Kiss is both a memorable band and an enduring brand. This presentation -- which contains detailed speaker notes -- shares how Kiss combined visual storytelling, theater, community, merchandising, and compelling music to influence the way musicians build their own brands today. This presentation will appeal to any marketer who seeks a fresh perspective on branding. The presentation discusses how present-day stars such as Lady Gaga and Kanye West have applied ideas Kiss pioneered 40 years ago. My special thanks to John Hensler of Sunken Anchor Media for applying your design expertise on this presentation.
A presentation I gave on Generation Y and Music during the Gen Y AIMIA forum on Thursday 22nd October. It looks at how Gen Y are defined by music, as well as some great collaborations between brands and bands.
Matthew Hawn - "Do Labels Still Matter?" - sounds digitalMatthew Hawn
Presentation for X|Media Lab's Sounds Digital conference on 16th April, 2009 at Sadler's Wells in London.
http://www.xmedialab.com/
jukevox.tumblr.com
twitter: @jukevox
The popularity of vinyl reminds us that analog and digital coexist comfortably amid ongoing hype over VR and the metaverse. Record album covers continue to endure as a cross-channel expression of a musician’s art, arguably even better than they did in analog age. In the pre-digital days of yore, album covers flourished in record stores and perhaps on billboards and merchandise depending on how popular a musician was. But now, album cover art creates a visual touchstone that carries over on websites, social media, and everywhere else a fan and artist find each other. Artists can re-interpret themselves with multiple versions of the same cover (as Olivia Rodrigo did with “GUTS” and Lana Del Rey with “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd”) and drop album cover art as its own event in advance of the actual album. In 2023, the most memorable album covers were compelling expressions of the human condition. Kara Jackson pierces the viewer with her observant gaze, hinting at the heart-rending melancholia that suffuses the music inside her debut album “Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?” Olivia Rodrigo’s coy expression speaks of the confident self-assurance of an artist coming into her own on her sophomore album. The striking cover of Caroline Polachek’s “Desire, I Want to Turn into You” focuses on her powerful, ravenous gaze as she crawls on the floor of a subway. At a time when the emergence of generative AI is reshaping the landscape of entertainment, 2023’s most memorable covers collectively assert that although AI can do many things, art is a distinctly human expression of the soul.
Check out this overview of the most memorable album cover art of 2022. The first three slides contain speaker notes. Album covers played an important role creating a foundation for major music events in 2022, such as the launch of Taylor Swift's "Midnights." My overview shares some of those notable creative moments.
A presentation I gave on Generation Y and Music during the Gen Y AIMIA forum on Thursday 22nd October. It looks at how Gen Y are defined by music, as well as some great collaborations between brands and bands.
Matthew Hawn - "Do Labels Still Matter?" - sounds digitalMatthew Hawn
Presentation for X|Media Lab's Sounds Digital conference on 16th April, 2009 at Sadler's Wells in London.
http://www.xmedialab.com/
jukevox.tumblr.com
twitter: @jukevox
The popularity of vinyl reminds us that analog and digital coexist comfortably amid ongoing hype over VR and the metaverse. Record album covers continue to endure as a cross-channel expression of a musician’s art, arguably even better than they did in analog age. In the pre-digital days of yore, album covers flourished in record stores and perhaps on billboards and merchandise depending on how popular a musician was. But now, album cover art creates a visual touchstone that carries over on websites, social media, and everywhere else a fan and artist find each other. Artists can re-interpret themselves with multiple versions of the same cover (as Olivia Rodrigo did with “GUTS” and Lana Del Rey with “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd”) and drop album cover art as its own event in advance of the actual album. In 2023, the most memorable album covers were compelling expressions of the human condition. Kara Jackson pierces the viewer with her observant gaze, hinting at the heart-rending melancholia that suffuses the music inside her debut album “Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?” Olivia Rodrigo’s coy expression speaks of the confident self-assurance of an artist coming into her own on her sophomore album. The striking cover of Caroline Polachek’s “Desire, I Want to Turn into You” focuses on her powerful, ravenous gaze as she crawls on the floor of a subway. At a time when the emergence of generative AI is reshaping the landscape of entertainment, 2023’s most memorable covers collectively assert that although AI can do many things, art is a distinctly human expression of the soul.
