Influential Voices of Authority What Your Brand Can Learn From Prince – Episode 137
We are making a quick change this week. On the last episode, I told you we were going to get into interviewing. We will do that next week.
When I heard Prince had passed away, I started getting fascinated by the way people were reacting to the loss of one of the greatest musical artists of our time. I had to jump back in the studio and cut a new episode for this week. We’ll pick up the interviewing episodes next week.
Why did the death of Prince affect so many so deeply?
Prince created a brand that epitomizes the Cult Brand that we talk so much about.
I was talking with a friend this week. He was deeply touched by Prince’s death. He said it bothered him much more than Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston or Merle Haggard and he couldn’t figure out why.
Prince has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I am a fan of most of what he created. There are musicians. Then, there are artists. Everything Prince touched was some form or art, pushing the boundaries.
In his movie “Under The Cherry Moon”, he included a bit that almost predicted his death. At the end of the movie, Prince’s character Christopher Tracy dies and early death. The scene is set to a song by Prince called “Sometimes It Snows In April”. It is very coincidental that Prince was taken from us early, in April, almost 30 years to the date of the release of “Under The Cherry Moon”, which came out July 4th, 1986.
The death of Prince hurts many more than a typical celebrity death due to our association with the brand Prince created.
We talk a lot about the Cult Brand. It was defined in the book “The Power Of Cult Branding” by BJ Bueno. If you look at Prince’s brand, you will see all 7 attributes of a Cult Brand. These are characteristics you do not find with Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston or Merle Haggard. We came to expect those 3 to be in trouble. They weren’t one of us. Prince seemed like a guy we could hang out with. He had a bit of cool about him.
CULT BRANDLet’s review the 7 attributes of a Cult Brand. We will see how they relate to Prince. Then, we can see how they can be used with your Podcast brand.
SOCIAL GROUPS
Let them be different together. Those people who didn’t quite fit in due to their style found solace in the music and style of Prince. His concerts and nightclub allowed those fans to gather and be different together.
Oddly enough, Prince’s music is not found on YouTube. Prince wanted to keep his community special. You could choose to be involved. However, you needed to be involved his way. He controlled the message.
Find ways for your audience to be different together. What does your podcast offer that is unique to you? This needs to be something that is different than any other podcast and done in a way that only you can do it.
Once you create the difference, allow your audience to come together to share that difference.
COURAGEPrince stood by his beliefs. He insisted on owning his publishing. He even went as far as changing his name to a symbol when his fight with Warner Brothers Records got crazy.
The musical styles of Prince fused rock guitar solos with funk and rhythm and blues. He threw in some dance moves of James Brown to his unique style of dress. He had the courage to be different and stand out.
Being different and standing out from the crowd takes courage. Be daring this week. Find something that will put your podcast on the map. It may be scary and outside of your comfort zone. That is ok. Give it a try. People will take notice.
PROMOTE A LIFESTYLE - FUNIn the 1980s, Prince created a style of dress that was unique to him. It was copied by many. It was self-expression and fun. Prince promoted a lifestyle. Love, fun and style. Even his guitars were fun and unique.
After his musical success, Prince created other ways to spread his brand of fun. He created a few movies. Some of these were huge successes. Some barely broke even.
Prince created his own nightclub. He fostered the careers of other artists. Fun was a primary attribute of his brand. Something we all wanted to be part of.
With your podcast, don’t be so serious all the time. Have fun. Be crazy. Let your inner child out to play every now and then. Life is too short to be so serious all the time.
LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS - HUMAN NEEDSHumans have a need to come together. Music is a big part of that need. Prince gave it to his fans. In the 1980s when the economy was tough, Prince was singing about love and a carefree life. He delivered what his fans needed to escape their everyday life.
What does your podcast audience need? Find that need and fulfill it regularly. If you don’t know what that need is, ask your listeners. Find their Facebook pages and look for the need. It will be there.
SUPPORT COMMUNITIES – START A CULTPrince didn’t always need to spotlight. He would make some headlines, release an album or movie, then lay low for a while. This allowed his fans to embrace and spread the message.
He also turned many fledgling Minneapolis musical acts into stars. Being part of the Revolution or New Power Generation was as easy as joining the movement.
Even the biggest hits of Prince featured vocals of other members in his band. In “1999”, Prince is the 3rd voice. In his movie Purple Rain, it is portrayed that the title song was actually written by Wendy and Lisa, members of the band. Prince included everyone and shared the attention and credit.
With your podcast, share the credit. Give. Make others the star. The more you shine your spotlight on others, the more it will come back to you. Simply focus on helping others. Bring your fans together. Introduce your listeners to each other. Spread the love. When you do that, your message will begin to spread on the wings of others.
OPENESS – INCLUSIVE, INVITINGAnyone could be part of the Prince movement. Dress like him. Move like him. He promoted love and being part of a movement. People could relate to that.
Be inviting with your podcast. Allow your listeners to direct a bit of your content. Give them some ownership in the content you create.
You also need to make it easy to join your tribe. Eliminate a lot of the hoops and just get them into the party.
PROMOTE PERSONAL FREEDOMPrince used his style to promote his own personal freedom. Then, he encouraged others to do the same. He always insisted that he have complete creative control over everything he did.
We all have an enemy. When you find the common enemy, your brand can help your listener fight the common bad. Create the freedom. Do you think it is a coincidence that listeners on the Dave Ramsey show become debt free? Their debt free scream is followed by a loud yell of “freedom”. All of the listeners are fighting the common enemy. That is personal freedom.
We can learn a lot from the brand of Prince. Add these 7 attributes of a cult brand into your podcast. You will begin to create a powerful tribe that will drive your brand to new heights.
Next week, we begin the series on interviewing. Have you ever conducted that interview that went nowhere? The one you felt like deleting right after it was over? We can help. Next week, we will answer a couple listener questions about getting the most out of your interview guest.
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