Books That Are Cool: The Brand Gap

Brand_Gap

The Brand Gap is a dope short read that thoroughly describes what a brand is and “How to bridge the distance between business strategy and design.” The book is full of interesting images and examples to keep your attention (a 3rd grader could read and understand this book). If you can’t finish this book, you might want to check this video out.

Through my adventures in the world of the music business and marketing, the number one most misused/overused word has to be BRAND/BRANDING. People use it in the most ridiculous ways by considering random things brands when they’re actually just random things. For example, the mom and pop resturant on my block is not a brand. But the brand gap clearly explains what a brand is and how branding plays a part in creating a business strategy.

They mad a cool powerpoint version of the book too. Check it out below:


The Brand Gap –

Dope Ad: Volkswagen Commercial “The Force”

Volkswagen Commercial: The Force

Kinda late on this but the new tv ad from Volkswagen is amazing on several levels.

1. Its touching: I cried when I saw it (not really but close)

2. None of the actors said a word during the entire commercial and the message was still communicated load and clear (that speaks to the brand strength of Volkswagon and especially Star Wars.

3. The commercial connected with people in way that made them spread the ad around the internet with the ad being the most viral commercial before the Super Bowl ever.

Pac Div Is Back!!!

Just starting to get geared up on the Pac Div campaign for their debut album “Grown Kids Syndrome”. Pac Div is easily one of the favorite projects I’ve ever worked in terms of being able to be creative and think outside the Box. Today we dropped the teaser for their new mixtape “Mania!”, check it out below. And stay tuned for updates, as we go in on the Pac Div campaign.

Nike Basketball: “The Black Mamba” Campaign (Teasers)

Kobe The Black Mamba

So it looks like Nike Basketball is back at it with their new “Black Mamba” campaign. Nike has been leaking 30 sec teasers for their “Black Mamba” short film produced by Robert Rodriguez. I’m a huge fan of teasers as a marketing tool but these teasers are wack for a few reasons.

1. The teasers are way too over the top. I know they’re doing that to be funny but it comes across as corny.

2. The teasers feature Kobe as a competitive basketball star going up against a team of basketball monsters. I feel like I’ve heard that story before… oh yeah… Space Jam with Michael Jordan. People are already tired of Kobe trying to be like MJ and this will probably piss people off more.

3. The cameos in the teaser suck. You have a washed up action hero (Bruce Willis), a great musician but terrible actor (Kanye West) and the random guy from the Machete movie. I used to Nike commercials having people like Chris Rock, Tyra Banks, Spike Lee, etc…

4. And finally who thought it would be a good idea to put Kobe Bryant in a short film. He has no personality and he’s about as interesting as a cardboard box.

I loved the MVP Puppets from last year but I think Nike dropped the ball this year with this “Black Mamba” campaign. This campaign is almost as bad as the Nike Football “Boom” campaign. Checkout the teasers below and judge for yourself:

Trailer 1 (Featuring the guy from the Machete movie)

Trailer 2 (Featuring Bruce Willis & Kanye West)

Artist Branding?

artist branding

Artist Have to stick out in a sea of monotony

While working in the music business I come across hot buzz words/phrases ALL THE TIME and one of the hot buzzwords for the moment is “Artist Branding”. People are always telling the artist that they need build, promote, and protect “your brand” but unfortunately most of the people using this term really don’t know what it means (because they’re usually talking out of their ass).

So what exactly is a brand?

A great book that I read not too long by the Name of “The Brand Gap” explains it like this:

The perception of a product, service, experience. Its a gut feeling. Its a gut feeling because in the end the brand is defined by individuals not by companies or markets.

What does that mean for artist?

For an artist, their brand is determined by the consistency of their persona and the continuos quality of their music, which leads to the overall gut feeling that music fans get. Regardless of what genre of music an artist delves into, the feel is the same and you can tell its the artist at first listen. For example, the rap group Outkast… Andre 3000 and Big Boi change their look and sound every time they release an album but no matter how many times they change, the music quality and personas stay consistant. Kanye West is another artist that has tried a variety of different musical directions but you never once questioned who you were listening to. Kanye’s music is always fresh and new but still Kanye.

Kanye West Album Covers

On the other hand you have an artist like Common that completely mislead his audience with the release of his 5th album Electric Circus . Electric Circus alienated some of Common’s most loyal fans because the album no longer “felt” like the Common they had grown to love. Common’s original sound was built from dope hip hop drums and samples but as soon as his music became regimented and mechanical, he lost his fans.

How does an artist determine what their brand is?

In order for an artist to recognize and successfully promote their brand, they must have a great sense of self-knowing. They must know who they are, where they came from, and where they’re going. They must know what they like and don’t like, and what they stand for and why. And they must have an inherent feel for their sound and what works for them. After they have all of that squared away, they must have the strength to fight for their vision and not succumb to the pressure of a record label, manager or quite possibly their fans.

Before I end let me leave you with this, the artist’s brand is their identity: how they dress, make music, communicate with fans, make videos, perform at shows, etc. All of those elements put together creates the DNA of the artist A.K.A. the brand of the artist. Don’t Fuck It Up. Pay attention.

That’s not all there is to their brands, but it’s a big part. Stay tuned for more post on artist branding…