What brands can learn from Lady GaGa

by asi

gaga

Yes, I know, I’m falling to the banal plannery / marketing gurus trap of writing best practices through some reverse-engineering of a success story. Easy to spot and articulate when the success has been achieved, damn hard to really make it practical for future briefs. In essence it’s this simple truth:

Be yourself and be great, or be like everyone else and be forgotten.

Now if you want the longer version, go on and read….

So many brands today operate in a crowded territory / category with very little differentiation. Think mobile operators – does anyone really give a toss whether they are on Orange, O2 or T-mobile? Or, can anyone tell the difference between an LG, Motorola, Samsung or Sony Ericsson? There’s loads more examples around consumer electronics, automobile, FMCG, fashion, cosmetics, beauty. It’s quite sad.

So what brands can learn from Lady Gaga?

Lady Gaga is an artist of substance, with tons of character and with a meaningful point to make – something so many brands lack today. Like a modern Warhol (isn’t the House of Gaga the modern The Factory?) or Jeff Koons she operates within pop culture and her work is an ongoing imaginative and provocative commentary on the culture she operates within.

“Pop culture is art. It doesn’t make you cool to hate pop culture, so I embraced it and you hear it all over The Fame. But, it’s a sharable fame. I want to invite you all to the party. I want people to feel a part of this lifestyle.”

Pop music is as crowded and samey as any other consumer category and Gaga managed to rise well above the manufactured blandness. She hasn’t been plucked from a model casting call, she didn’t win a reality TV singing contest. She is the real deal. She got her hands dirty, put herself out there and pushed her way up through the sheer force or creativity.

“I did this the way you are supposed to. I played every club in New York City and I bombed in every club and then killed it in every club and I found myself as an artist. I learned how to survive as an artist, get real, and how to fail and then figure out who I was as singer and performer. I worked hard and, now, I’m just trying to change the world one sequin at a time.”

She is all about breaking the boundaries and being interesting. It’s all about shaking, shaping, redefining her category. Mind you she isn’t super original but that doesn’t matter. She, more than anyone else understands that it’s not just about the music. It’s about the performance, the attitude, the look, the money; it’s everything. Gaga is the first pop singer that perceived herself and act as a brand – tons more than Madonna or Kylie IMHO.

“My goal as an artist is to funnel a pop record to a world in a very interesting way. I wanted to write the female version of Motley Crue’s ‘Girls Girls Girls,’ but with my own twist. I wanted to write a pop song that rockers would like.”

Lady Gaga is the master of mythology and for that I admire her the most. She is a real genius both at storytelling as well as igniting loads of stories around her music, art, customs, etc. Faris talked about brands as Modern Myths and Gaga is a rare example of a real one.

Finally, while she is one of the most exhibitionist, extravagant, visual and provocative artist today she is very, very humble and modest. Everything is communicated through her art and when she takes home 3 Brits awards she is as down to earth as one can be.

Oh yeah, and she totally digs digital. ;-)