5 reasons why your brand will never be a “Taylor Swift”
Whether you like her or not, Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with. At the ripe age of 25, she’s already won 7 Grammys, released 5 albums, and has reached over 50 million followers on Instagram.
But this post isn’t about Swift the artist. Or Swift the celebrity. It’s about Swift the brand manager.
The Taylor Swift brand has amassed an estimated net worth of $200 million. Again, to push this home, that’s $200,000,000.
Smart people have taken notice. They are impressed. They are making faces like this.
Smarter people? They are taking notes and plotting their brand revenge.
For those who find themselves in the second category, read on. I share my perspective on why Swift is the ultimate brand manager and why she blows your brand out of the water.
5 reasons why your brand will never be a “Taylor Swift”
You’re not protective. Swift is the ultimate protector of “Taylor Swift” the brand. She is a knight who wields her sword and fights the good fight in honor of her brand king. She is selective in who she talks to, what events she performs at, who she partners with. Remember when she decided Spotify no longer served her brand well? She gave them the middle finger and said my brand deserves better. Granted, this never would have worked when she was a newbie, but the moral of the story is you need to protect your brand. It might mean making something “exclusive” or walking away from a quick deal, but in the long run your brand is everything and you need to protect it.
You’re not strategic. If your strategy is trying anything that gets you “mo’ customers, mo’ followers, mo’ money” you’re doing it wrong. Strategy is being calculated. Strategy is considering the short-term and long-term consequences of your brand’s actions. You don’t jump on bandwagons because it’s the cool thing to do and you don’t weigh in on topics that won’t positively impact your brand’s image.
You guys, I think that Swift dominates this category. As a brand manager, Swift will “never, ever, ever” do something that doesn’t align with her goals. Did you hear about the time Swift bought a whole line of chain restaurants to make a little extra cash? Me either, because it never happened. Unless it somehow played into her mission, Taylor Swift the brand manager simply wouldn’t do something like this. And you shouldn’t either.
You’re not bold. Swift’s whole deal is being bold. It’s her look, it’s how she runs her shows, it’s what she says, how she acts, what her music sounds like. Being bold is very similar to being strategic, but this time we’re talking about taking action. Like the time she wrote a letter to Apple when she didn’t like their lack of compensation for artists on Apple Music (more on that here). Going after one of the world’s largest companies (they have this little thing called iTunes) could have been a PR disaster, but Swift was confident in her ability to make waves without drowning. She was bold, but not careless, and Apple changed their position. More brownie points for “Taylor Swift” the brand.
You’re not genuine. Swift has repeatedly raised the bar when it comes to being genuine. She dominates social media, sending little pieces of her self out into cyberspace for all of her fans to see. As we all know, social media isn’t just another place to push our marketing materials. It is a space for interaction. Swift is notoriously known as the superstar who regularly tweets, likes, favorites, comments on, and writes to her individual fans (here and here). And let’s not forget “Swiftmas 2014”. The woman hand-picked and hand-wrapped presents and sent them off to blow everyone’s minds.
Swift’s connection with her loyal following is only possible because she makes a real effort to do so. This is both a personal choice and a professional one. I like to think Swift is truly a wonderful person, but let’s be honest. She also knows it’s smart business to treat your customers well. By continuously being honest, genuine, and caring, Swift has been able to create an incredible amount of brand loyalty. And everyone knows, when you play the game of brands, you win or you die.
You’re not Taylor Swift. Let’s face it. Your brand will never be a “Taylor Swift” because you’re simply not as amazing as Taylor Swift.
