Adrants today turned me on to a great AdFreak interview with Gene Simmons, the leader of the (former) mega-band KISS:
Interviewing famed KISS bassist Gene Simmons and how he’s taken what was once just a rock brand and turned it into a successful global brand. Alison says there wasn’t much tongue wagging and there was no blood spilled. All in all, a good interview.
A successful global brand, indeed. One that knows how to wag the long tail. KISS was selling lunch boxes long before the Internet, but their records never dominated the charts. They always had a great reputation as a live act and merchandised at every opportunity.
Gene and the guys created an iconic franchise that is not only withstanding the long tail of time, it is extending the into the long tail of just about everything else, from coffee houses, condoms, comic books, even a new fragrance line for both men and women.
Gene closes the clip with :
So when we do KISS comic books for example, there are no guitars. It’s not about guitars. It’s something much bigger.
He’s absolutely right.
