Bands and brands need loyal fans

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), April, 2004

Most companies spend a lot of time and energy trying to find and keep customers. What they really should be doing, however, is creating fans, indicates Roger Blackwell, professor of marketing, Ohio State University, Columbus. America's staid, button-downed firms would do better by following the path of the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and Madonna. These rock stars, and others like them, have developed a loyal fan base which goes beyond being just customers of music, concerts, and apparel. They are passionate advocates of their favorite musical acts. Companies can develop the same kind of devotion to their brands, says the co-author of Brands That Rock: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the World of Rock and Roll.

"In today's hypercompetitive environment, the most effective marketing strategy is to have your own fans evangelizing to others to become customers and eventually [devotees]," Blackwell explains. For instance, one can see the fans of Abercrombie and Fitch evangelizing by wearing clothing with the company logo. Instead of paying people to advertise, Abercrombie---like other companies such as Nike--have their customers doing the advertising for them.

The goal for both bands and brands is to develop an incredibly strong emotional connection with their users. It may seem strange, but consumers can build emotional attachments to the most unlikely of product--such as cheese. "Velveeta is a brand of cheese that has very loyal [consumers]. It doesn't appeal to everybody, but those who like it buy it over and over again.... Not everyone is a fan of any particular band, and that's okay. And not everyone is going to be a fan of Wal-Mart. That's market segmentation and knowing who your core fans are. You have to make sure you target your efforts to the right people. The process of building brands or bands is to understand the culture you're appealing to and make sure your brand is relevant and reflects that culture. That's how you turn customers into fans."

One of the themes Blackwell emphasizes is that bands and brands do not have to be the best in their category to be successful. They just have to be good. "A great product without personality is never going to be a success," Blackwell concludes. "That's just as big a mistake as having excellent marketing and a poor product."