Why Rock Bands Sell More
March 7, 2010
I bank with Wells Fargo. There is a branch across the street with a great staff. I don't know if this is true across all Wells Fargo locations, but these guys are cool. They dress cool and act cool, with quirky personalities, non-banking fashion, and a relaxed but still professional attitude. Banking there is a lot like buying coffee from Dutch Brothers. In short, I look forward to my visits to that branch.
After recent visits to both Wells Fargo and Dutch Brothers, this thought struck me: The more you act like a rock band, the more you will sell.
Disclaimer: By "rock band", I mean a real rock band. This eliminates Nickleback, Creed, and most 80s hair bands.
The reasons are pretty simple …
- Rock bands are cool. A key driver of self-interest of most people is to be cool - and be perceived as cool. But a rock band actually has to be cool - otherwise you end up on a reality show with eye-liner left over from the 80s (Yes, I'm talking about you, Bret Michaels)
- Great rock bands are forever relevant. Who doesn't want to be relevant? A thousand years from now, Elvis, The Beatles, and Nirvana will still be relevant.
- Rock bands are quirky. This means they stand out. As I have loudly proclaimed, conformity is not a brand strategy.
- Rock bands are interesting. Why do you think they have groupies? And what brand doesn't want groupies?
- Rock bands are good at what they do - and know it. Some purists bang on Green Day for being sell-outs but you don't last 20 years and sell millions of albums by sucking.
- The best rock bands work really hard to earn respect rather than purchase it. They tour constantly, interact with fans, and consistently produce great music - see above.
There are many other reasons rock bands are cool, but the above examples can be applied to any organization. But most don't. Most brands are content with conformity; or they fear change. So they play marketing's version of karaoke or Guitar Hero - copying other brands, singing other people's songs - pretending to sing and play.
So for those brands like my friends at the Bannock Street Wells Fargo in Boise and Dutch Brother coffee kiosks, this is for you:
For those about to rock, we salute you!
We rock at dawn on the front line
Like a bolt right out of the blue
The sky's alight with the guitar bite
Heads will roll and rock tonight!
Like a bolt right out of the blue
The sky's alight with the guitar bite
Heads will roll and rock tonight!
FIND ME:
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LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/agencyunderground
SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/brandmilitia Remember: conformity is not a branding strategy!
Blog: http://justinfoster.posterous.com/
Twitter:http://twitter.com/brandmilitia
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JustinFoster
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/agencyunderground
SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/brandmilitia Remember: conformity is not a branding strategy!
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