The band members entered rehab, got themselves clean, and rededicated their lives to their families, their art, and eventually themselves.
The new version of Aerosmith was healthy and energetic, and would go on to write and perform its most critically acclaimed music to date on its comeback album, Permanent Vacation.
Just as a major band can fall from the pinnacle of success to the floor of despair and then reincarnate itself to rise to top the charts again, so too can a firm willing to change more than its marketing message and image. The reinvention of the Kmart brand in the 1990s started out with a bang, in part because it put most of its marketing eggs in the Martha Stewart basket. Unlike Aerosmith, however, Kmart failed to fix the problems in its operations, stores, and personnel as the band did when its members entered rehab and rededicated themselves to personal and artistic discipline as well as physical fitness. Wanting to be better is not enough; a firm has to fix its operations if it expects to reinvent a once great but currently downtrodden brand.
Successful brand reinvention is uncommon, business history reveals, but there is one case in particular that reads almost like a modern day application of Aerosmith’s principles. Like most rockand roll bands, few brands recover. One that did was Volkswagen.
Drive This Way Admit it. When you see one, you smile. It calls to you, with its bulging eyes and defiant little grin, making the kid in all of us want to run up and hug it. If you drive one down the street, people smile at you and occasionally wave. It attracts attention with an approachable tone, soliciting Aww!s and Oh!s that until its introduction were reserved only for puppies and cooing babies.
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.
The reunion tour was announced shortly thereafter, selling out Detroit’s Tiger Stadium in 47 minutes. The group’s new album, Psycho Circus, debuted at number one around the world. Fans were ready to have their band back, and KISS was ready to be back-makeup, flames, platforms, and all.
Today, KISS is everywhere, in nearly every nation and in nearly every medium. Chances are you’ve seen the group either in the movies, gracing magazine covers, or on The Simpsons, and if you watched the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, you saw the band perform live while famed figure skaters pirouetted around the stage (an odd combination, to say the least).
KISS’s formula for establishing its brand is simple. Work hard to create the best product you can; understand your limitations and have realistic expectations; emphasize the entertainment value of your product experience; perform when others in the industry just execute; develop a way to let your fans participate in and live the brand. And, when possible, add a little magic-the surprise factor will bolster word of mouth and loyalty. From examining the success of the KISS brand, we see that every component of the brand builds an image that is unique, dominating, and greater than the sum of its parts.
KISS’s strategy allowed it to win its battle for brand dominance before competitors even knew they had been engaged. Wal Mart approached dominance in much the same manner.
Building the Most Successful Brand in the World KISS and Wal Mart-similar creatures? Sounds surprising, but it’s true. Granted, their values and appearances may be quite different, but many of their success strategies are similar. Both brought a new experience to the heart of America; both penetrated the market through secondary and tertiary markets while remaining relatively unnoticed on competitors’ radar screens; both changed the yardstick by which success in their industries was measured; and both sell more merchandise than anyone in their respective industries. And finally, in addition to starting in the same era and appealing to a wide range of age groups, ethnic identities, and geographic regions, WalMart and KISS both deliver their product with attention to detail and a constant eye on their fans.
Neeleman finds himself in a similar position as he becomes the evangelist of the JetBlue brand within the organization, to the financial community, and to its fans. By the end of 2002, JetBlue found itself 4,000 employees strong. JetBlue has stayed true to its core strengths, not allowing image to detract from its real value in the market. As with Elton John, the total customer experience will keep JetBlue focused on delivering the right combination of functional and emotional brand attributes to see the organization through expansion with its reputation intact.
Still Standing Learning from the case of Elton John, in which he eventually became more about personality (costumes, wigs, and stage antics) than just about music, JetBlue’s commitment lies in a healthy combination of improving the functional aspects of its brands as well as its emotional components.
