S Predict the future with pop music. Music predicts the future, as probably do many of the creative arts. Sociological research journals have published studies by academicians on this topic for years, generally concluding that musicians from Mozart to Jay Z reflect incipient trends in a culture. A half century ago, Tennessee Ernie Ford dominated the pop charts with his hit “Sixteen Tons,” foreshadowing a general awakening of public and corporate concern for the economic and physical afflictions-such as black lung disease-and other maladies of the coal mining industry. Fast forward to 2003, and you may interpret the meteoric rise and success of more traditional musicians such as John Mayer, Norah Jones, and Vanessa Carlton as a desire to turn toward conservatism.
The music industry, like most others today, is dependent on perceived cultural relevance or the degree to which a brand is up to date.
Few people want to be associated with a brand, style, fashion, or attitude that isn’t current-it doesn’t have to be the latest fad, but it has to be relevant to them to maintain favored status. Though rock and roll can be an effective crystal ball, cultural relevance is tricky for any brand, including bands, because musicians and other artisans often start as the outcasts of society and stay closely tuned to the perimeter of culture even after they attain success. In medieval Europe and England, it was the task of traveling minstrels to pick up gossip, unrest, and social concerns from the campfires of the countryside and taverns of the city and bring them into mainstream culture. In the Elizabethan days of Shakespeare, “fools” took the truth to the king or queen-hence the name of one of the best known newspaper columns and web sites, Motley Fool, claiming to tell the truth about investing to help readers laugh their way to the bank.
S Fan retention depends on brand relevance. Famed songwriter and performer Bob Dylan had always played folk music at the acoustic level, but as the Byrds, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles changed the landscape of music, he ran the risk of being evolved right out of the market. Subsequently, he took folk music electric and contemporized himself. The songs were the same, the words were the same, but the delivery was altered and the relevance enhanced. Fans stuck with Dylan because he evolved to reflect changes that fans seemed to follow among other musicians.
S Embrace technology, but understand how to use it best. The Rolling Stones tried to relate to its audience’s interest in the Internet by incorporating a computer interface that showed which songs audience members voted to hear. Though its execution was poor and it was quickly pulled from the show, the attempt caught the attention of the media, which credited the Stones with trying to be relevant in the new, technology oriented marketplace.
Releasing its most recent single on AOL did connect with fans, however, and positioned the band as technologically up to date.
S Highlight the aspects of a brand that redefine a norm or standard.
The bands featured in this article are standouts in terms of redefining cultural norms. Mick Jagger puts a new twist on age, dispelling the notion that once you reach 60, you are doomed to a world of elastic waistbands and orthopedic shoes. Rather, he gains people’s respect with his endless energy, spry body, nonstop dancing, and phenomenal performances at a lifestage at which many people have retired from far less hectic professions. Similarly, Tina Turner and Cher have redefined sexiness-proving that women over the age of 50 (and in the case of Turner, 60) can not only outperform their twenty something counterparts, but that they can be every bit as sexy as well. Just as Jagger highlights his nonstop energy and Turner her nonstop legs, JetBlue highlights its value prices, clean interiors, efficient check ins, and fun attitude in its brand, helping it to redefine the norm of airline travel and position it as a leader in that arena.
Finding the balance between maintaining the old and introducing the new is one of the most difficult tightwires to walk for bands or brands-a balancing act in which it is easy to fall by launching radical new products or changing the brand too rapidly. When successful bands and brands don’t innovate, however, they run the risk of gradually fading away like Elsie the cow, former top bovine in the oncestrong portfolio of Borden brands. Radical innovations that force consumers to throw out the old in the name of the new often reach results similar to those of Pets.com, Webvan, or any other dot bomb of the 1990s. Unlike the short term success of these and other onehit wonders of the e world, eBay, in contrast, simply took a business format consumers had experienced for decades-the auctions-and migrated it to the Internet, with its enormous geographic reach compared to local auctions and flea markets. It has never strayed far from its core product, but has added technology and protection features to the point that eBay now dominates the auction business as the most profitable firm on the Internet today.
Create Culturally Relevant Brands Brands are often rejected if people feel they are not culturally relevant. If a product doesn’t match their lifestyles, values, belief systems, or basic needs, consumers forego a new offering and stick with what they know. Innovations, whether they be new technologies or new styles, are more likely to receive mass acceptance when they are introduced through an accepted channel.
