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.

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.

As seen with Madonna, in order for a brand to be adopted by a culture, it needs to project authenticity, but Aerosmith’s introduction of urban music into suburban markets also shows that acceptance in a new market often depends on how the product is introduced.

Milka’s long history as a leading manufacturer and popular brand of chocolate gave it authenticity among European consumers, which translated into brand authenticity among chocolate lovers in the United States. Consumer acceptance of the brand, however, was facilitated by Kraft-an established, accepted conduit through which to enter a new market. Today, you can find the lilac cow at your local Wal Mart or Kroger.

Kraft’s Front Woman Kraft’s brand and marketing strategies are built on six core values that serve as guiding principles or inner beliefs that define how the company operates. Some are similar to the values of other leading firms, including innovation, speed, trust, and teamwork. But two of Kraft’s values pop out as different from those of the typical firm, and they parallel lessons to be learned from studying enduring rock bands. Those values are passion and focus. The company’s brand includes the promise to bring a passion to win to everything it does, with a confidence to set high goals and an uncompromising drive to achieve them, and a focus on what matters most to consumers, and what’s most important for building its people, brands, and business.

Kraft’s corporate structure is unique in that it has co CEOs- Betsy Holden and Roger Deromedi. Just as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards lead the band in different ways at different times, so do Holden and Deromedi; it is Holden’s personality, however, that makes her the Jagger of Kraft. She embodies both passion and focus in the way she energetically leads the company. A former fourthgrade schoolteacher, she entered the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where she energized case teams to excel.

Oscar Mayer-the leading hot dogs, cold cuts, and bacon brand in the United States-is Kraft’s Elton John, Billy Joel duet. The brand consists of quality, good tasting lunchmeat marinated in vats of personality. Just think of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. The giant hotdog on wheels hit the roads of America in 1936; today, a fleet of them travels the United States, Puerto Rico, and Spain, leaving a trail of people singing the infamous jingle, “Oh I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener…. ” Admit it. You remembered it, didn’t you? Let Fans Participate in the Brand Oscar Mayer also lets fans participate in the brand. An even more popular jingle than the wiener anthem is the bologna anthem. It is Kraft’s Wal Mart cheer-its “Rock and Roll All Night.” The words, “My bologna has a first name, it’s O S C A R…” still resonate through the minds of boomers and Generation Xers alike. Today, however, kids may not sing the bologna song in the cafeteria, but they do talk Kraft at lunch when they assemble and trade Lunchables. This modern day brown bag lunch is really a kit of snack sized food that kids like to eat and can assemble and eat, such as pizza and taco Lunchables. Kids get to play with their food and trade among themselves, while parents don’t have to take the time to make lunch for them.

Fan participation may also occur via web site, as Aerosmith has done well with its Notes from the Road section, chat room, and photo gallery. Similarly, Kraft spews out a slew of recipes and ideas about how to be creative with Velveeta, for example, and customers can enter contests and win up to $100,000.

At Victoria’s Secret, it results in intense public interest fueling free television coverage of its fashion shows on Entertainment Tonight and other programs. In all of these instances, fans evangelize for the brands they love, help recruit other customers, give little regard to special promotions of competitive brands, and ultimately provide higher profit margins for the companies they follow.

Though fans sometimes exist in the corporate branding world, they run rampant in the world of classic rock. Why? Primarily because of the emotional connection that binds fan to band. The ability to evoke an emotional response-”Wow, that’s the brand for me!”-is critically important for marketers looking to create loyalty among customers. Studying legendary rock bands reveals tactical lessons on how to create lasting brands, including: S Forge and foster an emotional connection with fans.

S Develop ways for your fans to incorporate the brand into their lifestyles.

S Develop what your brand communicates to fans in terms of information and emotion.

S Retain fans by continually improving the brand at a rate that doesn’t distract from the overall positioning of the brand.

S Stay fresh in the market, but true to your core sound or strength.

S Create realistic expectations among customers and understand that their expectations will increase over time.

S Reposition and update the brand by cobranding with brands that have appeal in the markets you are targeting.

S Develop talent continuously, package it well, and relate it through multiple mediums.

S Monitor brand adoption and customer behavior to drive brand adaptation.

