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- [00:00]
Alex
What the artists need to realize is that sometimes outside of what they see as art is actually what makes it transcend into a masterpiece.
- [00:09]
Brandon
What a brand, what a brand, what a brand, what a mighty good brand say it again now. What a brand, what a brand, what a brand, what a mighty good brand.
- [00:19]
Alex
So welcome back to the Art of the Brand. The topic of this week is your brand needs more cowbell. And this is one of the most famous Saturday Night Live skits that you constantly come back to. And you actually brought it up this week. So explain what you were going through to tie the more cowbell concept to branding.
- [00:39]
Casey
Like, I always make a cultural reference to it because it's on one hand absolutely hilarious what Will Ferrell did during that, but also I think relevant to giving business advice to people because there is an element of that skit. And for those of you who don't remember it, Will Ferrell has one role in this 1970s band. And I think they're playing that. Come, Come Fill the Reaper. It's a famous song. Bruce Dickinson promoted it. And he's just playing cowbell. And you know, you have amazing guitarists and drummers all doing their stuff and singing. But the cowbell guy is taking too much of a role there. And the other band members start getting upset at the fact that Will Ferrell is being too crazy with cowbell. And it's ridiculous because it's so far, it's so exaggerated. But I thought what Bruce Dickinson played by Christopher Walken, his point is, like, if people want more cowbell, give them more cowbell. And when you're looking at your business or your brand, I think too often leaders are trying to please everybody in the organization or market to everybody. And it would be good to kind of figure out just to ask yourself, what's our cowbell like? What is the thing that the people want that they love and how do we give them more cowbell?
- [01:51]
Alex
There's definitely layers to this analogy because in some brands, the cowbell can be maybe a controversial kind of campaign or you know, a really crazy thing that they went and did. Like in some ways, Nutter Butter is really actually doing more cowbell, you know, but. But in a non positive way. But then there's also the element of seeing more cowbell as not as like. Cause the whole. What's funny about the skit is that there's really skilled musicians. There's someone that is clearly almost like over performing. But then what makes it extra funny is that the audience ends up loving the person with the least amount of talent. Right. So there's kind of layers to the message. And that song. Sometimes there's what people want more of. You just have, like, what makes you stand out, do more of it. But then there's also the element of. Is sometimes doing the extreme. You know, are you getting good, good attention? Because something actually isn't fitting. You know, like.
- [03:05]
Casey
It'S almost an exercise in organizational psychology or team building, because, you know, the guy who's been working on the guitar his whole life to be able to pull off that riff, you know, wants to be recognized for it. The drummer is killing it. The vocal, you know, but they're on a team. Like, we just called the band, and that song Come Fill the Reaper, whatever it's called, probably wouldn't have made it without the cowbell. And so it's. It's this organizational. Can people understand that they have to reduce their own personal. Their own whatever they're getting from personally in order to be successful? Do you know what I mean? Like, because you get this on teams where everybody is competing, but, like, if there's this one cheesy thing that helps you win, everybody just embrace it, because winning is more important than getting personally validated. And you can see it on the faces of the band members in the skit, how they're getting annoyed, but he doesn't care. He's just hitting that cowbell. Like, give him more cowbell and it. And in the end, it becomes one of the most famous skits of all time. And you need to ask yourself why. There's a reason for it, and you've touched on it. It's in the ridiculous, but also in the relevant.
- [04:09]
Alex
Well, it's actually quite proverbial. Like, it could be almost like one of those amazing Buddhist stories, but because Saturday Night Live is capturing the story, they're making it more hilarious and more ridiculous. Because what makes the cowbell element, outside of Will Ferrell really having creative license with it, is it was a good song. But what made it great was having, like, a different sound, was having, like, a dynamic element that was, like, a little bit more eerie, a little bit more. Like, it made the sound more round, right? So because of that, of doing something greater, which is that, like, Olympic difference that we talk about, it made this song a cult classic. And what the artists need to realize is that sometimes, outside of what they see as art is actually what makes it transcend into a masterpiece, right? And we always talk about that great art is always almost so close to being bad. Like, it. You know, if it was just like, 10 or 20% more even, like, great food. Like, I find when we're. We. We do this thing and it's called the 10 Bite Chew, and I forget where we got it from. When we eat something at like a really good restaurant, we both will not speak and we'll do two ten chews in silence to really, like, enjoy the piece of food before we discuss it. And oftentimes, like, really great dishes. It's that initial of like, do I love this or do I hate this? And that's when you're often, like, enjoying something that's really great because it's not good. You know, like, good is usually quite easy to understand. It's like that greatness that's kind of. That's harder to navigate.
