Bizlife Smarts

Brand connection is an interesting and complex beast. I keep wondering whether companies today understand the connection to their audiences. Some of the so-called world’s leading “brands” still try to communicate to their audiences in the old school way. I’m not going to name names, as it will alienate many and put a target on my forehead, but you know them.

The old brands existed in simpler times. They built platforms of connection with consumers from their product type, to manufacturing, to distribution, to marketing; with little consumer choice. You will recall:

• Ford Model T: Henry Ford stating that, ‘Any customer can have a car in any colour that he wants, so long as it is black’, to facilitate mass production, affordability, quality and reliability.
• Reader’s Digest: A monthly periodical with one interesting and timely story for each day of the month…when publishers held all the power of information.
• Tide detergent (1950s): Their advertising slogan was, ‘Tide’s got what women want! – No other washing product known, will get your wash as clean as Tide.’ Is that what 1950s women really wanted?!

That was an era when a product selling it’s functional superiority was sufficient. But in this day and age, which is superior: Apple or Samsung, BMW or Mercedes, Gucci or Louis Vuitton? We must also ask ourselves, where did Victoria’s Secret, The Gap, Hewlett-Packard and Blackberry go so wrong?

So, what am I getting at?

Have you ever heard the expression, ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’? All too often, brands try to achieve that and get it wrong. When Aristotle coined this phrase, I believe he was referring to synergy and teamwork. The context to which it has now been juxtaposed in marketing jargon is just that: palaver! The different instruments in harmony in a band make the music better. The different players and skills on a team can make it a winner. But you cannot make a product more than it really is. And products will keep getting it wrong until they wake up to this fact.

We see brands like Coca-Cola, that believed their connection to consumers was that they were more a magic connection tonic than a soft drink, but then fail in areas outside of carbonated soft drinks. The Gap, which was avant-garde as a badge for college kids and young-at-heart older generations, began to fail when they began to compromise on quality, which was their underpinning value. And it’s not just Coca-Cola and The Gap; but McDonald’s, Facebook, Heineken, Dell, MTV, Citi… the list is long! https://www.marketingdive.com/news/relive-the-years-6-biggest-brand-fails-they-carry-important-lessons-for/542645/.

Some infamous product blunders

And that’s just the brands. What about the product “innovations” that they’ve tried?!

• Glass from Google, and Thump from Oakley: Talk about uncool and the resultant cultural backlash.
• Disposable underwear and pantyhose from Bic, and Astropants from Lulu Lemon: Thanks but no thanks. I want to keep my privates, just that… private!
• Bicycles from Smith & Wesson, and hoverboards from various manufactures: Putting hoverboards on the same danger list as handguns makes more sense than a gunmaker making a bike.
• Playbook from Blackberry, and Zune from Microsoft: Talk about completely missing the boat on the basic needs and requirements of your consumer. (I’m particularly bitter about this one, because I was a Playbook first adopter – what a nightmare!).
• Lip balm from Cheetos, and Cologne from Harley-Davidson (I kid you not): Okay, someone must have gotten fired for those ones.

Lack of understanding of their essence

We had sometime back outlined an element of this issue: https://bizlifesmarts.com/biz-built-to-last.

Many brands either forget what made them great. They try to evolve over time into what they truly are not, simply losing their way in the changing times. With the changing face of media, consumer segmentation and shifting power dynamics of consumerism, many brands try to be too cool, too progressive and too emotionally connected, and only end up misconnecting (is there such a word?). In this day and age, when every word and action is put under the microscope, it is easy for brands to damage their connections and reputations; both by trying too hard, by misreading their audience, or through plain stuff ups. https://www.marketingdive.com/news/relive-the-years-6-biggest-brand-fails-they-carry-important-lessons-for/542645/

Brands that endure are those that understand their essence, and sustain that connection of their essence with their consumers. We scratched the surface in https://bizlifesmarts.com/enduring-spirit-or-dinosaur. The lessons of connection can be learned from brands that have been able to evolve with the times, while retaining the essence of what they are meant to be. Sports and music are two categories that show us how to build and maintain connections in a rapidly evolving society.

