young people across Europe through the power of music education.”

The team's Heinz x Ed Sheeran partnership also saw them win a 2020 Music Award for Best Music & Brand Partnership. With the help of WMX, Ed Sheeran - who is a Ketchup super-fan - approached Heinz via a DM with an idea for a TV advert. His vision happened to coincide with Heinz's 150th anniversary. The natural synergy and enthusiasm propelled the campaign and prompted Heinz to go bigger than just a TV advert and saw the creation of 'Edchup', Ed's very own Heinz Ketchup. Ed announced the release of 'Edchup' to celebrate National Ketchup Day and Heinz changed their iconic label. The first 50 bottles were sold via Ed's favourite chippies, and a week later the bottles went on sale across 60,000 stores worldwide.

The WMX concept and logo were formed in collaboration with consultancy firm, The Rapids, and creative design agency, The Regular Practice. The Rapids were brought in to redefine WMX's proposition, positioning and mission – and this ideation led to WMX. The Regular Practice was brought on board to design the new logo.

A short WMX film created by Connor Campbell can be seen here: https://bit.ly/38NwwQR

You can find out more about the agencies involved and the award-winning work below:

• Ed Sheeran X Heinz advert – watch below
• Levi's ® Music Project Zine – download here: https://bit.ly/2IyFjvD
• More information on The Rapids available here: https://www.regularpractice.co.uk
• More information on The Regular Practice here: https://www.regularpractice.co.uk
• More information on Connor Campbell here: http://connorcampbell.studio