- [05:49]
Casey
And it also shows how people can try to pull you away from change. Right. Like, everybody is used to doing their own thing.
- [05:56]
Alex
Great point.
- [05:56]
Casey
Right. They're all just playing and then all of a sudden you're like, look, we're going to introduce this cowbell into a song. Hasn't been done before, or it's only.
- [06:02]
Alex
Been done in, like, bluegrass or like, folk. And especially for when that song was really, like, written, there was so much with the Rolling Stones, like, they got so much inspiration from the bluegrass revival and from like, from really likes, like, soul music. So that transition into rock and roll was really founded in bluegrass. But then it was almost like if you did anything that was more traditional during a time of so much change. What?
- [06:32]
Casey
No, I just. I was butchering the song. It's Don't Fear the Reaper.
- [06:36]
Alex
Yeah, I know. It's Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Colt. I don't fear the reaper, but the cowbell is. Is slight in the background. That's why it's like, funny in the skit, because they make it all about the cowbell when the song isn't all about the cowbell. But having the cowbell made it a great song. But anyways, I just think that it's it. It also comes down to why you need to have experts that understand the art of whatever you're doing, whether it's music or whether it's branding. Because the suggestion and the addition of like those post production or like addition elements is often what transforms something into a masterpiece. And it's usually those suggestions at the beginning. They sound. Even when I work with you, like, in a different way, like, I find you're very forward thinking and you're constantly putting things in front of me that make me feel uncomfortable because it represents a change that I haven't become comfortable with. Like I haven't gone through enough of it. But adding in those new elements is often what takes something to the next level. And it takes having a special person that's really forward thinking that can help you create art.
- [07:48]
Casey
Yeah. And it's. And in your brand, your product, your experience, you're not taking away from other people who built it. But it's often that, like we said, it's that last 2% that's difference between a gold and 10th place. Right. And so that little extra thing on the end is, can be the difference. And so you always have to be looking for it.
- [08:09]
Alex
And I think it's a perfect segue into. We've been chatting about this a lot too. You know, kind of the need for additional strategic thinkers. And to me that's the Olympic difference. When I even the clients that we work with, the clients where I'm like, where I'm noticing this, like this success pattern of where they really kill it is they need to have an open minded team that, that's prepared to execute on new ideas. And that's the biggest holdup. And now that we've worked with hundreds of people, it doesn't always work. And the reason why it doesn't always work is if you have a team of closed minded people that want to just keep doing things the same way and aren't open to or not only aren't just open, they could even be open, but maybe they don't have the right infrastructure to execute. So it's kind of having this balance of you, you need new ideas, you need someone that's bringing in new ideas. Especially someone who's like working in a ton of different brands that can see what's going on.
- [09:05]
Casey
Can I jump in? Cause I think going back to the skit, it actually brings a focus to where I enjoyed it the most, which isn't Will Ferrell. It was actually Christopher Walken as Bruce Dickinson. The band, if they were making decisions as a committee, would have voted down Moore Cowbell. But Bruce Dickinson had seen the success path of hundreds of top brands and so could come in bands, bands, sorry, fans, and then could come in and see what the team was fighting about. And then he was the person who goes, no, if they want more cowboy, we need more cowboy. And then they're like, oh, you're amazing, Bruce. And he's like, hey, I just put my pants on one leg at a time like everybody else. Amazing line. But that's why sometimes in your leadership committees you need people who can come in and see it from a different perspective as opposed to just placating the team members who are all vying for position.
- [09:55]
Alex
But that's when humor is its best, right? When it's actually founded in like true human experience. And they're doing it at like a dramatic level. Like, when you look at any great change maker, they face so much friction for like pushing the boundaries and introducing something different. And that's what humans struggle with, is like they struggle with change, they struggle with seeing things that they can't hold onto. And they want measurable results before they decide to take any form of risk. And you need to have your version of a Bruce Dickinson that's able to say, this is where everything is going. This is what's gonna make the most sense for your brand. And even if it's not, at least we're moving in a direction where we're trying things that have a higher likelihood of doing good for your brand than bad. And I think that's another really interesting point is the worst thing that Cowbell could do to that song would just be, it doesn't work. They remaster it, they relaunch it again with a different version. And it's the. The option isn't often like a Bud Light decision that's in front of you. Like, it's. They're often good enough ideas that won't hurt your brand if you decide to move on them. And that's been a big thing that I've been learning in these case studies is a lot of these prolific CEOs were like, we made a lot of mistakes and we're not embarrassed by our mistakes. But our difference was that we learned from them quickly and we course corrected. We had that Ooda loop response. And based on having that response feedback, we were able to make better decisions because we had a better grasp on our consumer, our market, our vision, and how we decided to act.
