Control, Janet Jackson, and the power of Letting Go
July 7th, 2006
According to Wikipedia, my Sirius radio, and some Janet fansites, Jermaine Dupri has announced a fan contest to create the cover art for Janet Jackson’s upcoming album 20 Years Old. The first million copies of the disc will carry the fan-generated art. 20 Years Old references Janet’s grounbreaking 1986 declaration of independence entitled Control. It seems only fitting that she celebrate this milestone by handing control over to the fans who have allowed her career to survive a multitude of missteps, musical disappointments, and a wardrobe malfunction.
In April, I presented a WOMMA teleconference and was asked how can big brand marketers can do Word of Mouth Marketing, but retain control over the message and how it spreads. It’s not possible, nor is it the point. You may find, however, that starting a conversation with your fans will empower them to speak for you and tell stories more authentic and powerful than anything you could have created yourself. You are the collection of stories that people tell about you.
Strength in 1986: Control
Strength in 2006: The confidence in yourself, your company, or your brand to lose control and unleash your authentic self
Other posts by Virginia.
Michael Wagner says:
Do you ever wish you had a time machine that you put your clients in setting the dial for 2006? I do.
I would have made mention to my favorite time machine - “the way back machine” but you are likely too young to know that one.
Many are still building brands based on a 1986 model to be generous - I’d say 1976 if I was being a bit more realistic.
Good posting; thanks for extending the conversation and creating helpful perspective.
July 8th, 2006 at 9:01 amGary Bourgeault (bizofshowbiz.com) says:
It never ceases to amaze me how the entertainment business, in every way possible, refuses to let go of the reigns.
I even read again today how ABC was trying to get everybody on board to battle the evil DVR machines through trying to create something that disables it.
They should, but probably won’t learn something from Janet Jackson about “letting go.”
The majority of them still don’t seem to understand the power of doing it.
July 8th, 2006 at 8:04 pmpaul says:
In my last life with a large interactive agency, five of us formed a writing club as a vehicle for free-form creative tooling.
Most dropped out, but a designer and I kept it up. We began this great exercise in creative chaos, letting go: One of us would start a story - craft the first paragraph - the other would add and send back, and so on, back and forth.
This guy’s decidedly a bit wacky, so it took a real hands-off approach for me to keep it going, and my inclination was often to bail when his tangents were too obtuse.
But funny thing - 6 years and divergent paths later, we’re still in touch regularly. It helped me learn a lot about him, and my own grips.
I’ve since tried it with other people. It’s a terrific way to ‘let go’, but I realized that unless the others in the chain have brains that process and structure life and information similarly - or there’re some basic rules set - there’s a lot of mess, nonsense, veering all over the road.
It was and is personally a great exercise for me - I like to influence and even control outcomes, like companies - and this has been a source of some conflict, as you can imagine.
So maybe for those companies (COKE!) that have lost their audience’s understanding, and an understanding of themselves and their quirks, it’s invaluable. At the right time.
July 10th, 2006 at 8:16 am