5 Branding Lessons We Can Learn from Metallica

When you think of brand success stories, which brands come to mind? A list of the usual suspects—Amazon, Apple, Nike—will likely come up, but I've always felt that one brand was missing from the list: Metallica. That's right, the heavy metal band which started in the '80s and is still topping the charts today. Hear me out. Like Apple and Microsoft, Metallica grew from a small garage into a nationally recognized brand. They then leveraged that brand to become one of the biggest bands in the world. Their latest album, Hardwired... to Self Destruct, is their sixth consecutive album to debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200. In honor of their longevity, here are five branding lessons we can learn from Metallica's thirty-plus year career. Related: 5 of our brand identity heroes and what you can learn from them 1. Create your brand story Los Angeles in 1981 was not a welcoming scene for metal music. Metallica founders Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield could've easily slapped on makeup and started a glam rock band for quick success, but they had a passion for metal. They believed that if they stayed "real" and did what they loved, Metallica would be successful. Metallica have often been the antithesis of pop music, and their commitment to the anti-hero story at the start of their careers shot them into superstardom. By wearing rebellion on their sleeves, Metallica tapped into a bustling underground community of metalheads and the counterculture movement against glam rock that was dominating the mainstream. With this, Metallica gave themselves a story—something their brand could stand for. Research suggests that consumers use brands as a form of self-expression, but it's nearly impossible to do that when a brand doesn't have a solid story. The Metallica logo evolved over time to mean something more to fans than just the name of the band; it became a symbol of rebellion. What does your brand logo mean to customers and prospects? Ulrich and Hetfield had a clear vision of what they wanted to communicate. Even though they made music for themselves, their ingenuity and raw emotion cut through the artificial noise of the '80s heavy music scene to make a big impact. Incorporating story into the brand enhances consumers' recall of a brand and its benefits. Brands can take advantage of their heritage by appealing to their brand story as a testament to their staying power. 2. Build on the relationship between your core customers and your brand Almost every brand has an easily identifiable "love group," core customers who serve as brand champions. The best way to maintain this relationship is to have an open dialogue with your love group and hear what they have to say. The Met Club is a perfect example of how Metallica keeps close to their core fans. Members of the Met Club are called "fifth members" of the band. Instead of treating email like a fishing line—blasting out sales-optimized emails in hopes of scoring leads from a small percentage of engagements—Metallica offer real value through their emails. Exclusive content, exclusive merch, pre-sale tickets, and free downloads all promote a feeling of community and of being an insider among the fanbase. What are you doing to reach your brand's love group? Insider programs, rewards, advisor panels, and surveys are all ways you can connect with your brand's supporters and hear them out. Not only will this foster brand loyalty, it will give you valuable insights on areas that need improvement. 3. Level-headed strategy succeeds over passion for the brand Why do some b(r)ands succeed when others do not? Is it pure talent, or are there other factors at play? Sometimes, the answer is chalked up to plain luck. Metallica definitely had some lucky breaks along the way, but their initial success was primarily driven by Ulrich's relentless work ethic and growth strategy. In the early days, Ulrich had no doubts they would be successful. In his view, success was not a matter of if, but when. We see this often in startups' early stages when talented founders follow their passions rather than evaluate their companies objectively. But putting that passion aside, Ulrich still had a growth plan: as long as they could get in front of an audience, their talent and ferocity would take them the rest of the way. By staying up until 2 a.m. every night making calls to European concert promoters (and not taking no for an answer), he secured exposure to a wide audience. The grueling tours certainly stoked the flames of the Metallica machine, but they still needed one big push over the edge to stardom. Surprisingly enough, that push would come from Sharon Osbourne. 4. Co-branding can boost your brand to new heights Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon were quite the enterprising couple in the '80s, though one could argue that Sharon was the one behind the wheel. Looking to grow Ozzy's brand—he'd left Black Sabbath for a solo career—Sharon hoped to increase the value of Ozzy's '86 tour by inviting other acts to open. One of those acts would be Metallica. The Ultimate Sin tour was a highly successful co-branding effort which boosted both bands. A paper in the Schmalenbach Business Review describes the benefits of co-branding: "Both brand extension and co-branding strategies attempt to strengthen the parent brand and extend customer value perceptions to a new product. However, a co-branding strategy might be more beneficial than a brand extension strategy, because a second brand can contribute a perception of additional value to both the co-branded product and the primary brand itself that the primary brand cannot achieve on its own." The symbiotic relationship between the two bands shows the effectiveness of co-branding. Ozzy (nearly 40 at the time) met his fans' expectations of a high-octane tour, while Metallica gained the positive associations that Ozzy's fans attributed to him. Or, to put it another way, Metallica was taken seriously in the metal world, while Ozzy brought his show some fresh blood. The two brands complemented one another perfectly. Co-branding is a common tactic used by brands all over the world. When introducing a new product into an existing category, brands often use co-branding to assure consumers of quality and earn their trust. This was apparent in Ozzy's tour, in which concert-goers were assured that Metallica would put on an unforgettable show, thus justifying premium ticket prices. 5. Brand consistency is more important than ever Over their decades-long career, Metallica's brand has expanded and changed. While many controversial decisions have been for admirably artistic reasons, the negative effects of brand inconsistency can be long-lasting. On the upswing of the eponymous album Metallica in '91, the band changed their looks and cut their hair. This aesthetic change accompanied a noticeable shift in their music as well—almost as if the band had been rebranded. The '96 album Load, which featured blues-inspired riffs in place of their signature staccato, left many core fans feeling alienated. Still, album sales grew as Metallica now appealed to a wider audience. The mainstream fans sustained Metallica's #1 album streak for two more albums, but after the controversial St. Anger in 2003, they realized they needed to return to their metal roots and win back core fans. Metallica turned to visual design and branding experts Turner Duckworth to create a familiar look and feel for their 2008 album Death Magnetic. Without even hearing the album, fans knew it would sound like classic Metallica by the logo used on the album cover and in promotional materials. This was highly significant—20 years had passed since this logo had last been used. By using brand signals to communicate the return to their sonic roots, Metallica once again broke into the #1 spot with Death Magnetic, in spite of brand inconsistency in previous years. Without it, fans wouldn't have known what to expect. This goes back to the original function of a brand: to convey quality and provide a medium for self-expression. With all their business success, I find it surprising that Metallica have never been featured on the cover of Forbes. The fact that four high school educated metalheads were able to build one of the biggest and most recognizable brands in the world is both astounding and inspiring, and it speaks to the power brands have to resonate with all of us. Enjoy this post? 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