- [11:28]
Casey
Yeah, it comes down to listening to the audience. And you might have very skilled guitarist or a very skilled marketing analyst, but in the end, you need to be able to listen to the audience to figure out what it is they want more of.
- [11:41]
Alex
And you need them. You need those players. The question though, just comes down to should they be decision makers?
- [11:48]
Casey
Yeah.
- [11:49]
Alex
Yeah. Interesting. And I think there's a lot of weight that's put on integral players to the brand that shouldn't have the decision making capability because they can't see the forest for the trees. Like they can't get out of a 10,000 foot view. Instead of being at like a 50,000 or 100,000 foot view. Like they're just so in the weeds.
- [12:09]
Casey
Yeah. Busy doing things, not making a difference, I think. Interesting segue to move back into the foray of the Apple phone discussion we had because we were walking by another billboard in a cool part of the city.
- [12:25]
Alex
No, like, honestly, like the same, like.
- [12:27]
Casey
Block, almost same block. Google Pixel decides to put something up to kind of go against the Apple Neuphoria. And to me, I think they're missing an opportunity to focus on their cowbell. What are your thoughts of that ad?
- [12:42]
Alex
So there's a Google Pixel ad on a different building very close to where that iconic New Phoria billboard was that had us have a viral video. And the ad is absolutely vanilla. I can't even really describe it. It's like a woman holding the phone up to her face and I think the headline says Google Pixel. It's actually so underwhelming that I, that is the most that my brain can even remember as a description. But it was so interesting because we're at such a. I'm at such a weird place with Apple. Like I'm at a point where I actually really want my love to be bought back by the brand. Like I'm really wanting them. Yeah. So it says just, it's basically this woman holding it over her face and it just says Google Pixel 9 Pro. But I'm in this weird relationship with Apple because I feel like really invested. It's at a point where like I'm ready to do therapy like with my partner. Like, I'm not fully ready to like break up with them. But like I'm starting to think about it and I, I feel like it's, it's such a critical time for brands that could come in and earn my favor and they're really not taking that opportunity to, to start my impression or my buying journey into another brand. But like the time is now.
- [14:12]
Casey
Yeah. And I think it, we're going to keep going back to cowbell or that skit. But you have iPhone that has dominated for such a long time. And Google Pixel at many levels has a better camera. Their way of discussing is to show somebody taking a picture. Right. But they're not dealing with what the, the pain point is or they're not saying anything interesting. Like to me it would be like, you know, we need less blue dots. Or don't let blue dots.
- [14:35]
Alex
No, don't be defined by blue dots. Don't let blue dots hold you back.
- [14:39]
Casey
Yeah. Or hold your pictures back. Like say something that But I think.
- [14:41]
Alex
It'S more than pictures. Like when I think of the pain points, like Siri sucks, I hate her Photos are good, but definitely could be better. Like they're just kind of like the camera at this point. Like this is where Apple is struggling is camera technology has gotten so great period that the difference between the 14 and the 16, it's just varying degrees of a really great camera. And I think to me it's more what they could do for foldering. How great would it be to put your photos into a folder and then they're removed out of the general camera roll so that there's all those extra filler shots that you want of your vacation in case you want to show Aunt Martha that lunch you had. But it doesn't clog up your camera or just have the option to. I think there's more where it can take on that Android approach for more customizability for your Apple experience that they.
- [15:39]
Casey
Could be really leaning into more cowboys in Google. I'm sure they pride themselves on their software and all. There's so many things they pride themselves on and everybody. But the number one differentiator between the pixel and the iPhone to me is Google Assistant is 10 times better than Siri.
- [15:54]
Alex
Yeah.
- [15:54]
Casey
And you don't see a focus on that. I know, right? And but everybody wants to say it's this. It's you know what I mean? Like they're diluting the message. But I would just say I would just show that Google Assistant kicks Siri's ass. Like you could have an interesting dialogue between the two.
- [16:08]
Alex
They have though. They have done that. I just, I actually what's holding me back is the interconnectedness. So because my iPad, my laptop, my iPhone, my desktop computer, my Apple watch, like they're all inter synced. That easiness makes it so hard for me to walk away to have like an isolated product that doesn't interconnect. But really like I still do half of my communications through WhatsApp so it really shouldn't be a problem. But to your point, I think like really educating and speaking on the Google photo points and they are doing that but they're not doing like it needs more cowbell. Like they need to have like that was perfectly said.