Check out this overview of the most memorable album cover art of 2022. The first three slides contain speaker notes. Album covers played an important role creating a foundation for major music events in 2022, such as the launch of Taylor Swift's "Midnights." My overview shares some of those notable creative moments.
The resurgence of vinyl has cast a spotlight on album cover art. Album sleeve design plays an important role in expressing the musician’s vision and creating a visual impression. Album sleeves sometimes make the artist more culturally relevant. The memorable covers of 2020 expressed the times we live in. The album sleeve for Taylor Swift’s "Folklore" captured the essence of social distancing and a newfound longing for nature that led to skyrocketing visits to national parks during the pandemic. SAULT’s "Untitled (Black Is)," with its simple upraised fist, symbolized Black empowerment during a time of social upheaval. But there was plenty of room for artistic expression on its own terms. The goofy design of Fiona Apple’s "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" reflected a bit of whimsy, mystery, and arch sense of humor that has defined her work for years. For more memorable album covers of 2020, check out my presentation. I hope you like it.
The memorable album covers of 2019 consist of fierce, uncompromising self-portraits. On "Cuz I Love You," Lizzo presents her nude self as a fully realized woman exuding power and grace. "Cuz I Love You" is an important statement of body positivity, and one that Lizzo made often throughout 2019. On the other hand, the striking close-up of Jenny Lewis’s torso on the cover of "On the Line" invites curiosity by what it reveals and does not reveal – her bare arms and cleavage complementing a glitzy dress that evokes vintage Las Vegas (in fact, the dress is an homage to one that her mother wore when she performed in 1970s Las Vegas). Both Lizzo and Jenny Lewis capture images of artists in control of their own bodies, sharing what they want on her own terms. For more memorable album covers from 2019, check out my presentation.
2018 witnessed a bumper crop of works created by LGBTQ musicians, perhaps most notably by Janelle Monáe, whose Grammy-nominated Dirty Computer created a public forum for Monáe to announce her pansexuality. The album cover art of LGBTQ artists was as intensely personal as their music. This SlideShare showcases some memorable examples.
Don’t let anyone tell you album covers are dead. Album artwork continues to express the personal visions of artists and the musical content of the albums themselves as powerfully as covers did in the era of album oriented rock. My round-up of memorable album covers of 2017 reflects a year in which artists made compelling political and personal statements. The presentation contains detailed speaker notes. Check it out and let me know about your favorites.
Visual storytelling through album cover art is alive and well. The best album covers of 2016 act as visual touch points across the online and offline worlds, creating powerful statements about musicians and their visions. The enclosed deck contains detailed speaker notes explaining what makes each selected cover memorable. In 2016, an album cover can do more for an artist than it could in the days of album-oriented rock because there are so many channels and devices where the cover can capture our attention. Enjoy these selections and tell me about yours.
Take 2 minutes out of your day and enjoy a quick overview of some of the most memorable album cover art of 2015. The first few slides contain speaker notes.
Within the first four months of 2015, musicians ranging from Bjork to Father John Misty have provided ample evidence that album cover art retains its power to provoke and inspire. This presentation contains 10 examples to get your design juices flowing.
Memorable Album Covers of 2014: The Self-PortraitsDavid Deal
The album cover remains a powerful way for artists to visualize their music and their personalities, even as album sales continue to drop. In 2014, we witnessed a plethora of artists using album covers to sell their own images as well as their music to potential music buyers. "Memorable Album Covers of 2014: The Self-Portraits," provides compelling examples of how artists revaled their faces to the world via pictures that ranged from the surreal to the sensual. The presentation contains speaker notes.
How Coachella Makes an Exclusive Brand More AccessibleDavid Deal
How do you make an exclusive brand a bit more accessible without damaging your mystique? Luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton wrestle with this issue all the time especially as they court younger audiences who are on the cusp of being affluent. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival offers an approach by using digital to open up an elite experience to a broader audience. This presentation -- which contains detailed speaker notes -- discusses how Coachella creates a digital community (especially via a YouTube livestream) without compromising the appeal in-person event. As it turns out, digital creates a powerful network of brand ambassadors for Coachella.