At a time when branding seems to be all the rage, there are those who caution against becoming too branding oriented just for the sake of creating a name in the marketplace. Ron Frasch, CEO of Bergdorf Goodman, explains that in the world of retailing, branding will get you only so far, for so long. “For us, it still comes down to the quality of product and service that we provide to our customers, whether we use the term branding or not. The danger for some of our vendors is that if they see their brand as
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
The beauty of something so simple is that in the case of JetBlue, it doesn’t seem contrived, because of the history of the brand personality. The company’s strong financial performance causes its name to be trumpeted in the first paragraphs of many business articles written about the airline industry-and now the world of branding. But all of the attention does bring the danger of overexposure. “JetBlue continuously walks the fine line of how much exposure it wants for the JetBlue story because they don’t want it to become a trite brand image,” explains Johnson.
A real challenge for brand managers is to understand how to keep telling a story to get into new markets, without becoming so ubiquitous that people tune out a brand’s nuances. This is one reason that most bands don’t tour every year-they wouldn’t be new or novel enough and often are too expensive to attract fans that often. The challenge also becomes how to replicate both the functional and emotional aspects of the brand in new and different markets. Spreading corporate culture, which is an important part of the most successful company brands-especially Wal Mart-is a task that can trip up even stellar firms. Sam Walton was the most important ingredient in spreading the Wal Mart culture within his company because he lived, breathed, and embodied the brand.
After his death, the company focused on ways to keep his vision and passion throughout the organization and instill it in new hires who had never met him. Videos of him and old fashioned traditions became paramount in keeping as much of the original WalMart culture alive as possible.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
Elton John’s brand architecture stands as a grand example for how to establish a brand in the marketplace. Developing both the functional and emotional elements of the brand, creating a distinct personality to which customers can relate, formulating a brand promise, and promoting a unique brand position and message to customers are all part of establishing a powerful brand among a host of also rans.
Neeleman in the Sky with Diamonds The Elton John brand is different from many others in that Elton, the man, is Elton, the brand. But entertainers aren’t alone in this arena.
Companies that hire spokespeople-or, even more important, use their CEOs as front people-also have to figure out how to handle this intricate intertwining of personalities. Enter David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue, who plays a vital role in the growth, popularity, and profitability of his unconventional airline.
Take Me to the Pilot Amid headlines proclaiming financial woes among almost all major airlines, JetBlue Airways has emerged as a darling of the air travel industry. Armed with a fleet of new planes (equipped with leather seats and DirecTV programming), low fares, friendly service, stateof the art check in technology, and a healthy dose of entrepreneurial spirit, JetBlue is connecting at the deepest level with travelers who are fed up with the business as usual service of the major airlines. JetBlue’s brand encompasses a unique combination of product, personality, and promise that is changing customer expectations about travel.
In the company’s pilot seat is David Neeleman, who set out to create a successful low fare airline based in New York City. His goal was to “bring humanity back to travel and to make flying more enjoyable.” Sound challenging? Critics thought so. They scoffed at the notion of developing a unique product in the less than creative airline industry, not to mention finding quality employees able to carryout the rigorous standards that the JetBlue team envisioned.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
“If anyone says there was a formula for predicting the success of this album, they’re lying,” says Ray Gmeiner, vice president of promotions for Virgin Records. “She’s sold 6 million records so far simply because her sound hits a chord with people.” The key is that the chord belongs to people from 16 to 66, who enjoy her voice, the mood she creates, and the emotions she stirs. Younger fans are in fact a little surprised that they like the album as much as they do, because it’s a collection of songs closer to what their grandparents might have lying around than to what they’ve listened to in the past.
Jones’s rise to stardom may have been unexpected by most, but what isn’t surprising is that her approach works, similar to the way Elton John’s has. At a time in our culture when unity and family are top of mind concerns to people of all ages, Jones’s music, like John’s, is something that children, parents, and grandparents can enjoy together. And because her album features more than just one hit, it has overcome the download mentality rampant among young consumers who don’t perceive enough value in an album to part with $15.
Her hit album is reminiscent of the sentiment and appeal of Elton John’s works. Elton John, in a sense, was a prototypical product with lyrical and melodic themes connecting at the deepest emotional levels to multiple market segments-a prototype that helps explain the appeal of Harry Potter books.
