A New Yellow for the Wiggles

The Wiggles brand is back on track now that Greg Page officially retired from the kiddie super group on Thursday, November 30th. The ongoing saga has been put to rest as Greg’s mystery illness was finally diagnosed as orthostatic intolerance. (It is a condition which often makes him feel unbalanced and faint while standing because of a loss of blood pressure.) Luckily it is not life threatening, but it is chronic and will therefore prevent him from continuing in the Yellow Jersey. (Read my earlier post for more information.)

In a brilliant branding and PR move, Greg appeared in a video on the Wiggles website and made a ceremonial passing of his jersey to Sam Moran, his permanent replacement. A longtime backup singer and dancer for the band, Sam was Greg’s understudy for the past two years and filled in for him in the 150 live shows Greg was forced to skip due to illness.

Now that the brand is whole again, the future success of the Wiggles seems certain. What put the brand in serious danger was the missing Wiggle, the lack of information regarding his illness and the lack of media interviews with him. Nothing whips the media into a frenzy more that a missing celebrity. If Madonna walks the red carpet without Guy, the rumor mills starts up right away about trouble in the marriage.

The Wiggles can survive a new guy in the yellow jersey but they could not survive a missing guy in the yellow jersey much longer. I’m sure there was a lot of fear and uncertainly over what to do since Greg as lead singer was so instrumental in the success of the Wiggles. Many critics doubted if the Wiggles could survive without him. Even I myself have commented on how disappointed I felt after showing up at a Wiggles concert where Greg was a no-show and feeling like I came to a U2 concert where Bono didn’t perform. Could there be a U2 with no Bono, could there be a Wiggles with no Greg? The answer is no and yes.

What enables the Wiggles brand to continue, perhaps even stronger than before, is the enormous PR attention celebrities command. Powerful brands have endless opportunities for PR. And PR is what helps resuscitate even fallen brands. Everyone wanted to hear from Martha after she got out of jail. Or Mel after he sobered up.

Just look at the headlines the new Wiggle got. It made the FRONT PAGE of the New York Times on Monday. That’s right, not Entertainment Weekly but the New York Times; that is how powerful the brand is. Now that the group is whole again, the guys are wisely making the television rounds promoting Sam and the Wiggles big time. After 15 years together the group had run out of much of its PR potential. So the new Wiggle creates news value for the group and renewed interest in the brand.

Had the Wiggles dragged this out, not made a decision on a replacement and kept Greg away from media any longer, it could have been devastating to the brand. I can’t even put into words the beauty of the passing of the yellow shirt segment. I am personally saddened by Greg’s health problem because I loved watching him. But I am glad the Wiggles are on thier way to a fabulous recovery and that my favorite Wiggle Anthony is still performing!

Comments

[Laura Ries]

Thanks Neil. You are right, never say never. I don't think Greg could have had a solo adult singing career and made $40 million a year for sure. Many successful people can't stand being "typecast" which really means they have a brand that stands for something. Juila Roberts = Pretty woman. Jim Carrey = crazy funny. Hugh Grant = lovable cad. So they try to do something else. It usually fails commercially.

There are some rare ocassions that people make the leap from Mickey Mouse club to adult stardom. (Brittney Spears) or Boy Band to solo star (Justin Timberlake.) But these are the exception not the rule. Most do not make it. And the ones that do, do so with brilliant marketing moves and lots of luck.

[Neil Bull]

I agree that the Wiggles are one of the best examples around of focus and positioning.

However once a Wiggle, always a Wiggle... not sure.

There are many examples of artists shaking off 'boyband' or 'Micky Mouse Club' labels and carving their own career. It is a matter of establishing different brand and position for a different target market.

Prior to being the Wiggles, Anthony and Jeff were actually in a successful Australian 80's pub band called "The Cockroaches"

Early last year, Greg released a country CD with Elvis Presley’s World Famous Tcb Band. The reviews of the CD were extremely positive talking about his "silky smooth" voice.

It would have been fascinating to see what would have happened if he didn't fall ill and quit The Wiggles to go solo. Would he have been able to leverage or not? A great branding challenge!

You say "never could work." Yet maybe it did work? Depends on what he was trying to accomplish. If you measure success in $$ terms, then it wouldn't be a scratch on The Wiggles, but maybe it wasn't about the $$. Maybe he just wanted to pursue a passion outside his day job and therefore the personal brand accomplished its task - giving him enormous personal satisfaction. After all, tell me what country fan wouldn't want to record with Elvis's band?

NB

By the way, love the Reis report video blog... nice.

[Laura Ries]

Believe me, I know. It is the Wiggles and jumping up and down like idiots made them $40 million last year. But it goes to show if you can be first in a new category it can be very profitable. Most artists want to be the next U2, but these guys did the opposite. Totally uncool, unsexy and unappealing to anyone over 5 years of age. It is a true exercise in focus. Interesting, I saw on the internet that Greg tried to do an adult album/tour a few years ago. Believe me, never could work, once you go Wiggles you can never go back.

[DofAM]

I know it's good marketing, but g&* d()&, it's the Wiggles, man! It's painful to see. Sorry, personal opinion. Professionally, very brilliant.

[Jim]

As a massive U2 fan. I would have to admit I would have my doubts how popular U2 would be without Bono. Since he is the center of attention and he attracts tons of PR for the band/brand as well. With all his work for africa, (Product) red etc. I don't now Wiggles but if you could compare it to the front singer in a band like U2. I think Wiggles may prepare themselves with some damage control.

Thanks Laura, for great comments on my last post. Actually I'm creating a new product/brand based on the VERY valuable information in your "The origin of Brands" book. I highly recommend it.