Brand Involvement, Exchange Emotions

S Involve customers in the brand experience. There is a magical moment in Billy Joel and Elton John’s Face to Face concert in which the stars stop singing and let the audience take over.

Thousands of people sing the lyrics to “Piano Man” in one collective voice-it is total fan involvement in the John and Joel brands. Similarly, Harley Davidson fans experience total brand involvement when they tour on their hogs and congregate for weekends with other enthusiasts. Though the company organizes the experiences, it mostly enjoys the ride that goes hand inhand with owning a brand that becomes a lifestyle.

S Develop information and emotional exchanges with customers.

Brands and customers exchange information. Descriptions of product features and care and usage instructions flow from the brand to the consumer, while feedback on product performance flows from the customer back to the brand. But brands and fans go one step further and exchange emotions, from feelings of nostalgia to outright elation, that fans receive from the brand, relay back to it, and convey to others. Whereas many brands convey emotions to customers through brand attributes-from the music that is used in advertisements to product design and color-those looking to connect emotionally need to provide a conduit for fans to express their emotions as well. Web sites are becoming increasingly important in this area. Whether it’s Amazon.com or Madonna.com, fans are more likely to become and remain engaged with a brand when they can communicate with it.

Each band featured in this article has connected with its fans by delivering an exceptional brand experience-not just good music on a CD, but an experience people live and remember. KISS is the king of concert experiences. To this day, fans flock to see the gruesome bunch strut around stage in makeup, costumes, and eight inch heels, singing rock anthems of yesteryear, and setting the stage ablaze. But fans don’t sit idly and watch the mayhem from their seats. They wear the makeup and costumes of their favorite band members, commune with other zealots, and live the entire concert experience.