Love her. Hate her. And learn from her. Miley Cyrus has learned how to engage and hold fan interest in a society that suffers from mass ADD. All that twerking, smirking, tongue wagging, and singing attracts our attention -- and her music keeps us listening. This presentation discusses five reasons why her brand is getting bigger, including her ability to collaborate with others, her mastery of social media, her strength as a visual artist, and the enduring appeal of her pop music. This presentation contains detailed speaker notes.
Five Lessons Musicians Can Learn from BeatlemaniaDavid Deal
Was Beatlemania simply a product of its time, or can artists today learn anything from the meteoric rise of the Fab Four 50 years ago? My new presentation shares five lessons artists and marketers can learn from Beatlemania, such as the importance of courting influencers and rising above the critics. This presentation contains speaker notes.
The NFL needs brash personalities such as Richard Sherman to keep fans engaged. This presentation discusses the outspoken Seattle Seahawks cornerback in context of the rise of the modern-day NFL player/brand. The presentation asserts that the NFL should be thankful for Sherman: no doubt he will be good for Super Bowl XLVIII ratings. The presentation contains speaker notes.
Visual Storytelling through Memorable Album CoversDavid Deal
"Visual Storytelling through Memorable Album Covers" shares best practices for creating striking cover designs that visualize music, express an artist's personality, and grab your attention. In the digital era, album design is alive and well. Album cover art forms the basis of artists' identities, permeating all the ways artists express their brands, ranging from tour merchandise to their social spaces. "Visual Storytelling through Memorable Album Covers" provides examples from classic rock musicians such as the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and contemporary bands such as Goldfrapp and the National.
This presentation was developed in 2009 in order to show how agency Razorfish was not only helping clients embrace social media but also live the social values itself. The presentation is a snapshot at how a leading agency embraced social.
In November 2012, I delivered this presentation with Jermaine Dupri, CEO of So So Def Recordings, to show how Dupri's Global 14 website is injecting community back into social media. The venue was the PSFK San Francisco conference.
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
Monthly Social Media News Update May 2024Andy Lambert
TL;DR. These are the three themes that stood out to us over the course of last month.
1️⃣ Social media is becoming increasingly significant for brand discovery. Marketers are now understanding the impact of social and budgets are shifting accordingly.
2️⃣ Instagram’s new algorithm and latest guidance will help us maintain organic growth. Instagram continues to evolve, but Reels remains the most crucial tool for growth.
3️⃣ Collaboration will help us unlock growth. Who we work with will define how fast we grow. Meta continues to evolve their Creator Marketplace and now TikTok are beginning to push ‘collabs’ more too.
A.I. (artificial intelligence) platforms are popping up all the time, and many of them can and should be used to help grow your brand, increase your sales and decrease your marketing costs.In this presentation:We will review some of the best AI platforms that are available for you to use.We will interact with some of the platforms in real-time, so attendees can see how they work.We will also look at some current brands that are using AI to help them create marketing messages, saving them time and money in the process. Lastly, we will discuss the pros and cons of using AI in marketing & branding and have a lively conversation that includes comments from the audience.
Key Takeaways:
Attendees will learn about LLM platforms, like ChatGPT, and how they work, with preset examples and real time interactions with the platform. Attendees will learn about other AI platforms that are creating graphic design elements at the push of a button...pre-set examples and real-time interactions.Attendees will discuss the pros & cons of AI in marketing + branding and share their perspectives with one another. Attendees will learn about the cost savings and the time savings associated with using AI, should they choose to.
Core Web Vitals SEO Workshop - improve your performance [pdf]Peter Mead
Core Web Vitals to improve your website performance for better SEO results with CWV.
CWV Topics include:
- Understanding the latest Core Web Vitals including the significance of LCP, INP and CLS + their impact on SEO
- Optimisation techniques from our experts on how to improve your CWV on platforms like WordPress and WP Engine
- The impact of user experience and SEO
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
SEO as the Backbone of Digital MarketingFelipe Bazon
In this talk Felipe Bazon will share how him and his team at Hedgehog Digital share our journey of making C-Levels alike, specially CMOS realize that SEO is the backbone of digital marketing by showing how SEO can contribute to brand awareness, reputation and authority and above all how to use SEO to create more robust global marketing strategies.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
The session includes a brief history of the evolution of search before diving into the roles technology, content, and links play in developing a powerful SEO strategy in a world of Generative AI and social search. Discover how to optimize for TikTok searches, Google's Gemini, and Search Generative Experience while developing a powerful arsenal of tools and templates to help maximize the effectiveness of your SEO initiatives.