Creating Brand Elton The album Elton John, if not perfect, was excellent. It delivered both lyrics and musical qualities a cut above everything else on the market, displaying John’s foundation in classical music and Taupin’s classic poetic content layered onto his country roots. However, a great product is not enough to attain a legendary position in the industry; it takes a great brand to create star qualities and legions of loyal fans.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
Anyone with the responsibility for managing an organization’s brand needs to start by understanding the culture of its core customers. Brand management should always be focused on evaluating, emulating, and, if the market segment is sufficiently attractive, infiltrating the culture of the largest and fastest growing groups of its market.
Brand evolution is not reserved for just legendary rock bands or consumer products companies. The National Football League has undergone a significant transformation over the past several years to gain a strong foothold in American culture.
“The NFL is an established brand, with 80 years of equity, but a few years ago there was a sense among ownership and senior management that it had become more of a licensing company,” explains John Collins, NFL’s senior vice president of marketing and entertainment. “In order to redefine the NFL, we stepped back and thought about our place in the world of brands-what we stood for and how we could evolve. When we talk about ourselves today, we talk about being premier entertainment.” Rock and roll has played a key role in the NFL’s brand transformation. Fans who religiously fill stadiums on Sunday afternoons and Monday nights are treated to mini
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
It’s Got to Be Relevant The phenomena of long lasting, successful bands and brands can often be explained by cultural relevance. If a brand isn’t relevant to the people who are supposed to buy it, they don’t, at least not in the long run. When people say about a brand, “It makes sense; it fits into our lives and our lifestyles,” then they are on their way to describing a store or products as “my store” or “my brand,” assuming a sense of ownership and pride. A relevant brand name often becomes a descriptive word, such as a “Wal Mart kind of guy” or a “Tiffany’s kind of girl.” The musicians who become rock and roll legends are grippingly relevant to the cultural values of a specific group of people-their fans. Similarly, profitable businesses and brands are grippingly relevant to key market segments-those that are currently profitable or possess potential for future growth. The best of the best expand the relationship from one segment to become core, mass market branding successes. This is more likely to occur when the values and lifestyles linked to a brand are closely aligned with the behavior, whether actual or aspirational, of customers and their culture.
Verizon’s recent advertising campaign resonates with American culture today. The slogan “Can you hear me now?” in Verizon’s clever television ads reflects the sentiments of people frustrated by poor cellular phone connections. You can hear people waiting in airport concourses or walking down the street uttering the phrase as they try to maintain communication with the person on the phone. It’s a slogan adopted by the culture, as much as the phrase “Elvis has left the building. ” Achieving cultural relevance is the first phase in marketplace acceptance, but legendary bands will tell you it’s also about staying relevant to a culture, using core products to reinforce relationships with existing fans and attract new ones. Hence, the “greatest hits” albums.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
All of the bands and performers highlighted in Brands That Rock have stuck closely to their core sounds and strengths over the years, but they have evolved to stay fresh and viable in a dynamic marketplace. They have mastered the art of evolving at a rate that doesn’t alienate their current customers and attracts new fans. Rock artists understand the role that repetition, accessibility, entertainment, and emotion have in creating band loyalty. They use all of these strategies and a host of others to keep bonds with their fans strong. Among these lessons are: Create an emotional connection with your customers; nurture it over time.
Build brand loyalty, one fan group at a time.
Stay fresh in the market but true to your core sound or strength.
Evolve at a rate that doesn’t alienate current customers.
Focus on the entire brand experience, not just the core product.
Develop talent continuously; package it well; relate it through multiple mediums.
7 . Create realistic expectations that you can meet.
Match your message with your mission and your audience.
Exude energy and passion-they command respect and engage the audience.
10 . Define the brand by more than just the product; include the functional and emotional attributes of the brand.
11. Monitor brand adoption and customer behavior to drive brand adaptation.
12. Play for cultural adoption by focusing on relevance to, reflection of, and influence on the culture.
13. Resist the temptation of overexposure.
14 . Empower your fans to help your brand become and stay successful in the market.