Who's the savvier business person: Jack Welch or Mick Jagger? Carly Fiorina or Britney Spears? In his latest book, Brands That Rock, Roger Blackwell finds that corporate warriors can learn something from their hip-shaking, microphone-slinging brethren -- namely, how to turn mere customers into diehard fans.
(Adapted from Brands That Rock: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the World of Rock and Roll, by Roger Blackwell and Tina Stephan. John Wiley & Sons, 2004.)
If there were a Hall of Fame for Brands, would your company be in it? Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honors rockers whose appeal has lasted for decades. If it honored brands rather than bands, you'd find names like Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, Coca-Cola, Victoria's Secret, Google, and others. In the Branding Hall of Fame, you might also come across Montgomery Ward, Burma-Shave, and Packard - brands that once dominated, then faltered and died. Would your brand be a Coke or a Packard? The Rolling Stones or A Flock of Seagulls? How do you build a brand that dominates and endures?
As unlikely as it may seem, the business world can draw lessons from rock and pop artists. Regardless of whether you favor 50 Cent or the Beatles, the best of performers have figured out how to connect with people at an emotional level. Any company worth its salt should aspire to the same thing.
In the business world, such a connection allows companies like Southwest and JetBlue to be the airline of choice over other carriers, including those with similar discount fares; and it's what makes Google the preferred search engine for more than 75 percent of websurfers. These companies have attracted more than just customers; they've created fans.
Fans are like preachers possessed by the spirit - they not only tell others about their passions, they actively seek new converts. Fans don't drink coffee, they crave Starbucks. Fans don't drive a car or ride a motorcycle, they pilot a Mini or a Harley-Davidson. And they won't rest until friends and relatives step into the brand's warm embrace.
Companies that want to follow in the footsteps (or tire tracks) of the Harley-Davidsons of the world could do worse than to look to durable rock and pop acts for inspiration and ideas. The idea is hardly to be hip, though that can be a good start; the idea is to build a lasting connection with consumers. Elton John may no longer be in the vanguard of Cool, but to this day he excels at blending music and marketing. His musical creations serve as a transgenerational blueprint of consumer behavior, and he instinctively knows how to balance the functional and emotional elements of his brand to delight customers - a strategy flying high today at JetBlue.
Or take Madonna. She understands shock value and rebellion, but most important, she understands her fans. To them, her antics are not offensive, but anticipated and accepted - and often sexy. Exhibiting the ability to stay one step ahead of the times (though she might consider staying out of Guy Ritchie movies!), she has shown that remaining true to her brand promise and exhibiting brand authenticity are keys to lasting success. You'll find similar secrets of success at, say, Victoria's Secret.
The Talking Heads also make for a compelling case study. Seen as smarties who had been to college, the band members were oddballs in the world of rock 'n' roll and knew they could attract a niche of similarly cerebral fans. The band's select venues included art galleries and performing arts theaters known for featuring avant-garde acts.
When it came time to expand beyond their hometown, New York City, the Talking Heads turned to manager Gary Kurfrist, who understood how to organize and promote concerts, especially in college markets. He identified college towns in which he thought the Talking Heads, the Ramones, Blondie, and other bands would be accepted, and then found students to act as promoters for campus appearances. The Talking Heads would go in first; then, a few weeks later, another band would come through town. If the audience grew and the music created a buzz among the kids, the promoters would identify it as a hot market and start the next wave.
Even after hit singles like "Burning Down the House," the Talking Heads kept ticket prices low and venues small, opting to play several nights at Radio City Music Hall rather than one night at Madison Square Garden.
The group's strategy is an example of how to move innovative products from obscurity to mass acceptance without mass- marketing resources. The band's approach to building brands by starting in the intellectual underground is much like the strategy followed by Google. Although most computer users of the late 1990s were content with well-known search engines like Yahoo!, a few users, usually quite computer-savvy, learned about Google, a search site dedicated to the brand promise of faster and better. And when these nerds discovered Google's ability to deliver pages more relevant to a query, and usually much faster, they told other nerds -- much as in the new-wave music network of the 1970s and early 1980s.