Sports and music: the power of connection

If I were to ask you why your connection to Michael Jordan is superlative, to Beyoncé is phenomenal, to Jay-Z transcends Hip-Hop and to Madonna is ageless; you probably couldn’t describe it. Are they flawed characters? Yes. Are there comparable figures in their respective fields who are similarly accomplished, and yet were never as great a brand, nor endured as long? Yes. So what can other consumer brands learn from them in this day and age.

Sports connection

I won’t bore you by cracking that age-old cliché of, “sports bridges all boundaries”! Whilst true, here there is a singular gold standard. Connection that outlives and evolves from what originally made it great. It’s the reason that the saying, ‘The Michael Jordan of…’, has become a colloquialism for so much that exudes supreme greatness.

Brand Jordan

The skinny little kid from North Carolina translated that 1982 championship winning shot, into one of athletics’ and fashion’s strongest brands, driven by the greatest sports player of all time. And contrary to Donald J. Trump’s edict, he wasn’t just a dumb jock who should simply “shut up and dribble”. He not only became the richest former athlete ever, but broke into the top 500 of the richest Americans, and going. On his back, the Jordan brand alone not only props up 10% of Nike’s market value, but it’s halo effect probably drives considerably more of Nike’s overall brand value.

The numbers that make the brand

What Michael has done to sustain the Jordan brand to continually increasing heights, is to sit on an indomitable pedestal, without alienating any audience. His spirit that underpins the brand has always been grounded in mythicism, while resonating with everyone. Now, those sound like a bunch of contradictory concepts; and let me confuse you more. They say, don’t try and be all things to all men. However, brand Jordan has bucked that and appealed across all divides, while sticking to a singular vision and ethos. Simply stick to the core of your brand identity, and let all your fans aspire to identify with you.

The brand’s following is neither Black, nor White; male, nor female; young, nor old; Democrat, nor Republican; Christian, nor Jewish, nor Muslim; athlete, nor non-athlete. It’s almost like we believe that the Jordan brand can makes us better than we really are, as mere mortals. It’s like, by wearing brand Jordan gear, we “want to be like Mike!”. If you’re an aspirational brand, never be pedestrian.

The rest of the pack

No brand in any category does it better, and no athlete ever has or ever will; not Ali, not Serena, not Tiger, not Lebron, not Ronaldo. The Jordan brand is more valuable two decades after his retirement (us Jordan purists don’t consider his “ownership pursuit” years with the Washington Wizards as active playing days), than when he was an active player. However, every athlete on this list, connects better with their support base, than most products. They will always be supported by that loyal base, because they always remain true to what drove them to greatness.

Music Artists’ connection

In the “good” 😄 old days, popular music artists simply survived off their record/ tape/ CD sales, with concert performances being occasional and a special treat for fans. But when was the last time you saw a record/ CD store, let alone a CD itself on sale?! As streaming has replaced CDs as the main product for music artists to earn a living, many artists are struggling and starving. However, some of them have built and sustained their brand connection to continue to generate their revenue streams. https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/how-do-singers-make-money-here-are-8-ways/. Artists who believe that music sales alone will put food on their table, are deluded. Artists have to diversify these revenue streams, work harder and decode the complex, conventional earning models. Understanding what resonates and drives their audiences is essential to engaging them properly, both emotionally and commercially.

As album/ CD sales have become secondary, and as consumers have gained the power in determining choice, across all sectors, the game has changed drastically. It’s no longer about one-way power and control, but about partnership and mutual understanding. This understanding of the shifting consumer dynamics, has made successful artists control their product and content themselves, and not leave it to album labels, the media or any 3rd party. That is what many conventional consumer products, like the ones previously listed, have failed to grasp. It’s not that the following artists have been without error, nor made massive blunders; they just learned from those mistakes to perfect their brand connection.

