Tag: Led Zeppelin

Put a Little Led Into Your Marketing!

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Led Zeppelin IV – Their fourth album sold 23 million copies, spent more than one year at the top of the charts and produced many classic songs such as “Black Dog”, “Stairway to Heaven” and “Going to California“.

Awesome right?  You know what is even more awesome?  The album does not have a name. We refer to it as Led Zeppelin IV but in fact it has no name.  The album cover does not mention the band or the record label and their is no text.

There are lessons here for today’s marketers:

  1. Substance over style – Emphasis was solely on the music
  2. Passionate dialog – Inside the album, fans found four symbols, each representing one band member.  This has sparked conversation and conjecture among fans that continues to this day. Zep has not released anything in many years but the discussion and the music live on
  3. No unbundling – “Stairway to Heaven” was one of the biggest hits of all times, but was never released as a single

After the sometimes dismissive, critical reaction Led Zeppelin III received in late 1970, Jimmy Page, lead guitarist for the band, decided that the next Led Zeppelin album would not have a title, but would instead feature four hand-drawn symbols on the inner sleeve and record label, each one chosen by the band member it represents.”We decided that on the fourth album, we would deliberately play down the group name, and there wouldn’t be any information whatsoever on the outer jacket”, Page explained. “Names, titles and things like that do not mean a thing.

Page stated that the decision to release the album without any written information on the album sleeve was contrary to strong advice given to him by a press agent, who said that after a year’s absence from both records and touring, the move would be akin to “professional suicide”.In his words: “We just happened to have a lot of faith in what we were doing.

Led Zeppelin – masters of their domain and followers of their own path.

Webman

And It Makes Me Wonder………

swebmanLeave a comment

Third in a series about why businesses fail.

If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now,
It’s just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on.
And it makes me wonder.

As my old friend “Da Coacha” would say, classic rock and roll from Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’.  So what the heck does this mean for you small business.  Everything!

Growing up I had no idea what “a bustle in your hedgerow’ meant and after doing research there are a variety of “thoughts” around the meaning, some that are just not suitable for this blog.  So here are your options:

1. It does not mean anything

2. It means something really deep

3. It means whatever you want it to mean

Take the poll and let me know what you think.

For business owners and employees the question is what road are you on and is there time to change the road you are on.  You are the only one that knows what road you are on but you still have plenty of time to make the change.

Many employees are stuck in jobs, happy to have the work, collecting a paycheck and wondering is this all there is to work.  They go to work everyday wondering if today is the day; the day when management walks in and says “I am sorry, we have to let you go.”  You did a good job, but management is judge and jury.  Others have a job but wonder everyday, “what else can I be doing to make an impact?”  “What can I do to change the monotony of this job, my life?”

Many small business employers wonder the same thing.  “Is this what running my own business means?”  All I want to really do is what I love to do, the real reason why I started the business and not have to worry about marketing, advertising, social, Facebook, Linked In etc..  And they ask, “what can I do to change the monotony of this job, my life?”

Well tomorrow when you wake up, ask yourself this question.  “Is this what I want to do?” “Is this the company I want to do it for?” “Am I living up to my potential and making a difference in my professional and personal life?”  “Am I giving back and helping others be successful?”

Is the company that you work for providing you what you need to succeed?  As a small business owner, are you providing your employees with the training, challenge and ability to grow everyday so that they are not asking themselves these questions?”

Hey this stuff is hard.  That is why they call is work.  And it makes me wonder……..

Webman