Not sure if Hilly Krystal came up with the name for his music venue on the lower east side of Manhattan, but CBGB (colloquially CBGBs) went on to be perhaps the greatest brand in all of punk rock. Arguably. And spoken like a true New Yorker. CB’s (another colloquialism) was a mecca for teens and twenty something kids who gravitated to NY from cities and towns across the country.
CBGB’s, interestingly, is a great example of a shit brand strategy. CBGB stands for “Country, Bluegrass, Blues.” The sub brand or tagline was the acronym OMFUG. (Other Music For Uplifting Gourmandizers.) Punk Rock fell into the other category, I guess.
If a brand is an empty vessel into which one pouts meaning, Hilly Krystal’s strategy reversal to punk music in 1974 and the bands he booked starting with Television, did a lotta, lotta pouring.
Any good brand planner will tell you brand strategy starts with the product. How it is tastes, how it is experienced. The CBs product was so powerful, unique and desired (pend-up demand makes the best brands) it overcame the mislabeling.
Brand strategists need to crawl all over their product (or service), identifying brand good-ats and customer care-abouts. Then focus like a dookie. When Hilly focused his brand and met the demand he changed history.
And for that we should all be grateful.
Peace.
