They arrived on the scene in the mid 1970s and immediately put the fear of God into parents, teachers, and religious leaders. KISS wasn’t just a rock band, they were a fire-breathing, devil-worshipping, rock ‘n’ roll circus. An entire generation fell in love with the band and enlisted in the KISS Army, their parents helpless to stop the mayhem.
Looking back, the fears of our elders were unfounded. KISS turned out to be harmless, and today Gene Simmons is a reality TV star and not a satanic cult leader.
In my new book Brand Like A Rock Star, KISS comes up more than once. In hindsight, the band wasn’t just a great rock ‘n’ roll act. They were also master-marketers!
What can your business learn from the rise (and temporary 1980s fall) of KISS?
Being different matters more than being better. The band we know as KISS emerged from the ashes of New York bar band Wicked Lester. Having had very little success as Wicked Lester, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley created a new band complete with comic book imagery, a love for pyrotechnics, and a mission to shock and amaze people with their stage show. Within two years, they were touring the planet as superstars. Did they become that successful because they improved their musicianship and songwriting? Not a chance. They became superstars because they were so different. We had never seen anything like KISS before. They immediately grabbed our attention. Rock stars have proven for years that being different – and getting noticed because of it – is more important than quality of music.
Getting noticed means offending a few people. KISS knew that in order to be the biggest stars with young fans, they would need to do things to alienate and offend conservative older people. There’s no way around Newton’s 3rd law of motion, which tells us to expect an equal and opposite reaction to every action. If you plan on getting noticed, establishing a brand promise, and creating a tribe of passionate fans for your business, you should expect some people to dislike you. In fact, if you sense that your business appeals to everyone, there’s a good chance you really don’t hold much strong appeal with anyone at all.
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They arrived on the scene in the mid 1970s and immediately put the fear of God into parents, teachers, and religious leaders. KISS wasn’t just a rock band, they were a fire-breathing, devil-worshipping, rock ‘n’ roll circus. An entire generation fell in love with the band and enlisted in the KISS Army, their parents helpless to stop the mayhem.
Looking back, the fears of our elders were unfounded. KISS turned out to be harmless, and today Gene Simmons is a reality TV star and not a satanic cult leader.
In my new book Brand Like A Rock Star, KISS comes up more than once. In hindsight, the band wasn’t just a great rock ‘n’ roll act. They were also master-marketers!
What can your business learn from the rise (and temporary 1980s fall) of KISS?
Being different matters more than being better. The band we know as KISS emerged from the ashes of New York bar band Wicked Lester. Having had very little success as Wicked Lester, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley created a new band complete with comic book imagery, a love for pyrotechnics, and a mission to shock and amaze people with their stage show. Within two years, they were touring the planet as superstars. Did they become that successful because they improved their musicianship and songwriting? Not a chance. They became superstars because they were so different. We had never seen anything like KISS before. They immediately grabbed our attention. Rock stars have proven for years that being different – and getting noticed because of it – is more important than quality of music.
Getting noticed means offending a few people. KISS knew that in order to be the biggest stars with young fans, they would need to do things to alienate and offend conservative older people. There’s no way around Newton’s 3rd law of motion, which tells us to expect an equal and opposite reaction to every action. If you plan on getting noticed, establishing a brand promise, and creating a tribe of passionate fans for your business, you should expect some people to dislike you. In fact, if you sense that your business appeals to everyone, there’s a good chance you really don’t hold much strong appeal with anyone at all.
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