Brands: Be like Eminem

And be like Beyonce, Linkin Park, Britney, Jay-Z, Rihanna, The Black Eyed Peas and Kanye, most definitely be like Kanye. Each of these artists have (at least) two things in common.

Firstly, they were all named "Artists of the Decade" by Billboard Magazine, based on their performances in both album and single charts for the first decade of this millennium. So they're definitely powerhouses of their industry and mega-succesful both critically and financially.

But secondly, and most pertinently to brands, they're all unique talents with special and memorable personal style. They stand out in their music genres but also across the world. Fans adore them; buy everything they release; shell out hundreds of dollars to see them perform; and protect them ferociously on social media ... just ask poor Rita Ora! #Beyhive

It's not just their fashion sense, their lyrics, their videos and their magazine cover shoots make this happen (of course the exposure helps). It's more. It's how these artists make their fans feel when they listen to their songs over and over again. Its what it says about them (as humans) as they publicly declare their admiration to anyone who'll listen.

The music we listen to is one of the personal and emotional statements anyone makes. Nearly every brand on the planet can only dream of this type of devotion. And yet artists are brands too, and very definitely businesses.

Perhaps there are learnings in the way artists break through. Nearly all of them started out really strong with a very different "positioning" from the established stars in their respective genres. Eminem just plain broke the Rap scene in half with his blonde hair, pop-crossover beats, and irreverent videos. Linkin Park were (in this Art Director's eyes and ear) the first succesful Nu Rap Metal of their kind. Their Diamond-selling debut album would suggest others agreed with me.

And Kanye. Kanye, Kanye, Kanye ... they broke the mould with that fella. College Dropout's "chipmunk soul" style was so distinct it brought sampling back in such a fresh way the entire industry took note.

So. If you want to be like Eminem. You have to find your own style and that style has to have SOMETHING special and memorable to it. You don't get to the top of the charts, for ten years or more, by being the same as everyone else. I reckon Master Ogilvy said it pretty well, (apols for the whole other metaphor so late in the post):

“Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ball park. Aim for the company of immortals."