Perhaps the most poignant example of this is the migration of rhythm and blues from black culture to white culture. Elvis transformed minority music, then known as R&B, into majority music, known today as rock and roll. If it were not for the post
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
Rock legends, however, offer tips on how companies can adapt their brands and become accepted by consumers: S Evolve but remain true to your core sound or strength. Bands that stray too far from their core sound often alienate the fans they took so long to acquire. Aerosmith’s remake of “Walk This Way” spurred a brand reinvention with the perfect balance of familiarity and newness. Evolution is required if a brand is to stay relevant in the culture, but radical changes in look, feel, brand promise or personality may make the brand so different from what fans expect that it breaks the emotional ties between fan and brand.
S Evolve the brand within the parameters of the brand promise. At first blush, Madonna’s brand promise seems to focus primarily on sex; however, further examination reveals it is really about challenging conventional thinking, setting trends, and zigging when everyone expects her to zag. With this definition, it is clear that her evolution from material girl to sex diva to modern mom to spiritual girl fits what her fans expect from her. Similarly, Porsche promises high performance driving and high design, but its perceived promise among fans is to help make the person driving it more attractive to members of the opposite sex.
S Alter offerings to accommodate different customer segments. During its Forty Licks tour, the Rolling Stones offered three different concert experiences to fans willing and able to pay varying amounts of cash. Ticket prices ranged from $75 to $350 depending on the degree of intimacy fans wanted to experience with the band. Performing to sold out arenas added to the iconic positioning of the band, while performing to exclusive crowds in small venues added to the aura of rarity and specialness. What people bought for upwards of $350 were special memories and an experience few will ever have.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
Famed rocker Rod Stewart, although commercially successful in the 1970s, lost some of his credibility among rock and roll fans when he pulled on spandex tights and unleashed a string of disco hits. It took several years and a return to his bluesy version of rock to regain his position as a classic rock artist and legendary success.
No band exemplifies the principle of maintaining and improving the core product better, however, than the most successful rock androll brand of all time-the Rolling Stones. The Forty Licks world tour was a masterful extension of the brand to new areas of the globe with new promotions and new merchandise. Fundamentally, though, it was mostly the same songs that were hits 40 years ago, borrowed from the best of Muddy Waters and other blues pioneers. Although the Stones produced several albums most years, usually they were recombinations of core songs with just enough new ones to enlist new listeners and justify the album purchase to existing fans. The bedrock of rock and roll product development is a greatest hits album or a new album salted heavily with tracks fans already know and love.
New products are very risky because 80 percent or more fail, simply because consumers generally don’t change products with which they are satisfied. This principle stands out when studying rock music-fans continue to support the bands they like, the ones that reside on their personal all time favorites lists. Just as new, unknown songs played at concerts, even by legends such as Paul McCartney or Elton John, are likely to be “restroom music” for lots of fans, companies also experience difficulty in getting consumers to accept something new, especially when they stray too far from their core product strength. Volkswagen, after its Aerosmith like resurgence with the Beetle and other midmarket models, entered the luxury car market with the Phaeton-a $70,000 spectacular array of new features including a solar powered sunroof and sensors that control both the temperature and humidity in the car, competing with Mercedes, Lexus, and Cadillac. Instead of maintaining and extending its successful Jetta or Passat brands with a SUV or other adaptations, the Phaeton was supposed to lead Volkswagen out of its middle of the road image into the premium market. By the end of its first year, sales totaled just 3,009 Phaetons, only a quarter of company projections.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
Starbucks fans may be as close to KISS fans as you can get in the world of corporate branding. They parade down the street sipping from their Starbucks cups. They spew out orders the way KISS fans shout the words to “Rock and Roll All Night,” sharing a special language that includes such words as venti, nonfat cap, skinny, grande, and Frappucino. And although attending your first Starbucks concert-er, ordering at a Starbucks for the first time-can be intimidating, new fans quickly become part of the community of other Starbucks zealots, often while surfing on their Wi Fi enabled laptops.
How do Starbucks and KISS do it? With the right combination of product, atmospherics, and cast interaction. In addition to selling a functionally excellent product, Starbucks makes people feel part of a community or culture with an in store experience providing individualized attention, service, options, and recognition.
