Pledge Companies

What once was a weakness for John would become one of his strengths. He recognized early on that gigs on the road were more important than being at the top of the pops, because concerts were where people would find out what he could really do and what he was all about. On the road, he could meld the functional and emotional elements of his brand to turn customers into fans.

John was at a disadvantage compared to guitar players and other front people, however. They could jump up and down and dance around the stage and even more into the audience. It’s a little difficult to carry a piano around the stage, so instead, he jumped up and down and around the piano. Today, he still plays some songs from underneath his bench, bringing fans to their feet. It’s a great example of transforming a plain functional element into an emotional connection with fans. He didn’t have a guitar’s natural advantage of high voltage amplification either, so he made up for that with sheer, unrestrained energy-pounding the keys so hard that his fingers sometimes bled by the end of a concert. With his piano, he capitalized on what others might have considered a restraint and created a differential advantage, introducing a sound different from that of other rock and roll musicians of this era.

The Promise of the Elton John Brand Brands are shorthand for the promises a company makes to consumers and supply chain members about the products it is selling. If there were a pledge companies made to consumers through their brands it would contain commitments about product and service quality, satisfaction with the product experience, fixing problems if they occur, trying to meet customer expectations, and living up to the hype created by advertising. This pledge conveys a brand’s superiority over and differentiation from competitive offerings.