Some people talk about wearing their emotions on their sleeves; Tyler one ups the sentiment.
Borrow from the Best The most obvious example of borrowing from the best lies in the evolution of rock and roll itself, which borrowed heavily from rhythm and blues, deeply rooted in black culture. Some even say rock pioneers stole the soul of African American music, which emerged from a culture of suffering and survival to become America’s most unique and globally dominating art form. Elvis was a key innovator who combined soul and gospel, the sounds that surrounded him in his youth, to create a new sound that mainstream culture gobbled up.
The massification of his roots, which stemmed from exposure to black culture and music, divided pop music culture into two eras- “B.E.” and “A.E.”-which not only changed contemporary music but changed cultural values around the world as well.
The transition of blues and soul to rock and roll was not limited to Elvis and Bill Haley; some first movers within minority markets, such as Louis Armstrong, Nat “King” Cole, and Chuck Berry, achieved substantial mass market success. Following a trickle up approach, they broke through the traditional race based market barriers to reach and dazzle mainstream markets. But even rural blues stars like B.B. King achieved greater success because of the massification of his product by the likes of the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. In fact, today, his records sell to more white consumers than African American fans.
Two white singers who helped pave the way for mainstream adoption of B.B. King were Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley. Like Elvis, they listened to black singers such as Charlie & Ray and Jessie and Marvin, duplicating their soul based, close harmony songs so well that they were booked at black oriented clubs. During one of their appearances, one fan yelled to them on stage, “That’s righteous, brothers.” You know how the story goes from here. Millions of records and scads of sold out concerts later, it was clear that fans of all colors had embraced rock and roll sounds derived from the African American culture. Hatfield and Medley were honored as the Righteous Brothers at the 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for their “blue eyed soul” music. At that same induction ceremony, Elton John acknowledged the debt rock and rollers owe to the blues musicians who developed the art form that led to rock and roll’s dominance among global music and culture.
Whereas the Rolling Stones shattered the traditional image of what it means to be 60, Cadillac’s brand only furthered it. The more people adopted a youthful mind set, the greater the disconnection between Cadillac and the baby boomer market became. To bolster sales, create a new generation of fans, and increase profits, Cadillac would have to position itself as a lot more Rolling Stones and a lot less rocking chair.
Reinvigorating Culturally Relevant Brands Few brands represent American culture as well as those created, owned, and marketed by General Motors. Under famed chairman Alfred Sloan, GM not only pioneered many management processes for large, centralized corporations; it built powerful consumer brands, such as Chevrolet and Cadillac, and industrial brands, such as Delco and Detroit Diesel. Today, however, GM faces the same challenges as other firms-the need to represent, relate to, and influence the culture in which it operates.
Years ago, brand managers at Chevrolet evaluated America’s core culture to guide marketing and advertising themes. They determined that hot dogs and apple pie were the culture’s comfort foods, and baseball its national pastime. The resulting musical slogan-hot dogs, baseball, apple pie, and Chevrolet-connected brilliantly with Americans in the post
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
S Wal Mart is now the largest grocery retailer in the world, the largest apparel retailer in the world, and the largest jeweler in the world.
These facts, especially when coupled with the company’s sales, profits, and growth figures, are impressive, but you might still ask whether a company this large and dominant can really have fans. Though some skeptics might believe that emotional bonds are reserved for smaller, less mainstream brands, we found in a series of focus groups conducted for the International Mass Retail Association (IMRA), that the answer is a robust yes. Some people told us they visit their local WalMart as many as three times a day to see and talk to friends they’ve made in the store. Many customers talked about the excitement they feel when they find a good deal. Many college students told us it was the number one store they shopped or wished they could shop because it had everything they could possibly want at reasonable prices.
But talk is cheap, as they say. Measuring consumers’ behavior to determine their loyalty to a brand is even more important than their words, and Wal Mart’s phenomenal sales can attest to consumers’ followthrough on their said devotion to the stores.