Key Takeaways:
Understand how search engines work
Be able to find out where your users search
Know what is required for each discipline of SEO
Feel confident creating an SEO Plan
Confidently measure SEO performance
Is AI-Generated Content the Future of Content Creation?Cut-the-SaaS
Discover the transformative power of AI in content creation with our presentation, "Is AI-Generated Content the Future of Content Creation?" by Puran Parsani, CEO & Editor of Cut-The-SaaS. Learn how AI-generated content is revolutionizing marketing, publishing, education, healthcare, and finance by offering unprecedented efficiency, creativity, and scalability.
Understanding
AI-Generated Content:
AI-generated content includes text, images, videos, and audio produced by AI without direct human involvement. This technology leverages large datasets to create contextually relevant and coherent material, streamlining content production.
Key Benefits:
Content Creation: Rapidly generate high-quality content for blogs, articles, and social media.
Brainstorming: AI simulates conversations to inspire creative ideas.
Research Assistance: Efficiently summarize and research information.
Market Insights:
The content marketing industry is projected to grow to $17.6 billion by 2032, with AI-generated content expected to dominate over 55% of the market.
Case Study: CNET’s AI Content Controversy:
CNET’s use of AI for news articles led to public scrutiny due to factual inaccuracies, highlighting the need for transparency and human oversight.
Benefits Across Industries:
Marketing: Personalize content at scale and optimize engagement with predictive analytics.
Publishing: Automate content creation for faster publication cycles.
Education: Efficiently generate educational materials.
Healthcare: Create accurate content for patients and professionals.
Finance: Produce timely financial content for decision-making.
Challenges and Ethical Considerations:
Transparency: Disclose AI use to maintain trust.
Bias: Address potential AI biases with diverse datasets.
SEO: Ensure AI content meets SEO standards.
Quality: Maintain high standards to prevent misinformation.
Conclusion:
AI-generated content offers significant benefits in efficiency, personalization, and scalability. However, ethical considerations and quality assurance are crucial for responsible use. Explore the future of content creation with us and see how AI is transforming various industries.
Connect with Us:
Follow Cut-The-SaaS on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Medium. Visit cut-the-saas.com for more insights and resources.
The Secret to Engaging Modern Consumers: Journey Mapping and Personalization
In today's digital landscape, understanding the customer's journey and delivering personalized experiences are paramount. This masterclass delves into the art of consumer journey mapping, a powerful technique that visualizes the entire customer experience across touchpoints. Attendees will learn how to create detailed journey maps, identify pain points, and uncover opportunities for optimization. The presentation also explores personalization strategies that leverage data and technology to tailor content, products, and experiences to individual customers. From real-time personalization to predictive analytics, attendees will gain insights into cutting-edge approaches that drive engagement and loyalty.
Key Takeaways:
Current consumer landscape; Steps to mapping an effective consumer journey; Understanding the value of personalization; Integrating mapping and personalization for success; Brands that are getting It right!; Best Practices; Future Trends
Top 3 Ways to Align Sales and Marketing Teams for Rapid GrowthDemandbase
In this session, Demandbase’s Stephanie Quinn, Sr. Director of Integrated and Digital Marketing, Devin Rosenberg, Director of Sales, and Kevin Rooney, Senior Director of Sales Development will share how sales and marketing shapes their day-to-day and what key areas are needed for true alignment.
Digital Commerce Lecture for Advanced Digital & Social Media Strategy at UCLA...Valters Lauzums
E-commerce in 2024 is characterized by a dynamic blend of opportunities and significant challenges. Supply chain disruptions and inventory shortages are critical issues, leading to increased shipping delays and rising costs, which impact timely delivery and squeeze profit margins. Efficient logistics management is essential, yet it is often hampered by these external factors. Payment processing, while needing to ensure security and user convenience, grapples with preventing fraud and integrating diverse payment methods, adding another layer of complexity. Furthermore, fulfillment operations require a streamlined approach to handle volume spikes and maintain accuracy in order picking, packing, and shipping, all while meeting customers' heightened expectations for faster delivery times.
