Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History
August 25th, 2010
- ISBN13: 9780470900529
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Product Description
The Grateful Dead-rock legends, marketing pioneersThe Grateful Dead broke almost every rule in the music industry book. They encouraged their fans to record shows and trade tapes; they built a mailing list and sold concert tickets directly to fans; and they built their business model on live concerts, not album sales. By cultivating a dedicated, active community, collaborating with their audience to co-create the Deadhead lifestyle, and giving away “freemium” conten… More >>
Anyone marketing anything will benefit from this book. It is packed with practical-yet-powerful marketing lessons from an unlikely source. Each lesson is supported by success stories from traditional marketing companies currently employing the principles. And if you’re a lifelong Deadhead like me, I’m certain you’ll find it fun to read and reminisce. Thanks to the authors for this non-traditional — but very applicable — marketing book.
Todd Sebastian
Best-selling author, Tell Your Clients Where to Go! A Practical Guide to Providing Passionate Client Leadership
Rating: 5 / 5
Unlike the millions of Deadheads, my exposure to the Grateful Dead has never included a concert. I can only credit classic rock radio. When a Dead song comes on, it’s like an old friend has walked in the room. It’s familiar. Comfortable.
So I was extremely curious to learn more about the band from a business, marketing and PR sense, as laid out in the new book Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead, from Deadheads and marketing gurus Brian Halligan and David Meerman Scott.
As a PR guy and content creator pushing the social media needle inside the walls of a large corporation, I found plenty of great practical advice in a book about a band that did everything “wrong” in marketing their way from obscurity to musical genius and legendary status.
The fact that I didn’t know much about the band’s history before I turned the first page didn’t matter. If you’re in my shoes in your career, you won’t be able to put the book down.
It’s a short but substantive read, its “lessons” laid out in terms of “The Band,” The Fans” and “The Business.”
But it’s not all about the Dead. Each chapter offers practical examples and ways to translate the Dead’s lessons to your business.
The lesson the Dead gets the most credit for is how they were so open to having people tape their concerts. Think about it, it’s the 2010 equivalent of sharing links, right? The Dead just asked that fans not sell those recordings – many probably did – but the point is that sharing and spreading the music helped the band get more popular. They even set up a special “taping section” of seats when there got to be too many microphones sticking up out of the crowd blocking the view of many fans. Genius.
Yet today, how many bands let you do that? With audio or video? Not many.
I found this book very relevant to my work and my personal mission to push for a corporate environment that’s much more open to relating to its “fans” in relevant, meaningful ways.
Rating: 5 / 5
From the opening foreword by NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton, I knew rockstars Halligan and Scott had another winning book. You can tell they had fun writing this book as the words and numerous marketing points jump off the pages. Early on we are delivered a great takeaway: The Grateful Dead teaches us that business model innovation is just as important, if not more so, than product innovation. There are several more great takeaways as you read on.
Similar to a Dead concert this book is different, entertains, teaches us about life/marketing and has us wanting more. Can’t wait for the next concert.
Erik Qualman
Rating: 5 / 5
I never would have thought of the concept of the Grateful Dead as the original WOM brand builders, but it’s so true. Reading about Jerry and the band and how they built a community was so entertaining and real for me (I grew up in Berkeley and was surrounded by Dead culture). The Dead embodied the principles of brand building by staying entirely authentic, being passionate, and transparent. I never thought about how going against the paradigm and letting their fans record and pass along their music was such a key part of their success, but I can think of so many of my friends who kept their sacred Dead tapes in their cars and homes, where they became treasured possessions. The passion for the band just blossomed. Get this book–I guarantee you won’t put it down until you have read it cover to cover.
Rating: 5 / 5
Grateful Dead inspires a marketing book that is fun to read and shows how the band was trailblazing ideas now seen in social media: bypass the usual sales channels, serve fans their way, give stuff away and sell, build a diverse team to see opportunities from many sides. David Meerman Scott has co-author a book that helpful – and a fun read for those, like me, who don’t usually dive into “marketing”books.
Rating: 5 / 5