What Direction Are You Headed? Is It One Direction?

I’m not looking for sympathy, but I want you to know that my daughter is a “Directioner,” which means she is a die-hard follower of the UK boy-band, One Direction. Aside from listening to them on her iPhone throughout any given day, she tweets about them and has seen them in London and Northern Virginia. One Direction (1D) has cost me money and more than a little bit of my sanity. Since being on the X-Factor in 2010, 1D has sold close to 20 million singles and more than 10 million albums around the globe. Tickets to their tours are sold in minutes and purchased by tens of thousands raving fans. 1D and its promoters have created a marketing powerhouse that is the result of a well orchestrated, brand nurturing effort that began the day Simon Cowell “cultivated” and packaged them in 2010.

One Direction knows how to build and engage their fans. And from this, there are lessons we can all learn.

You Better Identify and Understand Needs

1D really understands the needs of their fans. When they perform live, they make sure every band member receives equal time on stage, front and center. They realize that each member of the band has his own fan base and they play off that passion keeping the fans engaged; actually, it’s more like a rabid frenzy. The band is the overarching brand, but the songs and the band members are the product. They work well together, play off each other – and this is completely intentional.

You Should Always Provide a Consistent Experience

Let me be clear; I have never attended a 1D concert. My wife and daughter have on two continents. They’ll tell you that there is remarkable consistency in how 1D delivers a live performance.  From the time on stage, to the musical set choreography to the utilization of the stage, 1D and its promoters create a predictably, consistent experience before, during and after the band is on stage. They choreograph the entire experience to the needs of teen girls and their parents.

Create Ways To Connect With Your Base

1D connects and engages with the Directioners. They consistently publically thank fans for their support, be it in interviews or on stage. 1D makes it clear that their goal is to entertain and do everything it can, as a band and as individual performers, to stay close to their audience. They have been known, in the middle of performances, to invite fans to tweet with them. In fact, they will tweet questions and post fans answers on the jumbotron monitors to the delight of 20,000 squealing teens.

Innovate and Stimulate

Enter the “Teenage Dirtbag,” a song introduced live in my old home of New Jersey during their concert this summer. Teenage Dirtbag was a song written and performed by the band Wheatus almost 15 years ago. The title alone would imply the band was taking great risk with the performance. The song was a big hit. Brilliantly, the song is a tie in to the 1D partnership with Office Depot in which both brands make a stand against scholl bullying.

Always Exceed Expectations. Always. All Ways.

1D fans expect a great show and that is by design. Promoters build fan anticipation by sharing previous performances and releasing well timed singles and albums just before a tour. During live performances, the band always goes a step further to surprise the audience, be it a long encore or holding an impromptu conversation with the fans and interacting with them directly. They carefully create memorable experiences that exceed expectations. And 1D and their producers know they will be shared.

I am forever loyal to Classic Rock. But, credit union marketers could learn a thing or two, from the success of One Direction.