Creating fans for a fledgling company is challenging, but retaining their connection as the company becomes the largest corporation in the world boils down to maintaining total dedication to the customer, just as KISS did with its fans. Wal Mart’s founder, its culture and values, and its locations support the corporate charge of staying close to the customer. Some might chuckle at the small town roots of Wal Mart and the fact that it remains headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, but life in this small town is more representative of life in the vast majority of America. Potential disconnections between customer and company culture are minimized because life in Bentonville mirrors more closely the lifestyle of the target Wal Mart customer than life in New York City. No one represented the WalMart customer better than company founder Sam Walton; he walked, talked, and lived the brand. Analyzing Wal Mart’s success strategies is impossible without first talking about Mr. Sam-the Elvis of retail.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
The ultimate tailgate party attracted over 500,000 fans to Times Square and millions more in 226 countries with 13 live broadcasts of the event. In fact, more people watched the kickoff than voted in the prior presidential election.
Although music has become an important dimension of the NFL brand, Collins points out, “We’re not trying to be in the music business, but we are trying to be in the fabric of the American culture and be ubiquitous in terms of where that shows up. It’s all part of trying to be where people are and becoming part of their culture.” The tricky part is that culture changes. If it didn’t, we’d all still be swinging to Glenn Miller or waltzing to Mozart. Instead, legions of fans rock to the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and KISS, sing along with Elton John and Neil Diamond, and dance to Madonna. They have been adopted by the culture as fervently as Coca Cola, Starbucks, and Wal Mart have, with even more emotion and devotion from their fans. The remaining chapters reveal the strategies that these artists have used to win fans and create profits.
El ton John:
/ Music Man, Marketing Man, Architect of a Brand Rock and roll, man, it changed my life. It was like the Voice of America, the real America, coming to your home.
-BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Elton John has had at least one top 40 hit every year for 30 straight years; not even Elvis, with 23 years, matched John’s record! From behind his piano, John has reached the hearts and souls of millions of people with a music montage ranging from romantic ballads to toe tapping rock and roll. “Your Song.” “Rocket Man.” “The One.” Chances are you and your teenage kids can name at least three Elton John songs without too much effort. While you may remember his hits from the 1970s, the names of songs from Disney’s films The Lion King or The Road to El Dorado may roll more readily from your children’s tongues.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
Reflecting Society to Make an Emotional Connection Businesses, not for profit organizations, and government leaders, to name just a few types of marketers, are wise to study popular music for a very important reason. Popular music often predicts changes in mainstream culture well before mainstream culture recognizes the change. In the 1960s, when mainstream America and the political leadership were still supportive of the Vietnam War, they could have detected the winds of change by paying attention to the music of Peter, Paul, and Mary; the Kingston Trio; Bob Dylan; and others.
Madonna was a leading indicator and reflector of changing sexual mores in the 1980s and continues to be on the cutting edge today (see Chapter 7). From Cat Stevens to rapper Jay Z, music changes as society changes-reflecting changes in people’s lifestyles and moods.
Winning marketers monitor changes in the culture and its music and reflect them in their brands. Why? Because problems arise from life, and firms that address top of the mind issues by developing solutions to perceived problems-and do it well-are rewarded with robust sales, brand loyalty, and willingness to pay premium prices even in difficult markets.
Lifestyle trends affect a myriad of marketing strategies and tactics, including product design, positioning, packaging, advertising, and distribution. Witness Campbell’s recent introduction of soups that come in heat and drink cups, designed specifically for people who don’t have time to eat anything requiring a table or utensils. Similarly, a recent ad for Tide laundry detergent focuses on a single mother getting ready for a date, dressed in a freshly washed sweater and armed with dating advice from her teenage daughter-a far cry from June Cleaver themes of the past. Typically, brands are analyzed from the perspective of products-either consumer or industrial-and services ranging from financial institutions to health care systems. Most books on branding, including this one, reflect this emphasis. The nature of brands and winning strategies that make them culturally relevant is more comprehensive, however, recognizing an increasing importance to develop culturally relevant brands for retail organizations, for professional persons, and ultimately, for the most important brand of all-the brand called You.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
He did, however win three Grammys for his gospel albums. He reminds us that sometimes our greatest successes can be derived from the skills and areas about which we are most passionate, investing in our greatest strengths and evolving without straying too far from our core competencies. Though a Grammy for rock and roll eluded him, he was included in the first group honored by induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986.