Maintain and Adapt Great Brands It’s More Profitable than Inventing New Ones One critically important truth rises from analyzing legendary rock bands-maintaining, adapting, and improving a band’s existing “product” is usually more rewarding than inventing a completely new one. Many recording labels have forgotten this lesson. In the early days they invested time and patience in the brands of their new stars, accepting a gradual rise to stardom. Today, if success isn’t meteoric and if that success level isn’t maintained, bands move to their label’s second class citizen list or are dropped altogether. The label then looks for and markets the next new thing, forgoing a long term view of the impact of the brand on the market. Individual artists have learned this lesson, however. Just as KISS’s success diminished after it abandoned its full makeup product, Prince lost a substantial portion of his following when he strayed too far from his core sound.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
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.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
There are several ways legendary rock bands forge and foster emotional connections with their fans, including: S Practice reverse customer intimacy. While much of corporate America is focused on CRM programs that help companies understand their customers better, many bands find ways to let fans get to know them more intimately. The better fans know a band through special information and personal experiences, the more likely they are to maintain a relationship with it. Aerosmith allows customers to get to know the band more intimately with remote staging and backstage tour packages, helping fans feel that they have a special relationship to the band. When the affective (emotional) components of attitudes toward a brand are firmly anchored in the cognitive (knowledge) components of an attitude, they are highly resistant to change or competitive encroachment.
S Keep angel fans engaged. Angel fans discover bands before they become stars, investing time, money and emotion in the success of the band. They take pride in the ultimate success of the band and are rewarded with bragging rights for picking a winning brand. John Mayer, 2003 Grammy winner, tells his angel fans to take tape recorders to his concerts and tape his music, which keeps them engaged in the concert experience and helps them create memories. This actually increases the likelihood that fans will buy the CD, because they will want a good quality version of what they heard live. Whether it’s the KISS Army or the Talking Heads intellectual crowd, harnessing the support of angel fans is key to the adoption of new products ranging from Google to JetBlue.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
Several common themes, lessons if you will, rise from the close study of why some bands have remained successful decade after decade and why most have had a few hit songs and scurried off into oblivion. Though dozens of strategies leap from previous chapters of this article, some of the overriding principles learned from analyzing the careers of Elton John, KISS, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Madonna and Neil Diamond are: S Emotional connections turn customers into fans.
S Maintaining and adapting existing brands is more profitable than inventing new ones.
S Legendary brands evolve to stay culturally relevant.
S Passion and energy create brands people want to adopt.
S Being the best often evolves by borrowing from the best.
S Baby boomers rule much market demand.
Marketers looking to create legendary brands-those that capture a place in the fabric of mainstream culture-take note. Famous rock stars have succeeded in ways that few brands have. Here are some of the ways they’ve done it.
Emotional Connections Turn Customers into Fans Studying the success stories of legendary rock bands reveals that customers buy a product, but fans invest in a relationship. When fans buy the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers CD, they invest time, money, attention, and emotion in furthering their connection to the band.
Buying a concert ticket not only lets fans reinforce their ties to the Chili Peppers, but lets them add another experience to their memory scrapbooks. For fans, purchasing products and experiences is an investment in a healthy relationship they enjoy.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
Before graduating, she led the fundraising campaign for a class gift, which normally raised a few thousand dollars-her class raised over $120,000.
Not surprisingly, she quickly rose in the ranks at Kraft, where today she is known for her nearly boundless energy and passion, constant contact with associates at every level throughout the company, and focus on maintaining Kraft’s dominant brand positioning.
People who work with Betsy report that she is still a teacher, showing why as well as how brands connect with customers so well that they become fans. Holden personifies the values of the corporation and the energy and passion of its brands with the same intensity as Jagger represents the Stones.
Kraft’s overall branding strategy reads like a summary of the rockand roll lessons highlighted in this article. Among them: Provide consistent products of the highest quality that delight current fans, gradually change the product to remain relevant to changing lifestyles and cultures, and package products with a personality that connects with existing fans and attracts new ones. Whether for Kraft or Madonna or the Rolling Stones, it’s a sound strategy that wins fans and influences profits.
Strategies for Getting into the Branding Hall of Fame The greatest rock and roll bands of our time have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a contemporary masterpiece that rises above the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. A trip to the museum is a must for music lovers-it ignites imagination, overwhelms the senses, stimulates creativity, and fills visitors with a sense of awe. The bands featured there are brands that are larger than life, representing the talent, ambition, guts, and marketing savvy that stardom requires. These bands’ sagas teach what it takes for brands to become cultural icons. They also teach what it takes, at a personal level, to succeed in fulfilling dreams.