Nov 4, 2013
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The Genius of Coldplay
There’s something about Coldplay that I’ve noticed, and maybe you’ve seen it too. This brilliant 4 piece from England has been around for over 15 years now and they’re somehow still at the top of their game! Haven’t you noticed? A band’s popularity is usually what destroys them. Once everybody likes them, nobody likes them anymore. We all want to have some kind of intimate ownership of a band, and once the whole world has bought shares, the value is gone. But the amazing thing about Coldplay is that somehow it’s still cool to like Coldplay!
Well aside from constantly making great music, this group does something that few bands have done before. In music, it’s called reinventing yourself. In the world of marketing, we call it branding.
Where most bands come out with albums that are like chapters in the book of their career, Coldplay puts out albums that are like a completely new book each time. And what’s more? They’re picture books. Allow me to explain:
Create a Cultural Following
Every time they come out with a new cd, these guys recreate their entire image. The book isn’t autobiographical, it’s somewhere between fiction and nonfiction, and they MAKE it autobiographical by becoming the characters in the story. The way they dress, act and play fits right into the role. Even the music videos follow suit. It’s pretty easy to get sick of a single, long book, or even a series of books. But how can you not keep falling in love with completely new stories that have new characters and a new plot, but the same fantastically innovative author?
The Business of Branding
Businesses have to do the same thing. Maybe they don’t completely recreate their image every few years, but they have to create a culture around what they do. People want to dive in, but first they need to know that the thing is 3 dimensional. Some good examples to look at are Adobe with their Creative Cloud, Apple’s iPod, and Coke with they’re corner on the market of “sharing things”. People associate with the culture that these companies have built! Get creative with your image and give people something they can buy into.