By the end of the night, fans feel emotionally charged and physically exhausted-from dancing around and watching the band exude a level of energy most of us lost sometime during puberty. As they leave the theater, many will rehash the evening’s events with respect and devotion in their voices.

Ask die hard fans who have followed the band since 1970, and they’ll tell you that Aerosmith has earned that respect. Most rock androll bands have roller coaster careers. Oftentimes the band splits either for good or until enough time for a reunion tour has passed. But sometimes, though rarely, the band reunites-for the better. What makes the reunion of this megaband so unique is that the reformed version of Aerosmith became stronger and more successful than the original version. On its horizon would be the ups and downs that plague bands-and brands-that achieve popularity, cope with fame, and struggle to stay on top. It gives great insights into: S How to court fans and involve them in the creation of a successful brand S The role of reflecting your market to increase cultural adoption S How to reenter the marketplace after brand failure S How to reinvent a brand with quality improvement, evolvement, and fan involvement S How to create reverse customer intimacy S The role of energy and passion in branding One of Aerosmith’s primary brand strategies is evolution. Some brands are holdover brands, labeled as popular with a specific group of customer or a specific generation. Neil Diamond falls into this category. Oldsmobile even tried to fight that categorization with the “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile” campaign. Other brands are crossover brands, making a connection generation after generation because of how they evolve. Sony has done this well over the years, making a splash with the Walkman and then moving on to the Discman and now plasma screen television sets. Aerosmith has used new technology, physical fitness, cutting edge fashion trends, and new sounds to court new generations of fans, making the Aerosmith saga a cross branding story that’s part epic drama and part business plan.

The Rolling Stones have remained relevant to the baby boomer market by adapting to changes within it. This begins with a thorough understanding of the boomers-their market power, lifestyles, attitudes, fears, realities, and dreams-which for many classic rock bands is made easier because they are of that generation themselves.

Just as retail executives need to put themselves into the shoes of their customers by mystery shopping their stores, brand managers need to study baby boomers’ childhoods and life dilemmas. Demographics determine about two thirds of everything-what problems people face, what products they buy, and frequently how and where they buy. Understanding demographics thoroughly increases the likelihood of creating successful brands and crafting strategies to connect with them.

Show Me the People! The year 1957 was a good year for babies; an unprecedented 4.3 million of them were born in the United States, a peak not attained since.

After the war, beginning in 1946, the nation went on a re creation spree, resulting in over 4 million births per year until 1965, when the number dropped to 3.7 million. The baby boom fertility rates would give birth to the most significant generation marketers would have to appease for the next 80 plus years.

Baby boomers get attention because of their concentration, at one time 40 percent of the total U.S. population. As a result, the smaller number of consumers born later, about 41 million between 1968 and 1979, were to some degree forgotten-labeled Generation X. Those born in the 1980s and 1990s followed suit and were called Generation Y.