Seven years ago, McDonald’s tapped Justin Timberlake in a multimillion-dollar deal to launch “I’m Lovin’ it.” Now the marketer and a bevy of other brands such as Coca-Cola are bypassing the big stars — and in some cases the record labels — to become incubators for tomorrow’s superstars. Read McDonald’s, Pepsi, Coca-Cola Troll for Up-and-Coming Artists to find out more about how these brands are doing it.

If you are an upcoming artist or are interested in this kind of branding approach consider the Centre’s Certificate in Global Marketing, a great orientation into the world of marketing.