On a sticky July evening, the multimillion-selling vocal group One Direction (aka 1D) made a stop at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ on their international “Take Me Home” tour. The capacity crowd of 19,000+ fans , composed primarily of frenzied Jersey girls between the ages of 9 and 16, welcomed the young U.K. stars with open arms and screaming mouths.
For those unfamiliar with
the worldwide pop cultural impact of 1D, here’s a quick summary:
- The group’s 5 members were originally contestants on the British version of “The X Factor” in 2010. They were signed to Simon Cowell’s Syco Records (marketed and distributed worldwide by Columbia Records).
- Their first album “Up All Night” was released in 2012, and their second album “Take Me Home” came out in 2013. The group has sold a total of 19 million singles and 10 million albums around the world.
- Tickets for their tours have sold out within minutes.
(Full disclosure: my 11 year-old daughter is a rabid “Directioner”, and I accompanied her to 1D’s Izod Center show.)
The passionate emotional
enthusiasm (and sizable financial expenditures) that 1D inspires among its
massive global fan base is not a fluke: it’s
the result of a meticulously nurtured loyalty-building strategy that was on
full display at the Izod Center.
Companies that wish to develop positive connections with their own
customers would be wise to learn from 1D’s examples, which were carefully
planned by their managers and flawlessly choreographed by the producers of
their “Take Me Home” tour:
1. Deliver outstanding quality.
I expected 1D to put on an adequate show that pleased their young fans. But what I saw at the Izod Center was a powerful spectacle that truly wowed the Directioners.
I expected 1D to put on an adequate show that pleased their young fans. But what I saw at the Izod Center was a powerful spectacle that truly wowed the Directioners.
Laser light effects. Explosions.
Smoke. Confetti and
streamers. Dazzling graphics and
colorful, fast-paced videos on a wide, two-story screen behind 1D and their
band. All were coordinated and displayed
tastefully and impressively.
THE TAKEAWAY:
Every element of 1D’s concert was calculated to dazzle their young fans/customers,
and they all worked. Companies should
aim to achieve such excellence in every aspect of their customer interactions,
including:
- creating and delivering a first-rate product/service
- providing courteous customer care
- nurturing valuable dialogues and helpful social media interactions
- crafting user-friendly multimedia sales and marketing collateral
2. Understand your customers’ NGDs.
The overriding NGD (need/goal/desire) for the majority of the Izod Center audience was to get closer than they had ever been before to their favorite 1D member (or, in the words of my daughter, to “breathe the same air as 1D”).
The overriding NGD (need/goal/desire) for the majority of the Izod Center audience was to get closer than they had ever been before to their favorite 1D member (or, in the words of my daughter, to “breathe the same air as 1D”).
1D served up the
goods. Each member was featured,
spotlighted, and called out throughout the show, giving their respective
admirers plenty to shriek about. In what
I felt was a smart move, the guys were attired in hip yet informal
outfits: they didn’t wear the glittery
suits or elaborate costumes that boy bands of yore (e.g., Backstreet Boys, N’
Sync, New Kids On The Block) sported when performing. This choice made the group’s members more
accessible (and attainable) to the shrieking tweens/teens.
THE TAKEAWAY:
One Direction’s management and concert producers didn’t create a concert
experience that they thought would reflect their target consumers’ NGDs
– they created a concert experience that they knew would reflect their
target consumers’ NGDs.
Whether it was by research, observation, experience,
or a combination of the three, the teams behind 1D’s show succeeded because
they had an accurate appreciation of what Directioners wished to derive from
the group’s live presentation. Companies
should take this same approach when researching their own customers’ specific
NGDs. Rather than assuming what they are
or guessing what they might be, they should instead aim to learn exactly what
they truly are and then reflect them in their product/service.
3. Create real connections with your customers.
One Direction bonded with their Izod Center fans in three noteworthy ways:
One Direction bonded with their Izod Center fans in three noteworthy ways:
i. Midway through the
concert, the guys took a break from the music and invited the audience to send
them tweets with questions about their tour. The fans’ queries (“What’s your favorite
American food/t.v. show/etc.?”) were posted on two massive video screens on
either side of the main stage at the front of the arena.
After answering each
tweeted question, the group then gave a shout-out to – and had a spotlight shined
on - the section of the arena from which the question originated, which sent
the fans who were seated in that section into joyous hysterics.
ii. In sing-alongs and the call/response
parts of songs that they performed throughout the night, 1D let the Jersey
crowd know that they were the loudest and most enthusiastic audience on their
tour. This incredible news made the
arena’s decibel level explode into the ear bleed zone.
