Like millions of people around the world, I was shocked and saddened by Michael Jackson’s untimely death last Thursday.
I found out on Twitter. And, it’s true, I’m a ‘closet’ Michael Jackson fan. I realized that as his music and videos filled the airwaves – he was the backdrop of my life for decades. And every song has memories – Beat It, Thriller, Bad, We Are The World….on and on.
Setting aside his trials and tribulations, his brand is so strong and well defined that his legacy truly will be that of a genius artist and a true humanitarian. In fact, it’s not hard to see that his brand will most likely have an enormous resurgence and the positive will absolutely outweigh the negative.
The gold standard
At the core of a gold standard brand is a passionate consumer/fan base. And this passionate community lives and breathes both offline and online. That made the speed of the news of Michael’s death a new phenomenon…once people received the news they shared it with their networks, who shared it with their networks….and so it goes.
I think everyone was surprised at just how passionate Michael’s fans are:
- Google had so much traffic, it thought it was being hacked
- Nearly 65,000 texts per second were sent according to AT&T – more than 60 percent over normal volume.
- 100 new friends were added per minute on Michael’s MySpace – the site’s highest increase in one day
- Approx 5,000 tweets per second were going out over Twitter
A global brand icon
I think Harvard Business School’s John Quelch captured it well in his post on June 26, the day Michael died. Among other elements of a global brand icon, he identifies this:
Be visible. All memorable brands have their unique visual trademarks. Jackson understood brand image and how to build it with his fans. The moonwalk that we could all try to imitate. The glove. The uniform. Neverland.- Go global. Jackson’s music and videos easily transcended national boundaries, as well as race, age and gender. “We Are the World”, written by Jackson and Lionel Ritchie in 1985, cemented his global appeal. Jackson sold almost half his 750 million titles outside the United States.
- Be vulnerable. We cannot relate to icons without imperfections. Jackson was quirky, eccentric, mysterious. For all his wealth and professional excellence, he was – perhaps understandably – flawed, misguided, and sad, but none would say unkind.
Good advice for all building a personal brand.
Michael Jackson, you were many things to many people, but most of all you are etched in decades of people’s lives and memories. You will be missed.
Author:
Beverly Macy is the Managing Partner of Y&M Partners and teaches a social media class at the UCLA Extension. She also co-hosts Gravity Summit events and provides personal branding coaching.
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Beverly, you captured MJ’s essence. He was human. may we all become and live the best of our lives. Starting early also helps. MJ started out at 5.Stop procastination and go ahead to fulfil your dream too. That is my opinion
Great post Beverly. The reason so many people were able to connect with Michael was his humanity – even as a mega-superstar, he was still human, and showed that through his (at times) flawed actions – although I don’t believe the majority of the accusations against him. Through and through, Michael Jackson was a LEGEND. His success may never be achieved by a single person ever again. But his story is also a brutal example of what fame can do to a person. To us on the outside looking in, we saw a generous, caring, shy individual who became this totally different ‘character’ in the spotlight. It’s funny how the media will try to destroy you throughout your life, but once you die, you are idolized and praised. Quite a society we live in.
MJ also proved being a global icon is no guarantee for happiness and it brings huge responsibilities as well. You can be lonely, even when the whole world knows you…
Be the icon you can handle!
Jan, this is a great comment. With celebrity status comes a lot of responsibility and problems.
I have to disagree on that one.
I think Michael’s Brand was a miserable failure.
His fame and fortune came mostly because of his unique talent – despite the way he managed his brand – a
His Frequency change in his face was a clear evidance that he didnt like himself. and when someone dont like himself – it negatively effects his brand
@Dan: With micro-celebrity status too!
Nice article Beverly. Maor is also right: his talent was the main thing, but I don’t think Michael’s Brand was a miserable failure, at least from a fame perspective…
[...] The Michael Jackson Brand [...]
I disagree with you Maor, When the majority of people say or hear the name “MICHAEL JACKSON” an instant iconic identity is recognized and people will react a certain way. Just like “ELVIS PRESLEY” or “BARACK OBAMA” or “JESUS CHRIST”. And his talent was amazing, YES, BUT his image was the needed part of the formula. We know him well as the ENTERTAINER, and that should be what he is to be remembered for, But as was mentioned before, we know that you get more than what you bargained for when ALOT of people like what you do and how you do it. You’ll agree with me when you start seeing monuments built in his name, Museums and academy’s built in his name, school programs named after him, CLASSES taught about his music, ETC. ETC. You already have the situation where people are talking about seeing his face in the sky and his image in a tree. It is not going to end!!!!