Turn Up the Volume on Your Brand

I heard a new song on the radio yesterday. Not even certain who the artist is, but I am quite certain I’ll hear it again. Catchy tune, upbeat lyrics, easy to sing along to after a couple listens. The perfect summer-poolside-Disneyland-play-it-over-and-over-again kind of tune, like Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” or Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA.” Instant moneymaker. And that started me thinking.

How do songwriters keep coming up with new songs?

I’m not a musician. I can play the radio, and that’s about it. Not a songwriter either. The best I could ever do would be to put my words to a tune that already exists. I just can’t create a musical arrangement. The fact that other people do truly impresses me. Because to me, there is a finite number of musical notes. How can there be an infinite number of ways to combine them? Haven’t they all been done before?

Then I thought about brands.

Brands are abundant. They’re everywhere. Every product you pick up, every vehicle on the road, every plane in the sky, every store and restaurant you pass, every article of clothing you wear displays a brand. Some have been around a long time, but there are dozens of new ones entering the marketplace every day. And no matter how many people experience them, they are never used up. Their energy isn’t weakened the more people they attract. Instead, that’s how they get stronger. The more people, the more power. The more power, the more people.

Which brought me full-circle back to music. Hearing a solo artist sing their original song onstage is nice. But hearing an audience of 22,000 sing every word along with them is really impressive.

Brands have that same potential. As long as we keep them original.