Madonna, Jay-Z and Beyoncé

From pop in the 80s; R&B in the 90s; Hip-hop and R&B in the 00s; to alternative pop, eclectic, R&B and Hip-hop in the 10s; I only have two words for Madonna, Jay-Z and Beyoncé: adaptability and longevity! With 38 years, 25 years and 23 years respectively since they first hit it big, these three music artists are the epitome of musical connection over the ages. I could have chosen a whole host of successful, enduring music artists, but The Material Girl, Hova and Queen Bey are so much more exciting as examples than Julio Iglesias, Celine Dion or Paul McCartney,;who have done it just as well, if not better. https://ledgernote.com/blog/interesting/top-10-richest-musicians-in-the-world/. As album sales become a minor part of a music artist’s bread and butter, all these artists connected with the real needs of their audiences, to keep on being successful, maintaining their brand relevance and making money.

Madonna

Of Madonna’s 671 career concert tour dates, 161 have been in the last 4 years. That’s 24% of her tours, in 11% of her career; and that’s in the latter part, as she crossed the threshold of 60 years old! Alongside that, Madonna has always been an avant-garde trendsetter, so her forays into movies, fashion and music label ownership, have suited her brand perfectly, as she has aged.

Despite senior citizenship fast approaching, Madonna’s persona represents young at heart. From her dress sense, to her stage performances, to her boyfriends and lifestyle. She has thus been able to attract a youth audience, while still carrying her audiences of yore along with her.

Jay-Z

You would have been laughed off the stage in the 90s, if you had said that rappers would still resonate into their middle age years. As a lifelong urban sports fanatic, at 50, not only does Jiggy own Roc Nation Entertainment and Roc Nation Sports, but he reinvents himself with every album he releases coming out of unretirement (is that even a word?).

Not only has he become an entrepreneurial leader in Hip-hop, but he’s averaged 51 concerts a year in the last decade, which comprises 69% of his 732 career concerts. Hova has not only maintained his ability to “run this town”, but his connection as Hip-hop culture leading light, and “elder statesman”, has made his brand appeal grow.

Beyoncé

Beyoncé is definitely destiny’s child and has kept it tight as her career has progressed. Her persona, and being the most inspiring of stage performers, enabled her to channel her on-stage alter ego, Sasha Fierce, into the Queen Bey nation. Whether she has an album released on or not, she connects so tightly with her audience, that they themselves channel their connection with her, both on and off the stage. Her style has enabled her to extend her brand into fashion, while continuing her relentless touring schedule.

Her evolution

Is Beyoncé a Queen Bey, bee, or a butterfly? Just as her husband Hova, revitalizes his brand through his “unretirements”, she metamorphoses her brand when it most needs rejuvenation. Her career reboots have included:

• 2001 – 2003: Separation from Destiny’s Child, amidst internal group turmoil, to launch her solo and movie careers.
• 2008 -2010: Introduced us to Sasha Fierce, to differentiate her on-stage from her off-stage personae.
• 2012 -2013: Becomes the “all-woman”, by showing that a woman can do it all: A mother, a wife, an actress, and the hottest music artist in the world, all at the same time.
• 2013 – 2014: The Mrs. Carter World Tour made her the Queen Bee and was where she put her imprint on being the all-world woman. Few understood that “Mrs. Carter” wasn’t subservient, but was just being the total woman.
• 2018 – now: She not only has the universal connection of the can’t-miss music artist, but has become a symbol of empowered women of colour; particularly amongst Gen Xers and Millenials.

Her seminal ‘Mrs. Carter Show World Tour’, saw her transform into the commanding artist that she is today, where she (pardon the pun) controls her own destiny in every aspect. The 7 years since that colossal 132 show, 2013/14 tour kicked off, have seen her perform over half of her concerts of her 17 year solo career.

Human connection and adaptability

In essence, sports and music icons with longevity have learned that brand connections are sustained by living in the milieu of their audiences and fans, and thus feeling their pulse. It’s about human connection leading to understanding of your audiences and consumers. They are not just numbers and inanimate objects. You can’t just manage your brand by 3rd party reports and from an ivory tower, but must truly live the lives of your audience.

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