Victoria’s Secret’s brand authenticity allows it to evolve without alienating its fans. Similar to the challenges Madonna faces in maintaining a sexy image, Victoria’s Secret battles against consumers’ changing tastes and perceptions of what is cool or sexy. New colors, fabrics, styles, scents, and visuals need to continually redefine sexiness, because what is hot today may be humdrum tomorrow. Sexiness can also mean cotton briefs, boxers, flannel nighties, and boxy pajamas, all of which have been incorporated into the line in recent years. Victoria’s Secret knows that selling sex works only on a limited basis; it may intrigue customers enough to try a product once, but if the product isn’t world class or falls below expectations, chances are repeat purchases and loyalty won’t ensue. Therefore, its products need to feel good, look great, pleasure the wearer, and hold up to wear, tear, and washing. In the stores, customers need to feel comfortable selecting and buying intimate apparel, an uncomfortable experience for many people.

The steward of the Victoria’s Secret brand is Victoria herself.

This fictitious creature wanders the halls and collective minds of the Victoria’s Secret home office, representing the guiding force of what the brand needs to be to connect with customers. Victoria represents the lifestyles, dreams, and aspirations of her customers.

And she is ever present among associates as they design lingerie, buy products throughout the world, and plan stores in locations where she would want to shop. Everyone involved in brand management can always return to the question, “What would Victoria do? What would she like?” Touching Fans with the Brand The Victoria’s Secret brand is a 360 degree experience, creating an extrasensory connection with customers at many levels. Under the leadership of Ed Razek, president of marketing and creative services, Victoria’s Secret has fashioned an “octopus” approach to branding, in which it sends the same brand message to customers through its catalog, web site, and stores. The tentacles of the octopus include extensive television advertising, online fashion shows and information, television appearances for the supermodels, stylish in store signage and high impact visuals, and dramatic catalog layouts, all coordinated to consummate in store and online sales.

Observing Wexner as he leads the $8 billion business is kind of like watching Neil Diamond perform. The direction is clear, the execution precise, the performance consistent, the business strategies sound and proven, and the values noncontroversial. But a Madonnalike sense of control and evolution lingers throughout the corporation, keeping Limited Brands fresh and sexy in its quest for increased profits and market share. Examining Victoria’s Secret, arguably its most recognized brand, reveals insights into: S The use of controversy in capitalizing on a brand S The use of sexuality and sexiness in selling positioning, and promoting brands S The role of brand authenticity in connecting with fans S The role of logistics and operations in executing a brand promise Wexner changed the nature of retail branding by creating stores that are brands, instead of stores of brands that are controlled by manufacturers. Victoria’s Secret is the store; Victoria’s Secret is the brand; Victoria’s Secret is the experience.

This Ain’t Your Grandma’s Underwear The Victoria’s Secret brand embodies sex. Its catalog has achieved iconic status in American culture, constantly mentioned on television sitcoms and by Hollywood stars. It draws megadoses of media attention. It causes chaos when it arrives in households, as brothers duke it out for first viewing rights. Reactions from raving fans have made the catalog and the brand the standard of sexiness in mainstream America.

Taking underwear from the “unmentionables” category to the “talked about” category and thereby redefining the lingerie market, Victoria’s Secret represents true brand authenticity among its fans. Its authenticity is bolstered by a diverse portfolio of models from Claudia Schiffer (the German classic blonde) and Tyra Banks (AfricanAmerican) to Yasmeen Ghari (Canadian, Pakistani, and German all in one) and Karolina Kurkova (the latest tall, blonde Czech). Individually, they represent many personalities and definitions of beauty. Collectively, they give the Victoria’s Secret brand a culturally diverse but global personality of sexiness, sophistication, and beauty.

The series featured a woman washing her hair and becoming excited by the scent and feeling of the Herbal Essence experience to the point that she moans and groans the words “Yes, yes, yes.” A final sigh and shake of the head leads to the tagline, “Herbal Essences, a totally organic experience.” Calvin Klein, fashion brand extraordinaire, has attracted attention and fans over the years with its sexy positioning. Who can forget the steamy Obsession television ads that heated up many a living room or the Calvin Klein underwear ads featuring chiseled young men that grace billboards around the United States? They got as much word of mouth as they did paid display time. Tom Murry, president of Calvin Klein, explains, “Creating a sexy campaign that’s successful requires a balance of risk taking, good judgment, and genuine connection to the product. You can’t do sexy for the sake of being sexy. That usually falls flat-fast. For a sexy campaign to be effective it has to feel real to the consumer; it has to emote authenticity.” Authentic Sex Brands are judged by their authenticity-how real they are in terms of their promises, attributes, and positioning in the eyes of consumers. If the positioning and image are too contrived, the brand often fails to connect with fans, who chalk up a fabricated image as a blatant marketing scheme to sell them something. This is very apparent in urban markets, where rappers are judged based on their real world experiences with urban strife and violence. Just as the new in your face gangsta rap artist 50 Cent has been deemed an authentic brand, partially because the lead singer is a former crack dealer who has been shot nine times, so too can Madonna be judged as highly authentic regarding the sexual attributes of her product.

