• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, 10 hours ago

If you know me at all, you know I love Pearl Jam.  

I’ve been to 84 shows, I’m an avid collector of their memorabilia, and I’ve even had the luck and honor to do a song on a small stage with Eddie Vedder.  That was a highlight of my life. 

I am also a marketer, and when I put on my marketer hat, I can glean insights from Pearl Jam that translate to my role.

Pearl Jam has enjoyed a long career because of great songs, but I would also argue that they are savvy marketers, understanding how to engage and foster a loyal audience that far surpasses many of their peers'.  So here is what I have learned about marketing by evaluating the way Pearl Jam approaches the craft.

Authenticity

First off, it's about being authentic.  Pearl Jam has never put its name on something its members didn't believe in.  They never pretended to be something they weren’t.  They also paid homage to the influences that came before them -- something brands can do, too.  Knowing where you came from and what inspired you to create your offering is important because it helps your audience to better understand your brand.  Maintaining an authentic approach is key, and staying aligned with the values that created your brand is what helps your fans stay loyal.

Fan Engagement

The Ten Club is one of the greatest examples of a loyalty program in any category, much less music.  The Ten Club was more than a fan club.  It was a community, offering benefits like vinyl singles and access to tickets. Over the years, it has morphed into various versions of itself, but it is still the primary way fans connect with each other and with the band.  The band reads the forums and chooses songs to play based on the stories they read.  It is as beneficial to the band as the Mileage Plus program for United, or the Bonvoy program for Marriott.  

DIY Ethos

Being scrappy and getting stuff done is key -- not being afraid to do it yourself.  This is how start-ups succeed, and when they get big, they don’t simply abandon the ethos that got them there.  

Pearl Jam created their own posters, then gathered their own group of artists.  They ran their own ticket sales and managed themselves for a little while.  They took  punk rock ideas, merged with what bands like The Grateful Dead did, and created a corporate entity that employs a lot of people, creates jobs, and fosters a community .

Any marketer can act this way.  You can follow the same playbook and apply it to your own business.

User-Generated Media

The band encourages fans to create content, like websites, reviews, artwork, and more, fostering them to engage.  There are fans writing books.  Fanzines and websites abound.  Pearl Jam does a fantastic job of recognizing the broader community, which, in turn, energizes their fans.  

Being Purpose-Driven

The best brands in the world act in the same way: You align with organizations and causes that align to your values, and fans will see that.  That all creates further loyalty with your brand, or in this case, band.  

Never Be Overexposed

If your audience sees you everywhere, they tire of you.  You want to be selective about where your brand appears. Pearl Jam knew this.  They had the chance to become the biggest band in the world, and they crept away from that expectation.  A band like U2 or Coldplay openly embraced wanting to be in that role (those are different articles for a different day), but Pearl Jam wanted to be seen as artists rather than commercial goliaths, and they retreated to enable that to happen.

Being a rockstar and being a marketer are not that different, but being a rockstar marketer is the goal.  Pearl Jam are all of the above, in addition to being incredible writers and performers.  They have been the core of the soundtrack to my life, and I thank them for being there!