Marketing Lessons From the Grateful Dead : What Every Business Can Learn From the Most Iconic Band in History

The Grateful Dead-rock legends, marketing pioneers The Grateful Dead broke almost every rule in the music industry book. They encouraged their fans to record shows and trade tapes; they built a mailing list and sold concert tickets directly to fans; and they built their business model on live concerts, not album sales. By cultivating a dedicated, active community, collaborating with their audience to co-create the Deadhead lifestyle, and giving away "freemium" content, the Dead pioneered many social media and inbound marketing concepts successfully used by businesses across all industries today. Written by marketing gurus and lifelong Deadheads David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan, Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead gives you key innovations from the Dead's approach you can apply to your business. Find out how to make your fans equal partners in your journey, "lose control" to win, create passionate loyalty, and experience the kind of marketing gains that will not fade away! MARKETING LESSONS FROM THE GRATEFUL DEAD: WHAT EVERY BUSINESS CAN LEARN FROM THE MOST ICONIC BAND IN HISTORY 7 Contents 11 Foreword 13 Introduction 17 Part One: The BAND 29 Chapter 1: Create a Unique Business Model 31 RUE LA LA CREATES ONLINE BUYING DESTINATION FOR LUXURY GOODS 34 Chapter 2: Choose Memorable Brand (and Band) Names 41 HUBSPOT AND DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT 44 Chapter 3: Build a Diverse Team 49 DIGITAL DIVA JULIA ROY BRINGS SOCIAL SKILLS TO COACH 52 Chapter 4: Be Yourself 57 SALESFORCE.COM OWNS UP TO MISTAKES AND BUILDS TRUST IN THE PROCESS 60 Chapter 5: Experiment, Experiment, Experiment 65 DROPBOX “LEARNS EARLY, LEARNS OFTEN” 68 Chapter 6: Embrace Technology 73 EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY AT THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 76 Chapter 7: Establish a New Category 81 Y COMBINATOR CREATES A NEW INVESTOR CATEGORY 83 Part Two: The Fans 87 Chapter 8: Encourage Eccentricity 89 NEW BELGIUM BREWING COMPANY: FAT AND HAPPY 92 Chapter 9: Bring People on an Odyssey 97 THE ODYSSEY OF BURTON SNOWBOARDS 102 Chapter 10: Put Fans in the Front Row 107 OBAMA FOR AMERICA AND PUTTING FANS FIRST 111 Chapter 11: Build a Following 115 HUBSPOT EXTENDS ITS REACH WITH WEBSITE GRADER 119 Part Three: The BUSINESS 123 Chapter 12: Cut Out the Middleman 125 GOOGLE ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR MEDIA BROKERS 128 Chapter 13: Free Your Content 133 MYSQL OFFERS ITS SOURCE CODE TO DEVELOPERS FOR FREE 137 Chapter 14: Be Spreadable 141 WHY MASHABLE'S CONTENT IS SHARED ACROSS THE INTERNET 144 Be Spreadable 142 Chapter 15: Upgrade to Premium 147 FREE E-BOOK READERS AND CONTENT (OR BUY THE BEST) 151 Chapter 16: Loosen Up Your Brand 155 GOOGLE LIGHTENS UP ITS IMAGE WITH DOODLES 158 Chapter 17: Partner with Entrepreneurs 163 AMAZON.COM: THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR AFFILIATE PROGRAM 166 Chapter 18: Give Back 171 RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES 174 Chapter 19: Do What You Love 179 BILL GATES TAKES CONTROL OF HIS LIFE 182 Acknowledgments 185 “Furthur” Reading 187 About the Photographs 189 About the Illustrations 189 About the Authors 191 0470900520,9780470900529 Wiley **The Grateful Dead-rock legends, marketing pioneers**The Grateful Dead broke almost every rule in the music industry book. They encouraged their fans to record shows and trade tapes; they built a mailing list and sold concert tickets directly to fans; and they built their business model on live concerts, not album sales. By cultivating a dedicated, active community, collaborating with their audience to co-create the Deadhead lifestyle, and giving away "freemium" content, the Dead pioneered many social media and inbound marketing concepts successfully used by businesses across all industries today.Written by marketing gurus and lifelong Deadheads David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan, __Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead__ gives you key innovations from the Dead's approach you can apply to your business. Find out how to make your fans equal partners in your journey, "lose control" to win, create passionate loyalty, and experience the kind of marketing gains... "The Grateful Dead broke almost every rule in the music industry book ... By cultivating a dedicated, active community, collaboration with their audience to co-create the Deadhead lifestyle, and giving away 'freemium' content, the Dead pioneered many social media and inbound marketing concepts successfully used by businesses across all industries today. Written by marketing gurus and lifelong Deadheads David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan, 'Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead' gives you key innovations ... you can apply to your business ..."--Back cover