Would your brand get a golden ticket?
by Carolyn Kiser
As I was watching the American Idol auditions these past few weeks, I couldn't help but think about all the hopefuls as brands. And that is what they all are and that is how they are being evaluated - whether they have the package to become a national (or international) pop icon and brand.
There are four basic categories of people who audition for the show: (1) truly talented people, (2) people with a decent voice, (3) people that just want 15 minutes of fame and (4) the people who are tone-deaf but actually believe they can sing. Brands exist in each of these groups, of course. But in this stage of the competition, the real branding is with the people in groups 2 and 3 as described above. Let's start with the second group.
There are thousands of people in the second group - the people with a fairly decent voice. And because they may not get in front of Simon and the judges based on their voice alone, they have to somehow make themselves stand out. That is where the branding comes into play. Among the above-average hopefuls - it is the ones that differentiate themselves who actually get a chance to make it in front of the panel of judges for a shot at the golden ticket. Think of some of the more recent notorious Idol-wannabes: Bikini Girl and Norman Gentle from Season 8 and from this season - Guitar Girl, the former Barney child-actor with the whip, and of course, Ski Bo Skii. In these cases, it was definitely not their voices alone that got them to Hollywood, but their ability to break through.
And the fame-seekers in group 3 have a similar strategy. They have all seen the show and know they need to do something truly outrageous to get in front of the judges. Bikini boy, weird voices, terrible dances, crazy outfits, you name it. But the best of the fame-seekers was this year's singer/songwriter "General" Larry Platt and his "Pants on the ground" act. The general has turned his brand into the craze of American Idol Season 9, with Pants-on-the-ground t-shirts even being sold on AmericanIdol.com.
So what do the Idol auditions teach us about brands? It reminds us that in a sea of sameness, it is critical to differentiate yourself in order to stand out from your competition and ultimately impress your target audience. How is your brand different?
As I was watching the American Idol auditions these past few weeks, I couldn't help but think about all the hopefuls as brands. And that is what they all are and that is how they are being evaluated - whether they have the package to become a national (or international) pop icon and brand.
There are four basic categories of people who audition for the show: (1) truly talented people, (2) people with a decent voice, (3) people that just want 15 minutes of fame and (4) the people who are tone-deaf but actually believe they can sing. Brands exist in each of these groups, of course. But in this stage of the competition, the real branding is with the people in groups 2 and 3 as described above. Let's start with the second group.
There are thousands of people in the second group - the people with a fairly decent voice. And because they may not get in front of Simon and the judges based on their voice alone, they have to somehow make themselves stand out. That is where the branding comes into play. Among the above-average hopefuls - it is the ones that differentiate themselves who actually get a chance to make it in front of the panel of judges for a shot at the golden ticket. Think of some of the more recent notorious Idol-wannabes: Bikini Girl and Norman Gentle from Season 8 and from this season - Guitar Girl, the former Barney child-actor with the whip, and of course, Ski Bo Skii. In these cases, it was definitely not their voices alone that got them to Hollywood, but their ability to break through.
And the fame-seekers in group 3 have a similar strategy. They have all seen the show and know they need to do something truly outrageous to get in front of the judges. Bikini boy, weird voices, terrible dances, crazy outfits, you name it. But the best of the fame-seekers was this year's singer/songwriter "General" Larry Platt and his "Pants on the ground" act. The general has turned his brand into the craze of American Idol Season 9, with Pants-on-the-ground t-shirts even being sold on AmericanIdol.com.
So what do the Idol auditions teach us about brands? It reminds us that in a sea of sameness, it is critical to differentiate yourself in order to stand out from your competition and ultimately impress your target audience. How is your brand different?
posted by tba PR + Advertising at
10:09 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home