Don't stop the music

Let the music play. Don’t stop. When you run a project or campaign it usually has a stop date but when you are creating a movement or building a community there is no end date.

Think about a band like The Beatles. Although the band hasn’t toured or put out a new record (officially) in decades the music never stopped. It keeps on playing.

They spent the hard work up front positioning themselves as the leaders in British Pop and then created a loyal following by producing consistent and exceptionable content (tours, albums, singles, movies, print, etc). No doubt campaigns were created around each record, tour, and media appearance but the engagement never stopped. More importantly when the band stopped, the fans didn’t let the music fade.

Campaigns are necessary to create awareness and sell records but building enthusiastic fans for life takes connection. The music is the connector. It is the thing that builds a bridge from one fan to another. Make sure your campaigns accomplish short-term goals and are aligned with your overall brand strategy. If they aren’t matched, the music stops.

What are you doing to ensure your product, service, or cause moves from production to promotion to movement?