Google's number-one rule is "Put the user in charge." With its relentless objective of perfection, the site cuts the time needed for a search by using information from past searches, increasing relevance and ease of use.
Similar to the sense you get in talking to members of the now-defunct Talking Heads, there's something about the Google brand that makes it feel pure - less of a commercial sellout than many Internet inhabitants - even though it now partners with giants such as AOL. Still building market share without spending much money on advertising, Google lets its customers do the evangelizing for it. First, win the nerds; then let them win the rest of the world.
TIPS FOR THE TOP
THE BEST B(R)ANDS USE THESE STRATEGIES TO KEEP BONDS WITH THEIR FANS STRONG.
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 to different segments of fans.
Create realistic expectations that you can meet consistently.
Match your message with your mission and your audience.
Exude energy and passion - they command respect and engage audiences.
Resist the temptation of overexposure.
ROCKING THE BUSINESS WORLD
A business consultant to Fortune 500 companies and a music fan, Roger Blackwell likes to muse about bands that are brands. In his new book, Brands That Rock (cowritten with Tina Stephan), Blackwell explains how brands can avoid being one-hit wonders - and instead attain cultural-icon status. Jungle's Craig Offman trades riffs with him.
How did you get P. Diddy to write a book blurb?
My coauthor, Tina Stephan, went to a party with a friend who knew him, and she asked him if he would write it. He agreed.
Have any bands or musicians taken offense at the idea that music is a product?
Not at all. We've sent manuscripts to many of the musicians and if anything, they want more copies for their bandmates. Last weekend I was with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads, and they were very helpful and supportive.
What brands could rock a little harder?
Starfruit. People try it and say it's delicious, but no one really knows about it. Produce could use a "Got Milk?" kind of campaign.
Which brands have been rocking lately?
The milk industry got Steven Tyler to do a "Got Milk?" commercial, and also Cadillac has to be given a lot of credit. Here's a brand that had a 60-year-old as its primary buyer and used Led Zeppelin to attract a group 20 years younger.
Elvis, the Stones, Eminem - a lot of music idols began with an iconoclastic, dangerous image. Which products or companies do you think are analogous?
Google does things differently than your typical Silicon Valley start-up - it emphasizes a counterculture. Rather than relying on a lot of hype, they have a lot of Ph.D.'s. Rather than being highly restrictive about its codes, it encourages other people to write in its codes. In the end, Google will make Wall Street analysts drool.
Many bands you've cited have a rebellious past that attracts and maintains their following, no matter how staid they really have become. Without breaking the law, can a company be subversive?
JetBlue Airways has an application process in which it asks candidates: "What have you done in your previous job when you broke the rules in order to take better care of the customer?"That's the kind of thing you do to get your people to think out of the box. When I was doing a seminar recently, I asked people in the audience if they had flown JetBlue. Their reactions were awesome. And they mentioned reactions to the people who worked for the company, which illustrates that the brand is more than just advertising. In this case it has to do with human resources.
But your comparison between Elton John and JetBlue sure made me wonder. Hasn't JetBlue challenged an entire industry? Has Elton John?
If you look at the first five years of his career, he didn't challenge. He simply provided a good product. It wasn't until he picked up a tambourine and he went out into the audience and jumped up and down and around the piano, that his natural ability was able to transform him from just another guy with a really good product into a megastar. In that way, he challenged the people who simply stood there on the stage and sang.
Many of the bands you mention in your book, especially the Rolling Stones, have a monstrous baby-boomer following. How much of their success can you chalk up to the power of that consumer demographic versus the actual quality of the brand?