Amid these operational challenges, customer data has emerged as an important strategy. By focusing on personalization and enhancing customer experience from historical behavior, businesses can deliver improved website and brand experienced, better product recommendations, optimal promotions, and content to meet individual preferences. Better data analytics can also help in effectively creating marketing campaigns, improving customer retention, and driving product development and inventory management.
Innovative formats such as social commerce and live shopping are beginning to impact the digital commerce landscape, offering new ways to engage with customers and drive sales, and may provide opportunity for brands that have been priced out or seen a downturn with post-pandemic shopping behavior. Social commerce integrates shopping experiences directly into social media platforms, tapping into the massive user bases of these networks to increase reach and engagement. Live shopping, on the other hand, combines entertainment and real-time interaction, providing a dynamic platform for showcasing products and encouraging immediate purchases. These innovations not only enhance customer engagement but also provide valuable data for businesses to refine their strategies and deliver superior shopping experiences.
The e-commerce sector is evolving rapidly, and businesses that effectively manage operational challenges and implement innovative strategies are best positioned for long-term success.
Everyone knows the power of stories, but when asked to come up with them, we struggle. Either we second guess ourselves as to the story's relevance, or we just come up blank and can't think of any. Unlocking Everyday Narratives: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing will teach you how to recognize stories in the moment and to recall forgotten moments that your audience needs to hear.
Key Takeaways:
Understand Why Personal Stories Connect Better
How To Remember Forgotten Stories
How To Use Customer Experiences As Stories For Your Brand
Unlocking Everyday Narratives: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing - Chad...
How Kiss Created the Modern Rock Brand
1. How Kiss Created the
Modern Rock Brand
David J. Deal
Instagram.com/davidjdeal
How Kiss Created
the Modern Rock Brand
David J. Deal
Instagram/davidjdeal
They finally made the hall. After selling 100 million albums reinventing the rock concert as theater, launching their own comic book series, and scaring the bejesus out of parents everywhere, Kiss was finally admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. But the band really belongs in a hall of fame of its own. More than 40 years ago, Kiss created a modern template for rock branding, whose elements consist of visual storytelling, theater, community, merchandising, and influential rock and roll.
Kiss made memorable music in its heyday, and to the band's credit, they continue to create new material even without two of their founding members. No resting on their laurels here. But let's face it: what set apart the band in its day was its mastery of visual storytelling, not its music, as good as it was (and I discuss the music later in this presentation.) The four original members of the band -- Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, and Paul Stanley -- were more than a drummer, lead guitarist, bass guitarist, and rhythm guitarist. In public, they were known by the cartoon-like personas they created, each of which was expressed through elaborate costumes and face paint. If you grew up listening to rock and roll in the 1970s, you didn't even have to like Kiss to know about the Catman (Peter Criss), Space Ace (Frehley), Demon (Simmons), and Starchild (Stanley). No matter where you saw them -- on television, on album covers, in concert, or in public appearances -- they always wore their elaborate costumes and make-up. In costume, the band didn't just play songs; they created visual stories about characters they had created. For example, Frehley's "Spaceman" was supposedly a being from another planet, whereas Simmons's Demon was a darker character. No one had seen anything quite like Kiss. They created intrigue and curiosity, even fear that they were somehow linked with devil worship -- all of which, of course, made them more appealing to record-buying teens.
The band's approach to creating alter egos was not wholly original. David Bowie created personas such as Ziggy Stardust before Kiss came along. But whereas Bowie discarded his personas like a chameleon, reserving them for concert performances, Kiss made created a ubiquitous presence out of out of Demon, Catman, Space Ace, and Starchild like a corporation stamping its logo everywhere. For instance, its record albums were like visual set pieces, each depicting the band in full make-up and costume mode amid surrealistic artwork. The band famously appeared in comic books, including a 1977 Marvel special edition that allegedly used ink mixed with blood of each band member.
