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Monday
Nov212011

What Bands Can Learn From The Failure Of Occupy

I have always taken pride in stirring the pot a little. I love hot button issues because it is something so many can relate to. But before I connect the dots of this topic, I think I need to make a few things clear. Because so many can't wrap their heads around using a hot topic as an example, the weaker minds tend to confuse the example with the point. So it might help things if I make a few things clear about my feelings on this topic.

First off if you think Occupy is a bunch of jobless hippies you are not paying any attention at all. Jokes that even hint at that only make you look like a clueless moron. The truth is that there are Marines out there who think that this fight for their country is more important than the one they did on the battlefield. Their are people with jobs who are sucking up all their vacation hours to be a part of this.

Second, the Occupy movement is not against business, corporations, profit, or even capitalism. The Occupy movement is against corruption. The Occupy movement is against crony capitalism. Do you know the difference? Until you do please shut your trap.

Third, the Occupy movement has failed. Yes I know I will piss off both sides with this article, but everything I have said is true. Why did it fail? No leadership is the movement's biggest problem. Just like with most local bands that fail, there was a horrid marketing strategy. That little thing with the finger waves to say if you agree with something or not? That and the drum circles make it look like nothing but a bunch of dirty hippies who need to just take a shower and get a job. It sent the wrong message. There are so many local bands that have the same problem. They lack one central message with their brand. Like it or not everything is marketing and everything has a brand no matter if you want to acknowledge it or not. If you do acknowledge it, you can control it better. Both local bands that go nowhere and the Occupy movement have this same problem. There is a message they want to put forth that gets buried because they don't want to acknowledge their brand and the marketing that needs to happen for that brand to do what they want it to.

Local bands love to play the same clubs every weekend. It feels safe. If they are good enough they can be a big fish in their little pond. It feels good. But they end up milking that cow for too long and when it runs out of milk they just get dust. They waited too long to start working on the next step and fizzle into nothing. The same thing happened with Occupy. They where doing really great getting people's attention standing their ground at the local parks. But there was no strategy to it. There was no end game. They waited too long to set up the next step because it felt good to just keep doing what was working. That failed local band and Occupy should have planned for the next step while they had people's attention. Never rest on your laurels. Always plan for the next step no matter if you are in a band or in a political movement. Strike while the iron is hot!

As I said already in this article, your brand is everything. Marketing is a major part of everything. Strategy is always top priority. Forget these rules and you will always fail. No matter if it is a band, a political movement, or anything else in life. So go work on your strategy. Both of you!

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