What Marketers Can Learn from a Rock Concert?

Marketing is everywhere. At least if you are a marketer you can see more than just some ads on billboards or some audio spots in your car. Marketing is on the street, at the post office or in your cellphone. But what about entertainment? Well…there is also some marketing drops and sometimes this field is an inspiration for the curious marketer.

Starting from this I want to talk with you about the 2 points I saw at a rock concert that you should use it your branding strategy:

1. The guy behind the scene.
2. The enthusiasm and passion of their fans.

These two things make me think about a brand’s mechanism. So, about the two things I’ve noticed:

1. The guy behind the scene:

What was he like? Observant at anything happening on the stage. He knew the exact place where every little thing had to be and why. He sat somewhere on the sideline and did not take his eyes off of the artists on the stage. He only needed a look to rearrange the lead singer’s chair or to help the guitar player change his guitar. Before the concert ever started, he walked around the stage like a madman analyzing every little detail and element. [Tweet “The concert did not start until he gave the permission.”]

2. The fans in front of the stage

The concert started with 3 of the band’s hardest songs. People were jumping left and right and gradually higher because the singer’s energy on the stage was moving the fans. When he stopped to breathe, the fans would breathe too. When he exuded energy and volume, the fans went crazy alongside him. The band was pumping energy into their fans and in return they were giving back energy. It was a win-win situation. I give you something, you give me something back!

The same could be told about a brand’s life.

A behind the scene guy is needed. Sometimes that role is taken by the brand manager or the brand consultant and he’s up to date with everything that’s moving on the “stage” of the brand. Nothing moves before he approves the next step, the next “song”, the next “pause”. A brand manager has to breathe the brand and know the brand at a deeper level then the brand‘s manual or the seasonal campaign. He is the one making the brand and what’s happening on the stage. Without this behind the scene guy (brand manager) the song wouldn’t sound as good, and fans would not be satisfied by the performance. And here’s where the fans of the band come in.

We’ve all heard this expression from different artist “without our fans we would be nothing”. That is true. The equation is simple. The fan is the one buying the album, the one evangelizing the band’s name, the voice of the band among his friends. The fan is the one I (as a band) cannot live without. If I don’t have any fans, I don’t have any money! Is that simple. Just the same can be said about branding, the fan must be “fed” so that he buys my product, evangelizes my brand and becomes the voice of my brand. Anywhere! A fan on Facebook, on the bus, among his friends. The fan is the one dancing to the music the brand makes.

Questions in conclusions:

Is your brand manager a behind the scene guy or does he prefer being in front of the scene?
Are your brand’s fans dancing to the music your brand makes, or are they just sitting a table drinking beer?

P.S. By the way, if you are in the music industry you need to read this article from Gary Vaynerchuk – Business Advice for Aspiring Musicians