Branding Spotlight: The Rolling Stones

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In 1962, two childhood friends from London, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, formed a band that was one part rhythm & blues and one part rock & roll. Now after 50 years, The Rolling Stones is known as one of the most commercially successful bands in music history.

Whether the bulk of their success is due to intense drive, incredible musical talent or sheer dumb luck it can’t be ignored that a major factor in their longevity is their great branding.

The Logo

The “tongue and lip” logo was created by designer, John Pasche, and first introduced in 1972. While most artist change their visual image with every album, The Rolling Stones have been identified by this logo for the past four decades.

The logo is a representation of the physical characteristics of Mick Jagger. He is known by his large expressive mouth and lips. The red color embodies the boldness, passion and free expression of the band.

The Style

The casual t-shirts, tight jeans, relaxed suits, wild hair. Through their style they embraced everything a rock band should.

It’s easier to attach yourself to a brand when the brand resembles what it should be marketing. When creating a brand, the visual personality of the brand should match the message trying to be delivered. The Rolling Stones did that for 50 years.

The Website

The Website does something that most band website cannot. It takes you through a 50 year journey. The Rolling Stones have the unfair advantage of being able to showcase five decades worth of history. The Website features a visual collection of fifty-nine album covers, three galleries of photos and a store to buy Rolling Stone merchandise. Even though they are a band that existed before the world wide web, they still have connections to their Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.

The Rolling Stones knew early on that longevity in any business meant paying close attention to your brand identity. Even through dramatic changes in thoughts, ideas, politics and technology, they stayed consistent with the product they were delivering, only providing slight tweaks to remain current.

Happy Birthday, Rolling Stones and may your strong musical brand live through many more 50 year periods.

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