At first glance, one might think that a step toward rap would be a step away from the traditional Aerosmith brand. Fans had come to expect several things from Aerosmith-rock and roll and an attitude that celebrated the unexpected. Fan’s expectations were grounded in the band’s personality as much as in its music. They expected Aerosmith to evolve and push the envelope of musical creativity without abandoning the basic sounds and familiar tones they’d come to love.

Aerosmith and its management decided that the urban rap version of “Walk This Way” made sense. It had the potential of attracting new fans-in terms of age, ethnicity, and musical preference-while striking a chord of familiarity with angel fans, who had been singing the song for over a decade. But Aerosmith would have to hold up its end of the creative and musical bargain to avoid coming off as the oldsters

• Most people have admitted, however, to reading the album liner notes to figure out what Tyler is chanting throughout the song. Even reading along with

the song doesn’t necessarily explain exactly what the words mean. The authors feel that sometimes it is best not to know all of the sordid details; for you, this might be one of those times.

who originally sang the song but now rode on the coattails of a newer, hipper group. It would be brand reinvention at its finest.

In May 1986 the Aerosmith/Run DMC collaboration hit television and radio, and climbed to number four on the charts. The video depicts Aerosmith in one room with Run DMC in another, divided only by a wall. Aerosmith is trying to sing and play its music, but the noise coming from the adjacent room is so loud that the band can’t perform. So, Tyler and crew break down the wall and sing the chorus of “Walk This Way” through the shattered plaster and into the world of rap. The video continues with the unified band performing and prancing Tyler style across the stage together.

What It Takes Unlikely as it might seem, Sunapee, New Hampshire, was fertile breeding ground for musical talent in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Families from nearby cities would descend upon the town to spend the summer away from the hustle and bustle of regular life. Among them were Steven Tallarico and his family.

Steven’s ambition and knack for making an impression began early, before you could classify his musical muses as a true career. A chronically skinny kid with large lips that begged for banter from other kids, Steven went against the grain from day one. When students in school wore baggy pants, his were tailored and pegged. He befriended the kids others made fun of, grew his hair long, was hated by teachers, and joined a “club” (the 1950s version of a gang) to stop others from beating him up. This club would go on to become his first band and first set of real friends.

By the age of 12, the kid who mostly kept to himself became passionate about listening to, learning, and performing music. He came by his love for music honestly-his father was a classical pianist, and he would go on to play the drums for his father’s band, Vic Tallarico’s Orchestra, a few years later. Steven’s attuned musical ear, work ethic, and obsession with perfection made him the likely leader and soul of any group with which he would play, attributes that should not go unnoticed by entrepreneurs hoping to be CEOs of industry changing businesses.

Tyler would invest much time and energy in developing many music skills that would make him a real asset to any band. His first group, the Strangeurs, a clean cut, Beatles like band, played gigs from proms to birthday parties, giving Tyler experience as a drummer; but his showmanship made stepping out from behind the drums inevitable.”The truth was I had to get out front,” admits Tyler in Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith (Avon, 1999). “I was after total immortality. I couldn’t sleep nights, thinking about how famous I could be. I was terrified I would die before I made my mark on the world.” Ignoring Rules In March 1966, the Strangeurs got the job of opening for the Byrds at Westchester County Center. At the time the Byrds had the hit record “Eight Miles High,” making them one of the hottest bands in the country. But ticket sales were slow in White Plains, and Peter Agosta, a Shopwell supermarket manager turned Strangeurs manager, promised the promoter a sellout if he put the Strangeurs on the bill.

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.

Sound familiar? The world of commerce is filled with a myriad of products and companies in similar predicaments. A great idea is only that, unless it is executed well in the marketplace-but few ever are.

In fact, they frequently fail to leave the space of their inventors’ brains. Just because a product may be technologically better than an existing one doesn’t mean it will automatically squash its competitors. The same holds true for the role of talent in the formula for creating music megastars.

Stephen Swid, founder of Spin magazine and chairman of SESAC, Inc., explains, “Sure, the core of what you produce has to be at an acceptable level, let’s say at least a seven in terms of music sound and quality. But, after that, it’s what happens in the areas of image (design, visuals, marketing) and delivery (performance experience) that makes one band a phenomenon and the other a flop.” He adds, “In competitive arenas, which the music business definitely is, not everyone that is successful can be the best, but each has to be good enough to deserve a spot on the field. If everyone were the best, then there would only be one brand of everything-from toothpaste to rock star-and that would make for a boring world.” It takes more than quality for a product or a company to succeed in the marketplace, just as it requires more than musical talent for a band to reach megastar status. Some call it passion; some call it fire in thebelly enthusiasm. Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones describes it as a force that just takes over. At the opening for a collection of his paintings held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he explained his passion for art-in this instance painting rather than music. “When I’m really grabbed by it, there’s nothing I can do. I just have to drop everything.