Written on the 2 February 2015 by Rachel Quilty, Personal Brand Strategist @ Jump the Q
Brand Yourself for a Super Bowl Perfromance like Katy Perry and the Patriots
Watching the 49th SuperBowl at midday in Australia on a Monday workday is a little indulgent. But since living in Vermont, US for a few months in 2010/11 I have become a fan of the SuperBowl and more specifically the New England Patriots. After being in Las Vegas for the 2011 SuperBowl I appreciate the game that stops the nation and I gained a healthy appreciation for all things Tom Brady despite the Patriots going down to the Giants in the SBXLVI 21-17.
Congratulations New England @Patriots winners of the 49th SuperBowl over the Seattle Seahawks 28 -24! Fantastic game by Rookie Malcolm Butler and MVP Tom Brady showed us why he is has been voted Most Valuable Player in three of his four SuperBowl games.
After watching Madonna's half time show and how Madonna took over the airwaves across the US for the entire SuperBowl weekend in 2011, I thought it was going to be a hard act to follow for Katy Perry if her half time show was going to impress me. And yet as these two half time shows have now been touted as the best half time shows in the history of the Super Bowl I find myself agreeing. I really enjoyed Katy Perry's show for its wholesome family friendly yet spectacular entertainment.
As I watched the game a number of important branding lessons became evident as I drew parallels between Katy's show and Madonna's 2011 half time performance. So here are five celebrity branding lessons on how to make Superbowl halftime history:-
Lesson 1. Brand Exposure
We see it time and again with celebrities where they are in danger of brand over exposure. This is where your brand audience has become over familiar and often times critical. Madonna experienced this in the 80's and now carefully monitors her level of exposure, now disappearing at the height of her success. Miley Cyrus suffered from over exposure and audiences became tired of the same themes and provocative behaviours.
Katy Perry is on the cusp of over exposure and needs to take a lesson from marketing machine Madonna. However, after this performance has proven herself a world class entertainer and slammed nay-sayers who doubt that Perry was at this elite performer level.
Lesson 2. Brand Marketing
Despite the pre-game doubts, Perry accepted the SuperBowl invitation identifying herself has not only a talented singer and highly successful recording artist but a strong business women. Few acts can afford to produce a SuperBowl Half time show and the fact that Perry a young solo performer has the assets and acumen to put together a history making show reveals why after ten years in the limelight she is still a show stopper. Her show was consistent with her brand values of 'perky' but not excessively 'provocative' and continued to seduce her family friendly audience with great entertainment and mandatory 'fireworks'.
It will be interesting to watch Perry and the direction she takes in the very near future. Madonna works with the theoretical marketing cycle recognizing that there is a period of introduction, growth, maturity and then decline. Madonna cleverly disappears, reinvents herself, creates a new product (sound). Madonna realizes that purchases are generally made after a seven to eleven connections or touch points or in this case, you don't love and download the song until you've heard it half a dozen times. We have all found ourselves saying, the more I hear it the more I like it.
This repetition and consistent brand exposure builds awareness and supports brand growth, building interest and trust, moving into peak levels of exposure at maturity. We saw Madonna saturate the air waves SuperBowl weekend and release her MDNA song hours before SuperBowl simultaneously around the world allowing her to debut her single at number 1 in 38 countries; and breaking world records by releasing her album the following week and pre-selling her show tickets as she launched her world tour.
How Katy Perry capitalises on this opportunity will noteworthy no doubt, given her recently displayed business prowess.
Lesson 3. Brand Consistently
The one thing Katy Perry has been very success at has been establishing brand loyalty with her fans by maintaining a consistent brand. For nearly ten years, Katy Perry has consistently delivered cheeky, sometimes cheesy but always G- Rated songs and film clips. Katy has consistently shown us a girl who can have fun and also have a laugh at herself. Perry is fun, friendly and genuine.
Lesson 4. Brand Values
Katy Perry has appealed to young girls and boys by maintaining a fun, bubbly signature style while capturing the angst and drama of a typical teenagers' life and the trials of young love. Importantly, despite pressure to create a new more mature 'sexy' persona she instead argued against sexual exploitation of women and re-buffed the adage that "sex sells" and continues to be a positive role model of realistic body image and being true to yourself. Throughout her career and heartache she has been open in speaking out about how she withdrew to her faith and family roots, proving to be yet again a positive role model to her audience on rebounding from love and re-building herself while not falling for drugs and alcohol as a solution. Instead finding her strength in her faith, passion for her art and music and continuing to work despite personal heartbreak and the breakdown of her marriage.
Lesson 5. Brand Audience
Katy Perry's brand reflects her values and she has maintained a consistent brand that appeals to her audience. She hasn't forgotten her audience and who they are and what appeals to them. We saw what happened to Miley Cyrus when she shifted gears from wholesome to sex kitten too quickly. Miley's brand lost a lot of respect and support from her audience's parents. Something that Katy Perry has not forgotten. Perry has understood that while her appeal to tweens and teenagers is significant, it is only sustainable while she maintains the support of Mums and Dads and what they want their little girls and boys to be exposed to.
As you build your personal brand and expand your brand awareness in your marketplace; managing the opportunities that you will inevitably receive becomes vital and maintaining your brand values and the essence of your brand consistently will ensure you too deliver a history making half time performance.
**Buy a copy of Rachel Quilty's Brand Yourself book so you to can learn the top tactics and strategies to create your own brand awareness campaign and start your own revolution.
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