Dive Brief:

• General Mills cereal brand Lucky Charms released an eight-song album on Aug. 31 entitled "Magically Delicious," per details emailed to Marketing Dive. While it is available on all major streaming platforms, the album is being promoted exclusively on Spotify.
• Each song represents a different genre, including EDM, country, K-Pop and hip-hop, and is dedicated to one of the cereal's eight marshmallow charms. In advance of the album, the brand released three songs as singles and let consumers choose a fourth via a poll in General Mills' Instagram stories. The fourth single was available only on Spotify prior to the full album drop.
• Created with creative agency Anomaly, the "Magically Delicious" album campaign is General Mills' latest effort that embraces an emerging digital channel to reach younger consumers of its long-lasting cereal brands.

Dive Insight:

With the release of the "Magically Delicious" album, General Mills is tapping into a digital channel that has become increasingly central to consumers' lives, especially during the pandemic. Average time spent listening to digital audio in the U.S. is expected to hit 1 hour and 37 minutes a day in 2022, up from 1 hour and 14 minutes in 2018, per eMarketer.

The branded album utilizes a variety of popular genres in songs that celebrate the cereal's eponymous marshmallow shapes. By releasing songs in different genres, the album could span consumer groups and extend the reach of the campaign. Plus, the playful tone of the music aligns with the children's cereal.

"Whimsy and nostalgia are at the heart of the Lucky Charms brand and we're thrilled that they are leaning into the power of digital audio to create something magical," said Ann Piper, Spotify's head of client partnerships in the U.S., in a statement.

Tapping into nostalgia for one of the cereals of consumers' youths is in line with General Mills' recent campaigns that have attempted to fortify pandemic-related gains by connecting with consumers on an emotional level. The CPG giant last month celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Monster Cereal brands with a campaign that also featured a musical element, capitalizing on memories of brands that were first launched in the 1970s. Nostalgia has also been at the heart of General Mills efforts around Saturday morning cartoons and the famous "got milk?" ads.

Branded albums, mixtapes and playlists have become a popular tactic, especially for CPG brands, including E.l.f., Barilla pasta and Liquid Death water, that seek to cut through ad clutter and reach consumers on the channels where they spend their time.