Today, I spoke with Dayna Steele, who used to be a famous radio show host, and now she’s a writer, author and speaker. She’s learned a lot about building powerful brands through her interactions with some of the loudest and greatest rock bands in the world, such as Van Halen. In this interview, she reviews some tips for you, as you develop your brand moving forward.
Dayna, can you go over some famous rock bands and how they’ve successfully branded themselves?
The Rolling Stones have the tongue, KISS has the makeup, Van Halen has the logo/guitar sound. Bands have always been smart about branding – that’s what the t-shirt booth is for!
Why is a great product or service not enough? Why is branding needed?
Many products and services are good but not memorable. You want to stand out in a crowd. There are many brands of tissue but don’t we always say Kleenex? There are many soft drinks but don’t we always say I need a coke? Gelatin is a big favorite at cafeterias but we look for Jell-O.
Why is it a great strategy to give away promotional products (one’s that reflect your brand)? Or to at least have a business card.
The more you can do to mark the brand in someone’s mind, the better. We gave away Space Pens (like on Seinfeld) at The Space Store. Expensive but had our logo and summed up what we did – we sold space items.
In your book, you talk about finding your fans. What methods do you have in finding your audience, both online and offline?
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Read, ask, research. Read your trade papers, research all you can online. Who’s writing a blog? Who’s commenting? Google your product and other like products or services. What press is writing about your product or service? Introduce yourself, get a quote I the next article – then new fans can find you. Free publicity is always good! Ask how people found you. Go to events, trade shows, conventions, performances – anything that has something to do with your product or service and ask what people like and how they found out about it. This is not the time to be shy.
What are some ways to protect your brand?
Google yourself, your product, your name, your company at least once a week. That’s a great, fast way to find out what’s being said, what’s being used. Depending on what you do, file the proper legal papers. A trademark, a copyright, incorporate – again, you have to do the leg work. Find a decently priced lawyer and ask for one hour of their time, no more. Tell them what you do and what you need to protect. Or try Legalzoom.com. Great pricing and advice there.
You’ve been on the radio for much of your career. How does radio help build brands?
Repetition that reaches the masses. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I played Stairway to Heaven and Freebird.
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Dayna Steele is a popular speaker and the author of Rock To The Top: What I Learned about Success from the World’s Greatest Rock Stars. Dayna is best known as Houston’s First Lady of Radio ruled the rock airwaves for almost two decades. Honored by Billboard Magazine as Local Radio Personality of the Year in 1996, Steele was also included in Talkers Magazine’s 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts. Steele spent years traveling the globe and interviewing countless bands and rock stars like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ozzy Osbourne, David Bowie, Bono and Sammy Hagar.