It's both. Research shows that the demographic represents 60 percent of the purchasing power in the U.S. But what's interesting is how the Stones and even Aerosmith are able to transcend, to remain relevant to the young ones. If you go out to the middle schools and high schools, you see the students listening to Jay-Z and Eminem, but you also see them listening to Aerosmith and the Stones.
U2 did some heavy experimenting in the '90s that alienated some of its fan base, but with the 2000 release, All That You Can't Leave Behind, the band won a lot of people back. Do product brands have as much latitude as musicians to find their voices?
Coke got ahead of its fans with New Coke, and it was the consumers who forced bottlers to ask Coke corporate for a return to the old Coke. It was an example of a company not understanding the power of its own brand. The research clearly indicated that as a product New Coke was far better - much more acceptable to the customers than the old Coke - but the company made the mistake of not understanding the emotional connection. When Coke saw its mistake, it reversed it. That's one of the things I like about Wal-Mart. Any firm that big is going to make a lot of mistakes. Especially if you have 1.4 million employees, you're going to have some jerks out there. It's great if you can recognize you made a mistake and then go back and change it.
There are a lot of creative, successful people who simply don't care what the market wants - they just pursue whatever is in their hearts. Can you be a successful rocker that way?
You certainly have the right to play what's in your heart, but don't expect money in your wallet.
Doesn't that discount someone like Bob Dylan? I can't imagine him polling people to figure out what they want before he sits down and writes.
He is always culturally relevant, though. I think people can do it intuitively, but the result can be good or bad. If you have a firm that does everything by research, it'll soar and then have an absolute disaster. In marketing classes, I teach that research won't get you where you want - and that intuition won't either. Both together will likely be more effective.
Do you rock?
I used to play trumpet. But I was recently at a Maroon 5 concert. I rock in the sense that I go and appreciate some of the new acts out there.
GROWING THE FRANCHISE
WHERE DO BRAND-NAME ROCK CELEBRITIES GO NEXT WITH THEIR HOUSEHOLD NAMES? HERE ARE SOME PRODUCTS WE'D LIKE TO SEE. BY SCOTT STEIN
ELTON LONG JOHNS
Long underwear in flashy styles. They'll last a long time, and they're good even when they start to fade.
JACK WHITE-OUT
Erase old marriages easily. You won't even remember if she was your girlfriend, your sister, or your band partner! Corrects mistakes and keeps things crisp, independent, and punky.
STEVEN TYLER'S FACIAL FREEZE
Keep your skin frozen in time with the secret to Aerosmith's success. May cause excess wrinkling and enlargement of the mouth, but once-a-day use will result in a career that's longer than science can explain.
KENNY G'S COMFORTERS
Relax and cuddle up with that special someone in one of these all-down duvets without sharp edges or annoying hooks. Guaranteed to put you to sleep!
THEY MIGHT BE BARBERS!
Let John Linnell and John Flansburgh, the famously quirky They Might Be Giants duo, cut your tresses in these barber shops where you never know what they'll do to your head.
QUEEN LOOFAHS
Enjoy a bath Queen Latifah-style - with a giant loofah that takes no attitude. Sold alone or in a bath set with Queen Exfolitifah and Queen LaToenail Polish.
EMINEM'S REAL SLIM TRAILER HOMES
Get that downtown Detroit feeling in your own 8 Mile getup, streamlined for the open road! Complete with furniture and old food, and a spacious closet full of old baggage that hasn't been dumped out yet.
JUSTIN TIMBERLANDS™
Put on a pair of these celebrity-themed walking shoes and you’ll be hiking with surprising rhythm.
JOHNNY CASH ADVANCE
Any day can be payday! Just walk the line to the Burnin’ Ring of ATMs, and you’ll find Sunday morning coming down with a pocketful of green.
J.LO JELL-O MOLDS
Go ahead, be like Ben: Make it jiggle like J.Lo – with JELL-O! Pour it into an actual mold of Lopez’s famous derriere, let it congigli, and tuck in!
