This TunesDay, I thought I’d continue to celebrate yesterday’s very American holiday with one of our most “American” bands, The Beach Boys. The song below is from their “Surf’s Up” album of 1971 and it’s one of my favorite songs when I need a little inspiration. While Carl Wilson plays all the instruments and sings the vocal parts it has the distinctive Beach Boys sound. Give it a listen:
They’re one of the few bands that I believe is instantly recognizable as soon as you hear a vocal part. Maybe it’s that 4 of the 5 were family – the 3 Wilson brothers and their cousin Mike Love. Their unique five-part harmony influenced almost anyone making music at the time and since. Which is, of course, today’s business thought.
Every business needs to have its own “sound.” In a perfect world, that brand identity is unique and wordless. As the American Marketing Association says:
Your brand identity is the representation of your company’s reputation through the conveyance of attributes, values, purpose, strengths, and passions. Great brands are easy to recognize, their mission is clear, and it fosters that coveted customer loyalty all businesses crave.
It’s not good enough to look to another brand or business and say “me too.” You need to have something intangible that people will recognize when they encounter the brand. It’s really the essence of the brand – that central set of emotions that are brought front and center, just as one conjures up California, the surf, and good times when hearing the Beach Boys.
Marketing 101? Maybe, but if you’re not creating as recognizable a sound as these guys, maybe back to basics is just what you need. Or as the song says:
But I hit hard at the battle that’s confronting me, yeah
Knock down all the roadblocks a-stumbling me
Throw off all the shackles that are binding me down
Success is waiting!
Consult Keith 