Persona-based visual storytelling would influence a generation of artists for many years to come, including Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, Marilyn Manson, Deadmaus, Slipknot, Insane Clown Posse, and Kanye West (who has incorporated masks into his recent tour).
Lady Gaga comes closest to living up to Kiss's legacy. She turns heads with her visually curious, sometimes bizarre fashion choices, and she uses visual totems such as face paint to promote her music, as she's been doing with her ARTPOP album. More about Lady Gaga and her visual storytelling here: http://superhypeblog.com/marketing/lady-gaga-gives-her-fans-a-visual-hashtag-with-applauseBut this is not to say that artists need to wear costumes and masks to be excellent visual storytellers. In the age of digital, visual storytelling also means relying on visual platforms such as Instagram and Vine to connect with fans rather than rely solely on music. We live at a time when more than half of adult Internet users post photos online, andfive tweets per second contain a Vine link. Justin Timberlake in particular does an outstanding job using Instagram to share stunning photos from his concerts as well as images from his everyday life. Hip-hop stars such as Snoop Lion and Wiz Khalifa use Vine famously to share their lifestyles. No, they're not running around in make-up and costumes, but they understand, as Kiss did, that there is power in visual imagery to connect with your fans. And Kiss continues in the tradition even without Criss and Frehley -- relying on digital as well to create visual magic, including its website and social spaces such as Facebook page -- but curiously not on Instagram.
Forty years ago, Kiss turned rock concerts into visual theater. Onstage, the band's four personas thrived like they could nowhere else. Demon, Catman, Space Ace, and Starchild were like three-dimensional performers, spewing blood, spitting fire, levitating from drum kits, and literally creating smoke from their guitars as they sang in their elaborate costumes (including exaggerated high heels). Although they were actually decent musicians, fans came for the experience.
Their stagecraft earned them the scorn of critics, who viewed the pyrotechnics as a slap in the face of real rock and roll. But in reality, Kiss were adopting ideas that other bands were using, too, most notably David Bowie, Alice Cooper, the masters of shock rock, and Genesis. But Kiss made rock theater more accessible and fun -- pushing the boundaries of taste without crossing over them as Alice Cooper did, and playing tighter songs than did Genesis. Concerts made Kiss. The band actually struggled to sell albums until fans began to learn about them on tour. It was, in fact, a concert album, Alive!, that triggered a run of multi-million album sales that continues to this day.
For modern rock bands, albums don't sell: concerts do. The more established artists with bigger budgets have created fully realized theater. For instance, Roger Waters recently achieved massive financial success through the visually stunning Wall Tour. And U2's 360º tour -- the highest grossing of any rock band -- was a theatrical tour de force that featured a massive "claw" structure that resembled a space ship.
For modern rock bands, albums don't sell: concerts do. The more established artists with bigger budgets have created fully realized theater. For instance, Roger Waters recently achieved massive financial success through the visually stunning Wall Tour. And U2's 360º tour -- the highest grossing of any rock band -- was a theatrical tour de force that featured a massive "claw" structure that resembled a space ship. Today Miley Cyrus and Kanye West best exemplify the Kiss legacy of music as theater. Cyrus has been making headlines with her controversial Bangerz tour, which launched in February. She collaborated with several designers on costumes, including Roberto Cavalli, Jeremy Scott, the Blonds, and Marc Jacobs. Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi has created visual props, including "imaginative animals he's made on his own." Her tour has featured Cyrus emerging from a giant image of her face and sliding down a facsimile of her tongue; riding a giant hot dog; and wearing provocative sexually provocative costumes. Meantime, Kanye West has created his own brand of music theater with his on-again-off-again Yeezus tour, which features West performing (at times) in a bejeweled mask, massive, surreal stage sets, and elaborate choreographing. At one point, the show features the appearance of not one but two mountains, one of which splits in half and becomes a volcano. Jonathan Ringen of Rolling Stone describes the Yeezus show this way: "crazily entertaining, hugely ambitious, emotionally affecting (really!) and, most importantly, totally bonkers." As for the bejeweled mask, Ringen writes, "OK, so yeah, he does wear bejeweled, full-face Martin Margiela masks for most of the show. And while on one level they suggest a supreme 'look not upon the face of Yeezus, mere mortals; arrogance (which is so off the rails it's kind of awesome), the masks also have real theatrical usefulness. Given that most of the audience is way too far away to see his face, they provide a vivid, readable visual." A "vivid, readable visual" -- that's how you turn an impersonal arena into your own stage.
