Going Gaga Over GAGA
Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, David Bowie, Prince, Madonna – all global music phenomenon in their own time and own way. And now we have Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – better known as LADY GAGA (yes, it is written all in capitals - see her website).
Love her or hate her, you have to admire the business empire she’s built, notable for both the speed of its creation and the diversity of its platforms.
As a true “Purple Cow” GAGA stands out from the crowd. Even though she does seem to channel Madonna’s fashion, Prince’s dance moves and Alice Cooper’s shock-rock performances (amongst numerous other fairly obvious influences), she has also done something unprecedented – melding her inspirations with leading edge dance/pop and incredible Web savvy to build a global empire in just 5 short years.
At only 24, GAGA reigns over a brand that spans music (10 million+ albums sold), video (1 billion+ Web views), design (Monster headphones, Polaroid cameras), starring in a comic book series, and marketing (HP, MAC Cosmetics).
And let’s not go past the unbridled and unashamed product placement in those billion-plus video viewings. Paparazzi touted Chanel. Bad Romance featured Monster Headphones, Nemiroff Vodka, and HP’s Envy 15 Beats Limited Edition laptop. And Telephone, the most overt example yet, hawked everything from Wonder Bread to Miracle Whip to dating Web site PlentyOfFish.com.
LADY GAGA cultivates her brand with near-military rigor. In 2008, she handpicked several friends to form a creative team that she calls Haus of Gaga. Together, they produce look-at-me fashions - a nude, bubble-covered bodysuit, sunglasses made of cigarettes, a flame-shooting metal bustier - that define her concerts and her controversial videos.
And at the moment no other artist commands the kind of attention that GAGA does. If she does something with your brand, you’ll immediately have millions of eyeballs watching. Brand GAGA has build a huge following of loyal fans who follow her every move, facilitated by social media and Web 2.0. For example, she has a real-time tribe of Twitter followers numbering nearly 4 million, as well as 6 ½ million Facebook fans.
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