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David Maister, one of the worlds leading experts posed a question on his blog this week asking his readers for insights.

One of his hobblies is pop music – and he has some questions that he thought could elude to some interesting business lessons and how we might be more effective marketeers.

You can find his questions here. 

Here is my response to David’s questions……

a) Firstly Madonna and what can we learn from her lasting success? 

I see Madonna’s brand being that of change.  Her fans follow her as they have come to expect that she will constantly re-invent herself and be on the leading edge. 

This is what she has achieved with every album she has released.  How many people do you know can go from the image she created and some of the stage shows of the 1990’s then be an acclaimed children’s author!

All strong brands are consistent and Madonna’s brand is consistent in changing.

To stay the same would disappoint her fans I am sure.

b) The dichotomy between ‘hip’ and ‘professional’ and Lennon and McCartney…..

The Beatles in their time were certainly considered to be hip and trendsetters.  I wonder who truly was the centre of influence for the brand they created – my money is on John Lennon.

When Paul McCartney then formed ‘Wings’ the style of music and the image was very different – it probably left a few Beatles fans wondering if ‘Wings’ was for them. 

I am guessing that Paul’s personal brand was much more aligned to ‘Wings’ – he and Lennon had different personal brands. 

In an business context the personal brand of the business leader does impact how investors perceive the credibility of the organisation and it’s reputation as has been proven time and again through research.

At the end of the day, the CEO must create a corporate brand that he can represent fully – look at Jack Welch and Steve Jobs – both very successful leaders with different styles, but both attractors of great talent with people who love to work with and for them because of what they stand for.

The question for us as business leaders is therefore what do we stand for?  Why would people want work and follow you as Paul McCartney was able to create a following?  If what you stand for is not in alignment with the organisation what action will you take?  Do you too set up your ‘own band’ or business or move to an organisation where you will be in alignment.

c) Abba, the Beach Boys and the Bee Gees – not everyone will admit to having them in their collection but millions do! 

Marks and Spencers and Ford could be considered in the same way – mid market brands that deliver what they promise consistently.  The fact is, they are brands that are conservative and play it safe – as a result they tap into a mass market but not for a premium price.

Being hip may not attract the mass market which often means that these brands position themselves at a premium price and therefore also being considered as exclusive and elite and we know there are consumers that will be attracted merely by these last two characteristics. 

In fact I can’t think of any brands that are hip and a trend setting at a low price.

In fact once the brand is becomes mainstream, many of these consumers will choose another brand – think about the ‘in crowd’ that follows the new restaurants and bars that open up in any city.  Those ‘trend setters’ are not loyal consumers in the long term but can get your business on the map.

d) The Eagles Greatest Hits 

For my mind they have been successful because their music is again generic enough to capture a mass audience. 

Compiling the greatest hits together – or in fact any greatest hit compilations gives the consumer and customer what the want – all the best bits.

Perhaps we can learn from this as we think about how we package our services and products.  Which of our products and solutions are the most popular and how could they be packaged together to increase revenues? 

The greatest hits albums are a great model for us to replicate – they leverage the content or the song so that from the album you get the single, remixes, extended mixes and then the greatest hits compilation. 

How can we leverage our business?  For professional services it might look something like a one to one consultation with a client turns into a post on a blog, then into a podcast, an online article, extending into a white paper, which becomes a breakfast meeting, a day long workshop, a three day event through to a lucrative consulting project or even licensing or franchising our model. 

5) The cultural wave.

I think there are some groups that shape the culture and some that then adopt, adapt and apply themselves to leverage it. 

Those that try to shape it sometimes get unstuck as it’s a challenging job looking to shift consumer behaviour and even with a massive marketing budget and years of research it can still go horribly wrong. 

Think back to the new product that Coke created – a new taste for Coke in the mid 1980’s which was taken off the market within 3 months of launch, loosing them credibility, millions of dollars from years of R&D and then the advertising and marketing budget and market share to Pepsi.

I recently watched a documentary about ‘Blondie’ and how they caught the cultural wave.  They adopted and adapted what was going on in the underground music scene in the 1970’s and early 1980’s and integrated that – from punk, to disco and rap – then bringing it mainstream to a broad audience through their own songs.

The strongest brands will adapt and change over time.  As an example the washing up liquid ‘Fairy’ a leading household cleaner in the UK market by Procter and Gamble. 

They have developed a brand that has remained relevant over time, upgrading it’s formula and creating brand extensions over the last 45 years meeting the needs of the consumers of today and with a different tone to it’s above the line advertising so it is contemporary and of it’s time.