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During the sixties and seventies, rock bands regularly competed at concerts to see who could play the loudest. In the 1984 mockumentary, “This Is Spinal Tap,” the band Spinal Tap reveals a very special guitar amplifier. Where regular volume knobs go from levels one to ten, this amp has a very special knob that goes to eleven. The guitarist points this out with excitement saying, "It's one louder!"
In the early days of rock & roll, opening acts like Spinal Tap went to extremes to capture the attention of an audience. Have you paid much attention to an opening act lately?
For starters, they aren’t allowed to use all the stage lighting or the video screens for that matter. During the opening act, the most sophisticated technology just sits there waiting for the headliner to show it off.
Recently I attended a concert at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. I noticed the opening act, Michael Franti & Spearhead, was significantly louder than the headliner, John Mayer. That’s right the opening act was louder, but there were no lights, no lasers, no fog, and no video screens – until John Mayer took the stage. So what’s an opening act to do? Just turn up the volume? Not so fast.
Not so long ago getting more attention meant getting louder. And then technology advanced, including better sound systems and intelligent lighting (i.e. Tivo, YouTube, and Hulu). Video image magnification systems have made every seat in the audience a great seat. And we now require much more than talent to differentiate artists. The only real distinction between a headliner and the opening act is control, which these days translates on stage as having "access to technology." But what would happen if we gave the audience control of the moving-lights, lasers, fog machines, and sound systems? Sure, it might be chaotic, but also potentially much more interesting for the audience.
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Advancing technology as a means of control is seldom about the brand (or the band). Reaching for the volume knob is never an improvement to reaching an audience. Without fail consumers quickly identify the gimmick as distracting and develop the ability to ignore, change the channel, or skip the commercials altogether.
Today, reaching the audience means empowering the audience with the controls to better reach you. For example, social media technologies evolved as an attempt to improve consumer control by giving them a voice. And anything that gives the consumer more control, while making life more interesting, will be brilliantly successful.
One thing that hasn’t changed: there remains far more “opening acts” in the marketplace than headliners – and it’s highly likely that your brand is one of them. So, how often are you tempted to simply reach for the volume knob? You’re thinking you need a new logo, or a new website, or the Holy Grail: a Facebook page. Sound familiar? What your audience desires most is more control, easier access, and a better life. Can your brand give that to them? Most can, but don’t because so few are willing to try.
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