Many country singers
have similar branding.
They’re rebels,
outlaws,
fighting the establishment,
living on the edge.
That is carefully cultivated branding
and it isn’t real.
Toby Keith is a serious businessman.
He talks quite differently
to investors
than he talks to his fans.
Dolly Parton,
a singer whose branding
includes big hair,
big breasts,
and a giggly way of speaking,
is a powerhouse businesswoman
and is involved in…
well…almost everything.
Most recently,
she helped fund the research
for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
This week,
an up and coming country artist
was dropped from his label
for yet another
dumb a$$
(and extremely offensive)
publicity disaster.
I suspect he believed
the branding.
(I also suspect
that is truly who he is.)
He was mistaken.
There is branding
and there is reality.
Sometimes the two
are the same.
Often, they are
quite different.
Know why a brand works
before copying it.