Two brands going in different directions: The Beatles & Banks
Over the last month it's been hard not to read articles on the Beatles. The PR machine has been in overdrive and we are hearing stories about the Fab 4 everywhere. The Beatles albums have gone extensive remastering and include original packaging and a short video about each album. I have not heard any of the songs as of yet but those who have are reporting that the remastered sound is "amazing". While the CD's are on the Top 15 items at Amazon it is believed that Apple/EMI has not reached agreement with Apple's iTunes as of yet and that the Beatles could be losing millions of dollars by not having songs available to iPod lovers. I never would have thought that Beatles would still be this big but this is a great marketing campaign and word is getting out.
While one brand
continues to shine others are clueless. I am of
course talking about the banking industry which is
running ads trying to tell the public how friendly
their services are and how they are here to help us.
Try telling that to a woman who is
fighting Wells Fargo to have her
mortgage redone while getting
nowhere with the bank after repeatedly submitting
paperwork. Tell that to people with excellent
credit who are being denied credit and seeing
credit card rates double and triple. I am not sure
that any industry right now is as clueless as the
banking and financial services industries.
Branding has changed in part due to the popularity of
the Internet and social media and partly due to the
recession. Consumers have become more skeptical of
any marketers claims and do not trust big business
especially when it comes to their wellbeing. The
Beatles on the other hand make us feel good. We can
sing along with their songs and are reminded of a
time when we were younger and care free. I remember
rushing to the record store to pick up the latest
Beatles albums and ensuring that the release was in
fact stereo (in early days records were often
released in stereo and mono).
When the remastered CD's come out I'm going to lock
myself in my audio room and listen to all the CD's
again. Partly because it's great music and party
because it will bring back memories of my youth. A
great brand forms an emotional connection with
consumers and the Beatles have done that. Banks also
bring out emotion but that emotion has to be
controlled with blood pressure medication.
