Supreme Music Asks Christoph Weber: And What about Music?

From the basement to the big screen. Supreme Music asks Christoph Weber, CMO of Bitburger Brewery Group “And what about music?” and finds out about his passion for music and how his team once used Spotify data to proof that people really are just not themselves when being hungry.

Q> Please tell us your name and what you do professionally.

Christoph> I’m Christoph Weber. I’m a marketer and brand builder and currently the CMO of the Bitburger Brewery Group, one of Germany’s largest brewery groups. 

Q> Can you tell us about your first truly memorable musical experience and how it impacted you. Why do you remember it so clearly?

Christoph>  Music was all around my parents’ house when I was growing up. I have this powerful, early memory of when my dad bought a new sound system and was testing it out when one day I was coming home from playing with friends outside. He played Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones and the whole house was vibrating. It was quite literally a demonstration of the power of music!

Q> Is there someone in your family who had a powerful influence on your musical life?

Christoph> My dad has always been involved in music and had a big impact on my relationship with it. He ran the local orchestra and our basement was full of instruments. In my Kindergarten days I had my own drumkit down there, it was perfect for letting off steam after a frustrating day. Growing up, I could try out all kinds of instruments and ultimately fell in love with playing the trumpet. 

Q> Give us an insight into the most memorable project you executed and did music play a role in it?

Christoph> It’s hard to pick one as music plays such a critical role in advertising and can make or break an ad. Years ago, I was the brand manager for the Galaxy chocolate brand in the UK and had the chance to work on an ad where we created a re-recording of 'Moon River' with two young artists. Even though it was a fairly minor ad for a new product launch, the track we recorded made it to the top of the UK Spotify charts. I felt like Simon Cowell. 

Fast forward to 2020 and I responsible for Mars Wrigley’s gum business in Germany. The Berlin Rapper Pashanim had his break-through with Airwaves, a track named after our brand. It was mad. The song featured for weeks in Germany’s Top 10 charts and became the year’s most streamed song on Spotify. It rejuvenated the brand.

My favourite music project, however, was when I was working on Snickers. It was 2016 and after running the “You’re not you when you are hungry” campaign for a few years, we were looking for ways to extend beyond classical TV Storytelling. We collaborated with Spotify and built the world’s first campaign using Spotify data. We identified when people were listening to music that had absolutely nothing to do with their typical taste in music. So, they were not being themselves and in desperate need of a Snickers. We played them a song in the style of their favourite artist that told them to grab a Snickers and get back to being themselves. We had a lot of fun with different music genres from UK grime to Heavy metal and Pop. It’s still one of my favourite campaigns and won a bunch of creative awards.

Q> What topics or movement in the world of music do you not like?

Christoph> Auto-tune – the technological culprit that turns a melody into a robot’s cry for help.