Prince – Master Musician and Brand Master

As many, I was shocked with the passing of Prince yesterday.  A musical genius who had tremendous influence on multiple generations.  Personally, I had 3 cassettes of the Purple Rain soundtrack.  Why 3? I wore them out from listening to some of the greatest songs of my generation.  Thank God the modern CD was created.

Prince was more than a musician; he was the master of the “Prince” brand.  Now whether he was cognizant or had a plan can be debated. 

• -          Color – how many artists are recognizable by a color?  For Prince it was purple.  The evidence was his use of the color in his marketing materials, songs, etc.  Last night’s tributes to him had lighting of purple across the globe.
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• -          Symbol – “the artist formally known as Prince.”  Remember that?  At first it was considered a joke. However, the symbol became as iconic as the color purple.  From guitars, graphics, t-shirts, etc. the symbol was uniquely his brand logo.
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• -          Super Bowl Half Time Performance – when on the grand stage of performance, with 100 million plus people seeing you perform, he cemented his brand.  His 2007 performance in the rain is legendary.  Frankly, it was perfect… the rain provided the backdrop when he played his hit “Purple Rain.”  An Interesting tidbit.. His performance was named the best Super Bowl performance.
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• -          Privacy – Prince was a private individual.  Living in Minneapolis certainly helps you be private.  But he didn’t get caught up in the LA scene, where the paparazzi and tabloid press prey on and can distort images.  That’s not saying he didn’t make the front page of The Enquirer, but it seemed to be tempered.  He controlled his brand by staying out of controversy.
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• -          Letting “Lightning” Strike Once -- After the movie Purple Rain ran its course, I was sure there would be a sequel.  There wasn’t.   But I have to believe it was discussed.  It seems to me he probably knew the risk of trying to make another hit, thus, damaging his brand.
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• -          Have Others Advocate His Brand – just a few artists who he helped or who played work he penned include:  The Bangles, Sheila E., Vanity, Tom Jones, and Sheena Easton.  They carried his brand by making hits out of his songs… those artists broadened his brand through their association with Prince.
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• -          Ownership – Prince was a stickler for “ownership” of his performances and work.   Sheryl Crow and others have discussed his business acumen at ensuring he “owned” his brand.  Prince seemed to know what his brand was worth and controlled it to ensure the value remained high.  

I’ll miss the live performances, new music and trend setting Prince provided.  RIP O’Purple One.

Scott