The Hard Rock is an immediately recognizable brand around the world, one that built its reputation on associations with the biggest and best rock stars. The walls of their restaurants are covered in memorabilia from the likes of Mtley Cre and Van Halen, while their hotels are a perfect mix of comfortable, approachable luxury mixed with quotes on mirrors from Jimi Hendrix and even more elaborate displays in the hallways of full outfits worn on stage by Lenny Kravitz and the like.
Everybody knows the Hard Rock and what it stands forand thats exactly the problem the company is having right now. Music is always changing, always looking forward to new artists, styles, and genres. Perhaps more than any other industry, music is never stagnant.
One of the Hard Rock Hotels Sound of Your Stay Lollapalooza after parties. (via the Hard Rock)
The Hard Rock did such a good job of branding themselves over several decades that now they are having a hard time changing the story. Rock and roll has all but disappeared from the charts, and while names like The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney continue to be some of musics biggest moneymakers, they are far from the minds of millennials, who are much more interested in the worlds of hip-hop and electronic dance music.
The brands association with rock and roll is tough to shed, as not only have they cultivated that look for so many years, but their name is pretty literal. The company is finding it tricky to balance the tasks of holding on to older market segmentsones with more money and who revel in the glory days of rockand the younger crowds, who brands are courting heavily, both for social endorsements and future revenues.
While its a formidable task, the Hard Rock is going full force to keep loyal customers while recruiting new ones. For example, at this past months Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, the Hard Rock went all out to make themselves the place to be. A short-sighted company would have rented out all of their event spaces for private events and collected the cash, but the Hard Rock is looking for a different kind of growth. Instead, by booking some of the hottest acts to perform (such as Lykke Li and Betty Who) and celebrity DJs (Joe Jonas), the space became the go-to after party for everyone at the festival, filling their bars and showing younger crowds that they can play with the best of them.
The hotel chain has been working diligently on scouting the best up-and-coming locales around the world that have a connection to music for new buildings. They have a location in Palm Springs that fills up every time mega-festival Coachella comes around, and they recently opened in Ibiza, the electronic dance music capital of the world. At that grand opening party, the brand showed just how diverse they can be, hiring Nile Rodgers (of Chic fame) and Snoop Dogg to play immediately after DJs, bringing every genre to the stage.
On top of all that, like most hotels, they do make quite a bit of their revenue from hosting corporate events and meetings. Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer John Galloway explained that this can be a difficult sell for some:
Its a delicate balancethere are sometimes headwinds against our business where a CEO has to sign a check, and if youre that travel manager that has to say you had your meeting at the Hard Rock, the CEO might say You had it at the Hard Rock? We have to overcome that perception and show people that yes, were the Hard Rock, but we know how to host a world class meeting, and well fuse in a little creativity
The brand is still an incredibly valuable one, but it is also a perfect example of how no matter how strong a name is at one time, those in charge need to stay on their feet, and be aware of whats happening in the field, looking forward all the time. Thankfully, the Hard Rock is doing just that, working on infusing not just rock but music of all kinds into everything they do, hopefully inspiring the next generation to celebrate with them.
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The Music May be Changing, but the Hard Rock Brand Rocks On