Lady Gaga has proven to know how to build a brand. And every marketer would do well to observe how she’s done it.
Whether you like Lady Gaga, her music, her style – or not, no one can argue with her success. She was the first artist to hit 1 billion hits on YouTube. She has sold over 11.5 million albums in two years and was the 2009 bestseller through digital media with 15 million tracks sold. She has 10 million friends on Facebook and 4.7 million followers on Twitter. She has built one of the strongest brands in the world.
How has she accomplished so much in such a short period of time? Marketing Profs recently presented an article outlining some of the tactics that make her successful. Lessons that would be useful for all marketers.
1. She tells a consistent story.
Lady Gaga knows her brand. She understands and lives her brand. And it is consistent in all she does. Take for instance her appearance. Her costume style clothing isn’t reserved just for high-profile red carpet events. She dresses like this all the time – in the airport, at her sister’s graduation, etc. Every time you see her or photos of her – whether you like her style or not – you know to expect the unexpected.
2. She engages her fans.
Lady Gaga listens to her fans, and provides many touch points for them to be engaged. She offers quality content that her fans want and keeps them coming back and participating. She provides multiple venues for connecting with her fans. She understands that to promote her brand she has to do more than concert tours. She does more than just push out mini commercials about upcoming appearances. She provides info that fans want.
3. She reveals herself.
Lady Gaga displays her personality across all media. She is multifaceted but is open and transparent. She allows her fans to know her and have a sense of relationship.
4. She encourages ownership and participation with her brand.
Her content is spreadable. Her work is contagious and she allows her fans to embed, revamp, comment and share wherever they want.
5. She integrates all the venues used by her brand.
Lady Gaga coordinates her brand message across all avenues. Her tours, her merchandise sales, and her media presence are all integrated to create multiple points of contact that leverages a synergy across all communication channels.
6. She thinks outside of herself.
She constantly engages her customers in worthwhile efforts that help others and this enhances her brand. One example is when she donated all the profits from her online store over a 24-hour period to Haitian relief and she promoted it through Twitter.
Lady Gaga is a pop-culture phenomenon. But it didn’t just happen. She has a plan and is working it. She gives careful consideration to all her options. And most importantly, she creates multiple avenues for fan contact and interaction and presents a consistent brand message across all of them. Lessons every marketer should learn. If we don’t learn them, it could lead to a very uh… “bad romance” with our clients.