- [16:55]
Casey
It needs more cowbell.
- [16:56]
Alex
They need like an insane amount of influencers communicating about it like planting like guerrilla stories of like these industries moving away like from the Apple products. They need to like do a whole like they need to do pop ups in New York and stuff and show like hide like Someone doing graphic design on a Google laptop versus an Apple laptop and like making everyone say the blue dots aren't like, you know what I mean? Like just showing so many different levels of like where it's so much better.
- [17:22]
Casey
Frustration because everybody I know has sworn at Siri. I think they actually turn, actually I think they turned Siri's response to being like to when I say you are effing useless. Like she used to respond, now she doesn't like. I think she's. She may be traumatized, but it's Siri's.
- [17:39]
Alex
For sure in therapy. But like it. Honestly I. It's just so interesting to me because when we saw that billboard, we're like, you know, it's such an interesting time because there's so much noise on the Internet and there's so much noise from branding that it makes it so much harder today. It's so much easier for a business and brand to enter into the marketplace, but it's so much more like the onus is so much higher for how to stand out. And it really comes down to strategy and execution. And what's interesting with, there's almost this like retreat back into traditional because they can get so many a range of eyeballs based on being in that corner right off of the highway in a centralized point that people come and visit, like even if they don't live in the city that it's such a great point to like plant a messaging seed or a position. And it's crazy to me that there lacks such strategy and execution. And it's why Apple can keep number one without working that hard.
- [18:33]
Casey
Yeah, it's a complete fail. Like this billboard will show you for how impactful that location is and the opportunity is there. The creative behind it is a complete failure. It gives a giant F from my perspective because it achieves nothing.
- [18:47]
Alex
The ad sucks. Like, but I think it's actually like, it's so interesting how much bigger it is because I'm at such a point with Apple where like either they could really turn it around and they could keep my loyalty for another five or 10 years, or somebody else really can step it up and can take a massive market share with really not that much work.
- [19:09]
Casey
Do you know who I believe it's going to be? Because I think Google is missing it because they're, they're run by committee and people.
- [19:15]
Alex
I'm going to guess it's going to be Elon.
- [19:18]
Casey
Yeah, it's Tesla because I know he's, he's playing with a phone and.
- [19:24]
Alex
It'S so ripe for the taking.
- [19:25]
Casey
There's no. There's no outlier. Like, everybody can have an iPhone. There isn't. There isn't a level higher. Right. The way there is for purses or cars. Right. Like, the top phone is this new iPhone. There's nothing really that much better. But Elon has such a position to say, look, I'm going to create a phone that has the best encrypted security, that protects your privacy at the highest level and can communicate to my satellite network anywhere in the world. So you don't have to pay for cellular. Like, and if he was to lean into making this phone, that would be. If he was to lean into that phone, I think he could steal it because our cellular bills are way too high. They're not that reliable.
- [19:59]
Alex
And we're worried about it, especially in Canada. And Canada pays, like, the highest phone data charges. It's like in the world. It's like crazy what our data charges are. And there's no reason for it.
- [20:12]
Casey
No.
- [20:12]
Alex
Like, it's a. It's completely constructed.
- [20:14]
Casey
No. And he. And he owns the satellite.
- [20:16]
Alex
No. That is literally the ultimate angle. Especially too, like, you know, photos matter. But, like, at this point, like, it. It's pretty easy to have a great camera.
- [20:27]
Casey
Yes. But it's hard to have a satellite network that gives you connectivity anywhere. Right. So we should hashtag Elon this one. Because that phone of his, he has to build that phone because I think he could steal it from Apple and Apple was embarrassed. Do you know how many billions Apple invested in trying to make a smart car and they canceled it last year?
- [20:45]
Alex
Oh, yes. I don't know the number, but I do know.
- [20:47]
Casey
But they invested billions trying to create a smart car and they canceled it.
- [20:50]
Alex
Honestly. Truly. If a phone just came out and they're like, no more cell bills, which I don't think that he would do because that's just such great reoccurring revenue. Or maybe he pays.
- [21:01]
Casey
Yeah. Satellite connection.
- [21:03]
Alex
That is definitely more cowbell. Thank you for listening to this episode of Art of the Brand. In summary, we will actually be going to Korea for anyone who followed on the last Korean trip and the brands we covered, like Gentle Monster. So if there's any Korean brands that you're on top of and that you'd like a branding breakdown on, please send those to me directly. Otherwise, I hope everybody has a great week. And please continue to, like, comment and share our content, because word of mouth referrals are the best kind of marketing for us. So let your people know if you like what you hear.