Achieving Cultural Adoption Marketers salivate at the prospect of achieving levels of brand recognition and fan loyalty approaching those achieved by Elvis. He is one of America’s most recognizable icons. Even after his death, the loyalty of his fans has been unwavering, with thousands flocking to Graceland each year to pay homage to the King. Though we may laugh at Elvis impersonators and the velvet portraits of Elvis sold at flea markets throughout the country, no one can deny that fans adopted him into their families and lifestyles, and America adopted him as part of its culture. Figure 2.1 diagrams the process Elvis and other legendary rock bands have used to make this type of long term connection with fans. Studying this process of acceptance by society reveals that a brand’s relevance to, representation of, and influence on culture are crucial to creating a long term relationship and to eventual adoption by society.
Culture refers to the values, ideas, artifacts, and symbols that help individuals communicate, interpret, and evaluate as members of society. It is the “blueprint” of human activity, determining the coordinates of social action and productive activity and reflecting influences from factors such as ethnicity, race, religion, and national or regional BRAND Figure 2.1 Culturally Relevant Brands Relevant Reflects Influence ADOPTION Relationship CULTURE identity. As these elements change within a society, so too does the culture change. And when changes occur in a culture, branding opportunities emerge-just as the chance emerges for a band to carve out its own space in people’s life soundtracks.
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
Several significant things happened that night. Elvis touched the collective nerve of the nation with his voice, beauty, and stage presence, transcending traditional age and race divisions within the American culture of the 1950s. Audiences applauded his voice and singing talent, but they screamed for the way Elvis performed. He didn’t just sing a song on stage, he entertained people-gyrating, swaying, and flashing his little boy smile. To many of his female fans, the songs he sang were secondary to his personality and the way he performed them, evoking an emotional response that made the girls swoon. As a result, the Sullivan show achieved an audience share of 82 percent, a record never equaled until the Beatles appeared years later. It was clear that Elvis was amassing fans; it was clear that people wanted to love him. And that night, Sullivan gave America permission to do so and to invite Elvis into their lives and their culture. Following Elvis’s performance, Sullivan walked over to him, put his arm around his shoulder, and told America, with great sincerity, that Elvis was “a fine and decent boy.” From that point on, entertainment was never the same, dividing the history of twentieth century music into before Elvis (B.E.) and afterElvis (A.E.) timeframes. Many would argue that American culture was also forever changed. The young, white, and openly sexual performer created upheaval in many households, causing teens to butt heads with their parents’ primarily Victorian values and embrace the statement Elvis made with his risqu
September 22nd, 2009 — Investment Strategies
How do your brands fare? How prevalent are they in the snapshots that define your customers’ lives and fit their consumption patterns? Your brand helps establish a relationship-an emotional connection-with consumers and society for your product or organization.
One of the valuable lessons rock and roll offers people involved in marketing and branding is how it evolved from its ethnic roots to become part of mainstream America, spotlighting what it takes for innovations, products, and brands to become accepted by an entire culture. Analyzing this process in the most successful legendary bands discloses that to achieve cultural adoption, a band (or brand) should have relevance to people in a culture, represent a culture, and have influence on a culture.
It’s Only Rock and Roll But I Like It If you think rock and roll burst onto the scene with the introduction of Bill Haley and the Comets, you are a few decades late and a few shades too white. Rock and roll evolved from what was known during the 1940s and 1950s as rhythm and blues (R&B). It had roots up and down the Mississippi River, starting from New Orleans and Memphis, traveling north to Chicago, and fanning out in both directions to clubs in cities such as Kansas City and Detroit. R&B was ingrained in the African American culture, with songs reflecting the lifestyles and blues culture of that community.
What was often described as “race music” by the predominantly white, mainstream musical culture of the 1950s eventually became rock and roll, a well understood slang term in the black culture for making love or simply having sex. Although Trixie Smith, a famous blues singer, had recorded the song “My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)” years earlier, the meaning of rock and roll remained relatively unknown in the majority culture, except among a few progressive white disc jockeys (DJs) and music fans. In an era when radio stations still received albums from record companies with such tracks as “Makin’ Whoopee” marked “Not for air play,” it was probably better to keep the sexual meaning of the name from traditionalists- namely parents, advertisers, and station managers.