Madonna, he says, is a master at reinvention. “She zigs when you expect her to zag,” he says.”She taps the direction of society and relects that in her music, concerts, visuals, and appearance-in her overall brand.” Madonna has mastered a chameleon like approach to staying true to the foundation of her brand. She doesn’t walk away from a brand promise based on sex and sexuality; she just redefines sexy according to her current life stage. In her words, “I’ve grown. I’ve discovered things I had no idea of when I was in my twenties.” Among them is the value of inner peace, and the fact that fashion trend setting is best left to those with more youthful blonde ambition, according to a 2003 People description of Madonna.

Her experiences as a master marketer reveal insights and lessons on: S Harnessing the power of controversy S The power of sex, sexuality, and sexiness in gaining consumer attention S The role of brand authenticity-being the real thing-in connecting with fans S The risks of going too far in sexual branding and alienating customers S How to evolve and remake brands over time Madonna is the shining example that sex sells. Even after years of hard work by women’s organizations to further women’s rights and squelch the degradation of women, society can’t deny that sex still intrigues customers. Initially, one might see using sex to sell a brand as easy and by some standards a cop out to formulating a more substantive branding strategy.

Achieving significant long term sales and keeping fans interested in a brand with a sex oriented sales pitch is not easy, however. First off, maintaining a sexy image becomes more difficult as a brand ages- especially if that brand is a person. But even for products, what is sexy and cool one moment becomes average and humdrum the next. Second, sex can sell on a limited basis, but product and experience quality build loyalty over time. The classic example of the sizzle selling the steak is true-but there needs to be a steak, and it has to taste good in order for someone to order it a second time. As Denver points out, “Something has to connect with fans to move a record from passive, where fans enjoy listening to the song on the radio, to active, where they go buy the CD or attend the concert. It takes more than just sizzle to do that, but Madonna’s image and positioning over the years has been pretty good sizzle.” A brand message that features a sex angle needs to fit the natural characteristics of the brand. After revamping its line of shampoo and conditioners, Herbal Essences was unleashed on the market in the late 1990s. The sexually charged television ads grabbed peoples’ attention.

Oh Yeah! After three decades of making music, Aerosmith has become a cultural icon-adopted by and welcomed into the lives of millions around the globe. It has evolved the Aerosmith brand and built band loyalty by reflecting changes in society and remaining relevant in today’s culture.

Its story is one of brand reinvention and what it takes to create a brand that is better than the original version.

One of its key success factors has been achieving and maintaining sobriety-fixing the machine. The band members are as dedicated to staying drug and alcohol free as they are to creating great music, perhaps more so now than ever. Their addictive tendencies are still present; they just channel them into working out, eating healthy, and working hard. Tyler, the group elder, turned 55 in 2003, but to see him perform you’d never guess his age. The sheer energy and electricity he, Joe Perry, and the rest of the group exude during a concert are impressive at any age, let alone an age our parents told us meant retirement, arthritis, and comfortable shoes. But vitality takes hard work. There are the grueling workouts and hours on the treadmill.

Tyler, especially, is also known for his strict diet-opting for carrot juice rather than the beer he used to chug. How ironic it is that people who used to abuse their bodies can now serve as poster children for physical fitness; that is total brand reinvention.

Another key to Aerosmith’s success has been fan involvement. Its angel fans supported the band during its early days, followed its members during their ascent up the ladder of rock and roll success, stuck by them as they tumbled back down, and cheered their band’s reinvention and rise back to the top. The key for brands and bands is to keep the attention and loyalty of those initial fans who might have been attracted to the newness of their discoveries by involving them in the process and maintaining intimacy. For Aerosmith fans who have held on and enjoyed the somewhat stereotypical rock androller coaster ride, their reward lies in the atypical, surprise ending that the band continues to craft.