I’ve been to a few local live bands that I can say have amazing talent. You know the local ones that you’re positive they will go somewhere with their career? But then comes the hard part. How do you get to the next level? How do you consistently get paid for playing music? You must re-think your industry.
When you ask the majority of up and coming artists they reply, “oh we have a CD coming out soon, I sure hope you’ll buy it!” I want to be supportive but I also want to be realistic. I haven’t purchased a CD IN TEN YEARS! Why are they still making CD’s? I know there are exceptions to the rule and some CD’s still sell but have they ever thought about researching their own market before? Ever tried to understand how others in their situation have grown their own music business? I can guarantee you it did not happen by selling CD’s.
In Chris Anderson’s book Free: The Future of a Radical New Price it explains that if the price to duplicate something is relatively free (as in a music file) then eventually it will be free. Young musicians needs to understand this and adapt accordingly. You’re going to reach exponentially more people by offering a free download than by trying to charge for a CD. The difficult part is putting monetary gain second and your fans first.
I’m not saying most artists are money hungry, they just need to understand their industry better. They need to have a following, groupies, a tribe on their side that wants to tell the World about their music then give them to tools to do so. Enabling this group to spread their music as well as finding innovative ways to make money not by selling CD’s is the new way to re-think your music career.
It’s been almost three years since Radiohead shook up the music scene with a “name your own price” album which turned out to be their most successful in history (including two Grammy awards). It is difficult to compare yourself to Radiohead, but doing something innovative on a large scale is much more difficult then changing your band’s marketing strategy right now.
So, how would you market your band if you had one?
Vehicle wraps are quickly becoming a great alternative to billboards and other awareness type mediums and for good reason. The vehicle is seen in many different places, depending on how much it is driven, and it works because it is different.
This post isn’t to decide if the car wraps themselves are effective but more importantly the car behind the wrap, and what message it’s portraying.
Do you want your brand to be displayed on a luxury car to give your business a “high-end” type feel? Or do you wrap an entry level vehicle to show the world you are frugal and manage money well? A GM to support the automakers? Or a foreign car that’s going to be reliable for years? Some vehicles are for functionality, others are to stand out, and some need to be able to hold an entertainment centre in the rear so an SUV is the obvious choice.
My gut says I like the luxury car but there’s something to say about companies that purchase an economy line.
Is there a perfect choice? Probably a Prius to show your company has a small carbon footprint. On that note, what do you think about everyone jumping on the Hummer band wagon a few years back? What kind of impression of your company are you making?
It’s growing in popularity so it would be nice to come to a conclusion on which is better, luxury or economy, what do you think? (click the links for some examples)
If your job wasn’t to market your company anymore but to market a Super Hero instead, what would you change? What would you do differently? Try for a minute as a thought exercise to put yourself in the shoes of a Super Hero marketer.
Pick one, Batman, Ironman, Superman, Wonder-women or Wolverine, which ever you like, you are now their marketing manager. What does the super hero want out of this? (What is their goal?) Who’s your target? How can you get to them? How do you tell people about a Super Hero?
This shouldn’t be that difficult; after all it is a Super Hero right? The storey’s already “sticky” all you have to do is encourage it, right?
If all businesses were like this then we wouldn’t need to market them to the extent we do today. If the story’s good enough it will spread won’t it? Thus saving money on advertising. One could come to a conclusion that maybe you shouldn’t be focusing your efforts on marketing so much but on transforming your business into a Super Hero.
Want your company to look good? Want people to look up to your brand? Want people to say, “Wow, what a sexy brand!” Unless you are Richard Branson, you’re company’s brand isn’t that sexy. Don’t fret there is a solution.
At a recent Chamber of Commerce presentation I was attending, there was a small committee waiting to greet me immediately as I walked in. This wasn’t your regular Wal-mart greeter, far from it. Later I found out it was the DirectWest Street team, four great looking individuals begging to show me something on my phone, how could I resist? I learned how to do a local search on my phones browser, useful for a person like me or anyone that doesn’t carry a phone book on their hip. The interesting part is I’ve seen this service offered on a billboard before but never tried it out, until that day.
Involving your brand with young, beautiful people is a great way to better the brands perception, you can’t help but smile when talking to these folks. In Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink he talks about how good looking people are easier to talk to and much easier remembered, our first impression of these people is almost always positive, why not use this to your brands advantage?
Captive Audience understands this, being the pioneer of street teams in the Regina area, they are doing more of this and for good reason. Because we remember interactions with the street team. I don’t have to listen to a billboard, a TV commercial or any advertisement for that matter, I am great at ignoring (we all are) but you try say no to a good looking person, it is VERY difficult. This is why this type of guerilla advertising will grow, it’s effective and a much better alternative to mass media.
So the next time you want to get your message across, use a street team, you’re helping your brand out more than you think.
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