A Business, Branding and Marketing Lesson from Legendary Rockers ZZ Top! (The Power of a Business Beard!)

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A Business, Branding and Marketing Lesson from Legendary Rockers ZZ Top! (The Power of a Business Beard!)

Posted by yoni67 under Success Stories
From http://jobshuk.com 4572 days ago
Made Hot by: 9devon9 on March 29, 2011 1:45 pm

Iconic rockers. Legends. Kick-ass tunes. Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

Sometimes branding and symbolism, however, are just as important as the product being marketed.

Does your business need a BEARD?

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Comments

Written by swssem
4570 days ago

Yoni,

I love to hear stories of good marketing when it's not even intended as 'marketing' (at least I assume the beards were not conscious marketing). It says to me that the best marketing involves defining the 'essence' of who & what you are, and then finding a unique way to demonstrate that to your fans or audience.

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Written by yoni67
4570 days ago

Cindy,

Thanks! I agree completely with you. Ronika, a BizSugar member, sent me a YouTube video from the night after I posted. Conan O'Brien had a guest on the show and they were talking about the new beard the guest had. The first thing Conan said is "are you ZZ TOP?" Hah...talk about identity. Amazing how things stick in peoples' minds and how they can be used to generate publicity and marketing value.

All the best,

Yoni

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Written by ronika
4572 days ago

Great advice, Yoni and something that I imagine many small business owners (including myself) don't concentrate enough on. You know your logo strategy has achieved ultimate success when it is recognized on it's own - The Golden Arches and Nike's swoosh come to mind.

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Written by yoni67
4572 days ago

Ronika,

GREAT video! Holy Moly, they mentioned ZZ TOP! Now that's timing!

Thanks for the link!

Yoni

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Written by ronika
4572 days ago

Beards (on the right person) are great! There was a funny discussion about this on Conan last night : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7e_tw9BihY

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Written by yoni67
4572 days ago

Ronika,

You are right about the logos that stand on their own, the SWOOOOSH definitely comes to mind. I guess it's the same with people who are famous enough to be called by their first name and everybody knows who you're talking about: Elle, Cindy, etc.

Now I'm going to shave. I was thinking of growing a ZZ TOP beard, but with only two or three days of growth I start looking like a homeless person. It doesn't work for me!

Yoni

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Written by Adam_Gottlieb
4572 days ago

Great post, Yoni.

It also helps that you stay true to your image. I remember hearing that in the mid 80's, both Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill were offered a million dollars by the razor company Gilette to shave off their beards for an ad campaign. But they refused the offer...

Adam

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Written by yoni67
4572 days ago

Adam,

Awesome commentary which made me smile! Now that's staying true!

Yoni

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Written by ben.corporate@ILforums
4572 days ago

Yonatan,

I think that almost anything you can do to increase visibility is good for business as long as you have a good backbone for the business- quality and standing behind what you sell. If service and the product stink visibility can hurt.

Ben

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Written by yoni67
4572 days ago

Ben,

Spot-on. Visibility is great if the underlying product and service are great. If not, visibility is a detriment. It's why fly-by-nite operations fly the coup once the truth comes out. Then they want to be invisible.

Yoni

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Written by lovedthisarticle!
4572 days ago

Cool man!

Really cool!

Heidi K.

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Written by yoni67
4572 days ago

Glad you enjoyed!

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Written by businessavante
4572 days ago

Great, Yoni - but there's a caveat here: if you tour a few local music stores (assuming the internet hasn't annihilated all the locals)*, you're sure to see lots of dudes & dudettes who've got "the look" down pat, complete with costumes, attitude, etc. What they lack is talent, original ideas, musicianship, etc. ZZ Top definitely scored a niche of their own with their look, but they did have the "chops" to back it up.

Duncan

p.s. *I amazes me how many people buy acoustic guitars online w/o playing the instrument 1st. Having worked in receiving in a music store, I had 1st look at all guitars that came in - if the store had 10 SG's, one might be really sweet, 8 OK, and one a clunker. But you have to try them one-by-one to find the sweet one. It's not about the "boss" color or racing stripes (it's not even about the beautiful woodgrain, no matter how pretty), it's about which one sounds best 1st, and how it feels playing it 2nd (is the neck too fat, are the frets dressed so they don't cut your hand, etc.).

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Written by yoni67
4572 days ago

Duncan,

The costume and "the look" might add to the package if there is substance beneath, but without the substance it is just an empty shell.

I actually saw a spot on FoxNews about music stores. It had to do with the resurgence of vinyl. People want nostalgia and they are selling fast and furious. Here is a cool article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/nyregion/07vinyl.html

As far as the guitars, it's like buying a car without driving it first.

Yoni

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Written by ShoshFromJobShuk
4573 days ago

I also love the trivia: Frank Beard, ZZ Top's drummer is, ironically, the only band member without a beard! Hee-hee!

Shoshana

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Written by yoni67
4572 days ago

By the way, it's not made up. "Beard" is in fact his real name.

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Written by ShoshFromJobShuk
4573 days ago

Yoni,

Other than a neatly trimmed goatee I'm not a fan of facial hair. But I have to admit it works for the band. I haven't heard them in many years but I remember the beards from MTV. How could you forget?

Shoshana

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Written by yoni67
4572 days ago

Shoshana,

Some things remain in your mind and those beards are hard to forget. They are a brand in themselves.

Yoni

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