(I told my daughter that
1D probably says the same thing to the audiences at each of their concerts, but
she firmly insisted that 1D would never do that…)
iii. At numerous times
throughout the evening, 1D thanked the Directioners for coming to their show,
and let them know that the group would never have attained their current level
of success – or had a chance to perform in New Jersey – if the fans hadn’t been
so supportive of their music and careers.
THE TAKEAWAY: In
each of the above examples, One Direction leveraged their concert as a vehicle
to establish powerful, memorable, and direct relationships with their fans/customers. They also expressed tremendous gratitude to
their fans for the group’s achievements.
Using their social media channels, customer service
channels (phone, chat, email), and email marketing efforts, companies should
seek to creatively connect and interact with their own customers, as well as devise
sincere ways to express their thanks for their customers’ support (i.e.,
purchases). Implemented correctly and
genuinely, a company’s multi-dimensional relationship-building efforts can
yield significant customer loyalty, improved marketplace image, and future
sales.
4. Exceed your customers’ expectations - then exceed them
again.
If One Direction had put on an energetic performance of their fans’ favorite songs, interacted with the audience, and enhanced the show with dynamic videos and explosive effects, the Directioners would have gone home very satisfied.
If One Direction had put on an energetic performance of their fans’ favorite songs, interacted with the audience, and enhanced the show with dynamic videos and explosive effects, the Directioners would have gone home very satisfied.
Just before the show’s halfway
mark, the group ascended stairs that led to a high platform above the floor of
their stage. Each member attached a
waist cable to his microphone stand. The
elevated platform, which was tethered to an elaborate track apparatus that was bolted
into the ceiling, began to slowly move from the front of the arena to the back
– where it lowered the guys onto a second stage.
As the platform journeyed
across the length of the Izod Center, the screams from the rear of the arena
increased in volume. Fans in these faraway
sections, who were only able to make out their favorite 1D members via
binoculars or on the giant video screens, were now closer to them than they
could ever have imagined – or their seat locations suggested - they’d be.
There’s no doubt that significant
phone memory within the Izod Center was filled to capacity with photos and
videos of this unexpected crowd-thrilling surprise.
THE TAKEAWAY: To
survive in the marketplace and keep up with your competitors, deliver what your
customers expect. To thrive in the
marketplace and dominate your competitors, deliver more than what your
customers expect.
5. Surprise and innovate.
Having heard 1D’s albums played in their entirety by my daughter hundreds of times over the past year, I knew all of the songs that the group sang at their Izod show. One song, however, was unfamiliar.
Having heard 1D’s albums played in their entirety by my daughter hundreds of times over the past year, I knew all of the songs that the group sang at their Izod show. One song, however, was unfamiliar.
Toward the end of
the concert, One Direction performed a guitar-heavy, alternative rock-sounding
song called “Teenage Dirtbag”. I figured that I might have missed it when
my daughter was listening to her albums, or maybe it was released as an
overseas single and wasn’t included on 1D’s American releases. I asked my
daughter when 1D put the song out, and she didn’t know. In fact, she had
never 1D sing it before.
The fact that
“Teenage Dirtbag” was new to my daughter - as well as to all of the
Directioners at the Izod Center - didn’t seem to matter: by the end of
the second chorus, everyone was singing along. Elaborate graphics on the Izod
Center video screens featuring the song’s lyrics and 1D as comic book action
heroes pretty much made the song theirs.
It turns out that
“Teenage Dirtbag” was an alt-rock hit in 2000 by the band Wheatus.
According to Billboard magazine, “Teenage Dirtbag” offered "keen
melody, inventive production, and cool lyric about those who have felt like
underlings during high school."
Billboard went on to say that it "stands strongly on its own as an
emphatic anthem and a song many teens will be proud to push hard from their car
speakers.”
THE
TAKEAWAY: 1D’s decision to create a
version of “Teenage Dirtbag” was risky, unexpected, and absolutely
brilliant. Whether it was a tease of
their new album’s sound, or a messaging tie-in with their current anti-bullying
partnership with Office Depot, or just something cool to perform live, “Teenage
Dirtbag” was executed flawlessly – and the group’s fans/customers loved it.
Companies should
strategically embrace similar boldness and innovation in order to surprise
their customers and the marketplace.
It’s easy to coast when a successful formula is discovered. It takes guts and a long-term perspective to
intelligently expand on that formula in a way that will please current
customers and attract new prospects.
1D’s success is no
accident. It’s the well-planned result
of the band’s charisma and talent combined with excellent
songwriting/production, spectacular marketing, and – perhaps most importantly -
impeccable customer service.