Brand Discipline, Music

Today, as the band approaches 15 years of sobriety, each member is quick to say that life is more rewarding and focused than ever before.

Not the Same Old Song and Dance: Reintroducing the Aerosmith Brand Reentering the rock arena meant reintroducing the Aerosmith brand to a market that had changed during its absence. Hard rock had given way to the hair bands* and new wave punk sounds of the 1980s, and music had taken on a new visual dimension with the invasion of MTV. To complicate things further, Aerosmith hadn’t left the music scene with a good reputation because the band’s performances had suffered fiercely due to the members’ abuse of drugs. Many labeled them washed up has beens-victims of the excesses of success.

Reinvention with Brand Discipline Formulating Aerosmith’s comeback was challenging at best. What would be the right combination of newness that would make the band relevant in the music scene and familiarity that would enhance the

• Not to be confused with hairballs, hair bands consisted of well coiffed, longhaired young men who belted out rock songs that were big on sound and small

on substance. Some bands, such as Bon Jovi, proved later that they were about more than their teased ‘dos and snazzy outfits, but many remain permanently entombed in the video archives of the 1980s.

loyalty of its current fans? Brand managers advising Aerosmith might have counseled the group on the importance of brand discipline- remaining true to a brand’s personality and image. Did that mean changing the look and dress of the band, its sound or genre of music, or the personalities of its members? Did it mean adapting to the new medium or playing to Aerosmith’s strengths of the past? Did it mean collaborating with a hot new band to grab attention in the new music arena? Brand discipline dictated that Aerosmith examine the changes occurring in the music landscape, many of which were due primarily to a disruptive innovation, the music video. MTV forced rock and rollers from Christopher Cross and Bruce Springsteen to the Kinks and Foreigner to explore the visual side of their music. Some stars would rise to the occasion while others faded into oblivion-not because their music wasn’t good, but because they didn’t look the part of the 1980s rock and roll star-proving all’s fair in love and marketing.