Long before Lady Gaga created her Little Monsters community of fans, Kiss unleashed the Kiss Army -- a wildly dedicated group of loyalists who emerged in the 1970s. The Kiss Army was created in 1975 by two fans, Bill Starkey and Jay Evans, two Indiana teenagers who called themselves "the Kiss Army" as they pestered a Terre Haute, Indiana, radio station to play Kiss songs. When the radio station (WVTS) finally relented to the pesky boys and began playing Kiss songs, the Kiss Army quickly began to grow, aided by a canny Kiss publicist, Alan Miller. Starkey and Evans collaborated with WVTS and Miller to recruit Kiss Army members on the air, which helped fill 10,000 seats at a November Kiss show in Terre Haute. From the start, the Kiss Army was creating business for the band. The Kiss Army morphed into an official fan club with its own logo and membership form. At one point, the Kiss Army claimed 100,000 members -- long before the days of social media. Although the Kiss Army waned in popularity, Kiss relaunched the Kiss Army in 2007. (Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed up.) And Kiss also maintains the spirit of the Kiss Army through its KissonlineKommunity, an online forum that gives fans a place to share their enthusiasm for the band and submit photos of themselves. Kiss is now tapping into its Kommunity to crowdsource ideas for its 40th anniversary celebration.
Today building community is essential to the success of any musician. Social media is so important that in 2010, Billboard added to its ranking formula the "Social 50," which ranks of the most active artists on the world's leading social networking sites. Artists' popularity is determined by a formula blending their weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with artist page views and weekly song plays, as measured by Next Big Sound. Lady Gaga sets the gold standard for building a community. Her Little Monsters website is a vibrant community of fans who celebrate not only Lady Gaga but each other. She also boasts more than 41 million followers on Twitter and 64 million Facebook likes. But what's striking about her community is their passion. When Lady Gaga adorned face paint to promote ARTPOP, her fans followed suit, creating their own ARTPOP-inspired face paint on sites such as Instagram. No one builds community like Lady Gaga. Of course, Lady Gaga and Kiss are not the first to build community. One of the most famous communities in rock, the Deadheads, has been following the Grateful Dead for decades. And the Grateful Dead have indulged the Deadheads by encouraging them to tape their concerts for free. What Kiss and Lady Gaga have done is remain actively involved in galvanizing their communities through slick marketing and the use of social -- necessities for survival in the music industry.
As we've seen elsewhere in this presentation, Kiss did not "invent" any single element of rock branding -- but the band took branding to another level and combined each element masterfully. Such is the case with merchandising. Kiss did not create the idea of merchandising their brand. But they perfected the practice of merchandising and turned it into a strong source of revenue (unlike the Beatles, who lost millions in unrealized merchandising income due to a negotiating blunder committed by their manager, Brian Epstein).
Kiss wisely understood that its visual appeal lent itself naturally to merchandising. So Kiss put its name on products such as board games, trading cards, and Halloween masks. Kiss also collaborated with Marvel Comics on the distribution of a special comic book series featuring the band. Beginning in the 1970s, merchandising was a huge revenue generator, to the tune of $100 between 1977 and 1979. Eventually, Kiss would license more than 3,000 products, ranging form lunch boxes to caskets, and Kiss remains a merchandising machine today. Most recently, Kiss launched its own Arena League football team, LA Kiss, co-owned by Simmons and Stanley. L.A. Kiss recently played its first game at the Honda Center in Anaheim, where its home games are played. James Barragan of Los Angeles Times described opening night thusly: The night was a complete rock and roll event. From the national anthem played on an electric guitar, to the bikini-clad dancers suspended in midair throughout the game to fans walking around in KISS makeup and flame orange Mohawk wigs. Before the first down was played fans had already seen indoor fireworks, a laser show and a performance by heavy metal band Steel Panther. According to Epic Rights Merchandising, L.A. KISS has already set an Arena League record for merchandise sales.
