The musician, actor, icon and entrepreneur, David Bowie died “peacefully” at the age of 69, according to a post on his official Facebook fan page. After his battle against cancer, just a couple of days after the release of his 25th album “Blackstar”.
David Bowie, recognized for his career as a rock star, had a short, but interesting, history as a branding personality. Actually, he was enrolled in marketing only for a year, but despite this situation, he made great things.
In fact, he actually branded himself, to the point of being recognized as an artist, an explorer of the new, and thoughtful borrower from artistic traditions of the past. An essential part of his brand is freedom, he knew a way to completely transform, and basically combine things in so many ways: he knew how to create unexpected things.
David Bowie was an innovator in every way, he stepped into the vacuum left by the Beatles’ break-up in 1970 and developed several strategies that have gone on to become the common sense of popular culture and of personal branding.
The main key of his success, was that he always was “himself” and he took everything he created to the limit. He used to combine print, stage and video design to create symbolically rich and dramatic settings for his different alter egos, using them to carry and complete his personal brand.
Bowie presaged branding and showed how a successful brand should conduct itself; He developed a rapid astuteness in managing himself as a brand: he limited access to his personal life, and his musical collaborations were also a fuel to his myth personality. Bowie is (probably) the only popular cultural figure with a strong personal brand management.
Rock star or something else, Bowie is definitely the golden rule of a strong brand.
Via: Brandchannel
Top image by: Henry Cascante Rivas