BRING Agency Promotes Adam Ireland to Managing Director

BRING agency, Universal Music for Brands today announced the promotion of Adam Ireland to newly created position of managing director.  Joining BRING in 2019, Ireland has been pivotal in evolving the agency’s strategic offering and driving significant growth during the pandemic and beyond. 

Under his leadership the agency accelerated a new market for brands seeking cultural relevance through music, working in partnership with BRING’s unique data, creative capabilities and talent access. During his time as general manager, BRING has delivered award-winning campaigns with global recognition at Clios, The LIA’s and The Webbys and locally with B&T,  Mumbrella and AWARD. In 2021, BRING won ‘Artist Services Business Of The Year’ by The Music Network.

Ireland developed the vision for the inaugural BRING Artist & Brand Summit which took place in June 2022 as part of Vivid Sydney. The event united industry leaders to focus on the future of music marketing and brought together brands, artists, marketers, and cultural champions for a new kind of industry experience. Brands and artists collaborated for thought-leadership panels, deep-dives into some of the biggest music campaigns of the year as well as a unique networking evening with international and local talent. 

We spoke to Adam about the ambition, skill, and passion he brings to his new role:

LBB> What is it about the right marriage of music and subject that makes it such a powerful tool for brands? 

Adam> We know that 97% of people like or love music, it’s a passion point we can all identify with and one that if done right, is a brilliantly powerful and malleable territory for brands to connect with consumers.

LBB> BRING is obviously an industry leader in musical branding and advertising. Could you share your pick for some of their most exciting work? 

Adam>“Back The Night” by American Express was one of the best expressions of a brands messaging distilled in a passion point. Bringing Sydney music lovers out of lockdown and into the night to support artists and the industry in venues that needed it more than ever was a truly special campaign – that day/night holds a special place in my heart! 

LBB> Do you have any specific major goals in terms of furthering the cultural innovation BRING is already so adept at? 

Adam> This is the first year since 2019 that Australia hasn’t been affected by lockdowns, so with local and global artists touring once again we have the opportunity to be closer than ever to the culture creators of today and that presents all kinds of unique opportunities and insights for brands connecting with music fans. 

Sean Warner, president of Universal Music Australia and New Zealand commented; “The agency is growing and driving tremendous value for artists and brand partners, so it brings me great pleasure to announce this promotion. Adam has been the lynchpin of the agency in a new era of marketing and I was fortuante to see this first hand at the Inaguaral BRING Artist & Brand Summit at Vivid last year. Under his leadership the agency continues to explore strategic and innovative ways to work with artists across all aspects of music.”

Recently, BRING has welcomed a host of new clients pushing the boundaries of non-traditional marketing, including ‘breaking up’ iconic twin musicians, The Veronicas for Vodka Cruiser, building the first-ever deconstructed festival for American Express and highlighting iconic locations via various campaigns for Destination NSW. 

Demonstrating their position as the specialist music agency of choice by Australian marketers, other brands that have partnered with BRING include Four’N Twenty, Nintendo, Bacardi, BWS, KIA, 2K Games, Genesis, Lego, McDonalds, Spotify, EA Games, Oppo, V Energy, Moet Hennessy, KFC, Tinder, Coca Cola (U.S.) and more.  

Said Adam Ireland, managing director of BRING, Universal Music for Brands; “The DNA of any brand can be expressed in music and artists continue to embrace collaborative opportunities, so when you have brilliant creatives operating in that environment, they thrive, and our brand partners reap those benefits.

Culture is created around us every day at Universal Music Australia – it’s literally our core business. It’s wonderful to see our clients continually surpass what they thought was possible and I'm thrilled that BRING has been able to successfully showcase so many brand campaigns leaning into music as the passion-point.”

BRING and UMA have championed team diversity and flexibility with Ireland supporting 4-day weeks for working mums, and interstate, and international working arrangements for team members. He undertakes a volunteer position in the “UMA Leadership Skills Taskforce” to discover, mentor and accelerate future leaders in the business.