Of all its merchandising deals Kiss has made in its history, the Marvel Comics series was most influential. Kiss provided the content. Marvell provided the platform -- a co-branding model that flourishes today, ranging from Kid Rock's relationship with Harley-Davidson to OK Go's collaboration with State Farm to create a music video content.
Music-savvy companies like Coca-Colas Pepsi, Samsung, and Harley Davidson can give musicians a new global platform to expand their audience base through sponsorships and co-branding relationships. For instance, in 2013, Jay Z famously rewrote the rules of music distribution by by launching an innovative deal with Samsung to distribute 1 million copies of his new Magna Carta Holy Grail album through a special app exclusively on Samsung phones before the album went on sale publicly July 9. Samsung reportedly paid $5 for every album, meaning Magna Carta Holy Grail sold $5 million before a consumer purchased a single copy. Samsung became a music distributor overnight. And the Recording Industry Association of America was inspired to change the way it tracks the sale of digital albums to account for the 1 million units sold instantly. It’s no wonder Jay-Z has been tweeting about creating #newrules, and Billboard has gushed about “Jay-Z’s New Blueprint.” Essentially, two big brands, Jay-Z and Samsung, are distributing music together as Jay-Z and Nokia did 10 years ago.
Meantime, In 2011, Madonna and Smirnoff formed the Nightlife Exchange with goals of building digital reach for Smirnoff and generating business for both Madonna and Smirnoff. According to Christopher Swope of Live Nation, the relationship (which featured a special global dance talent search in 2011) has helped Smirnoff achieve double-digit sales growth in key markets (with the help of a specially branded Madonna VIP Access Smirnoff Limited Edition pack) and generate 1.8 billion media impressions. The relationship also helped Madonna make her MDNA tour the highest grossing of 2012.
Finally, Kiss created influential rock and roll music. At first, the music was secondary to the theater. Fans flocked to concerts to see the pyrotechnics as much as for their sound, but their first albums did not sell particularly well. However, once the band wisely created a live album to capture some of the energy of its live shows on vinyl (Alive!), fans started paying attention to its studio albums. And fans discovered that beyond the fire breathing and blood spitting, the band created the kind of well crafted, tight music that sounded just as sweet when you blared it on your stereos at home or while driving in your car. In due course, songs such as "Rock 'N' Roll All Night" and "Shout It Out Loud" became minor classics. The band would go on to sell more than 40 million albums in the United States and 100 million worldwide. Rolling Stone ranks Destroyer as one of the 500 best albums of all time, characterizing the album as "ridiculously over-the-top party-rock album that just gets better with age."
Kiss would influence and inspire several bands, most famously the hair metal bands of the 1980s, such as Motley Crue, all the way down to Motley Crue's visual theater and song content (e.g., Motley Crue's "Dr. Feelgood" easily evokes Kiss's "Dr. Love"). Ironically, Motley Crue would tour with Kiss in 2012. Hard rock bands such Guns 'N' Roses also drew from Kiss's potent formula of hard driving guitar and sexual bravado.
Kiss even inspired grunge rock legends Pearl Jam. In a recent Rolling Stone article, guitarist Mike McCready of Pearl Jam credits Kiss as "the reason I started playing music." As he wrote, "I remember being on a school bus in sixth grade in 1976 with my friend Rick Friel, who eventually played in my high school band Shadow. He had a lunch box that had Kiss on it. "What is that?" Then he played me some music and I was hooked immediately. Then I had a Kiss room and I started playing guitar. They were the Beatles to me."I think Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic put it best in his assessment of Kiss. Let's let him have the last word on the subject: " . . . Kiss' music shouldn't be dismissed -- it was a commercially potent mix of anthemic, fist-pounding hard rock driven by sleek hooks and ballads powered by loud guitars, cloying melodies, and sweeping strings. It was a sound that laid the groundwork for both arena rock and the pop-metal that dominated rock in the late '80s."
A band plays music. A brand creates a legacy. Kiss is not only a memorable band but also one of the most powerful brands in music history, now celebrating its 40th anniversary. As Gene Simmons recently told Rolling Stone, "Kiss is like a cockroach that will outlive you all. It's bigger, even, than the guys who were in the band."