Music Brand Building Playbook & Workbook

Today we're going to talk about the

single tactic that will help you build a

massive cult following for your brand.

This method ties directly into our

primal human needs. It's baked into our

DNA and if you use it correctly, it can

create a community of millions of people

all around the world. And the

interesting thing about this process is

it's one of the least talked about

topics when it comes to branding and one

of the most powerful in terms of

actually connecting people to your

brand. If you want to build an audience

of millions of fans, which will in turn

create your dreams of freedom and

wealth, you're going to need to

understand today's topic, which is how

to create a brand belief system and how

that ties into your brand. Every great

brand, well-known music artist,

religion, or cult, pun intended, is

built on a foundation of rich and

emotional brand beliefs. Strong, defined

belief systems allow human beings to

join communities that center around

those beliefs. If you give someone

guidelines on a belief system and

present it in a compelling way, they can

easily decide if it's something that

they want to belong to and adopt into

their own identity. By using a

well-defined belief system, you can

convert someone from I like this to I am

this. And when you do that, you

psychologically connect them to your

brand and its offerings for life. They

aren't just saying I like this. They're

saying that I identify with this

community and it's a reflection of me.

Whether you're a music brand, fashion

brand, or product company, understanding

today's topic will put the most powerful

tool brand has to offer in your toolkit

and it will allow you to compete with

the best in the world with whatever it

is you're trying to build. So, who am I

to even talk about this topic? My name

is Chris Alba and for the last 15 years,

I've been a brand strategist and

creative director for some of the

world's largest companies as well as

household name music artists. I started

my creative agency, The Cole Creatives,

11 years ago. We've done tens of

millions of dollars in business and have

been blessed to create and execute

thousands of campaigns and stories often

for international audiences. I've seen

firsthand many times over that initial

spark of a brand or story that starts

connecting with an audience and how that

spark becomes the fire that provides

brands all kinds of financial success as

well as bringing the brand to the

forefront of the conversation in that

culture. And if there's one thing that I

saw over and over again over the last 15

years was if a brand was using its

belief system as a core element and then

it had stealth storytelling, how that

belief system converted people into

involving themselves in the brand in all

sorts of different ways. And that

involvement could be things like buying

products, buying tickets, sharing

stories or content with friends, or

showing up to the brand's pop-ups,

shows, or community events. Without

having clarity around your belief system

and what your brand actually stands for,

it'll be hard to build a true community

of super fans. Even if you have a hit in

whatever industry you're in, without

brand beliefs and story, the eyes and

ears that you earn from that hit will

slowly start to float away. In today's

video, I'm going to give you the exact

step-by-step process on how to develop

your own brand beliefs that you and your

audience can participate in to show the

faith you have in your brand. But before

we deep dive into the process, let's

first look at how these brand beliefs

can draw people in and why do human

beings crave belonging in the first

place. Section one, a humans need to

belong. Okay, so imagine being born

thousands of years ago, not in a city or

a house, but in the wild. Back then,

survival meant sticking together. Being

part of a group wasn't just nice, it was

literally life or death. If you got

kicked out of a group or left behind,

chances are you wouldn't make it alone.

That's why one of the primary fears that

human beings have is dying alone.

There's hard science that proves that

our need to belong is hardwired into us.

The people who stayed close to the group

who built strong bonds, those were the

ones that survived long enough to pass

on their genes to the next generation.

So, generation after generation, this

instinct to connect and belong only got

stronger. And although many of us today

aren't living in a world of small

tribes, this instinct is just as

powerful. Our brains still treat

belonging like a survival issue. That's

why rejection feels as intense as it

does and why acceptance, whether it's a

friend inviting you to hang out or a

stranger smiling at you, feels as good

as it does. Your brain reads those

little moments as safety signals.

Subconsciously, your brain thinks, "We

will survive." So, when you think about

building an audience, whether you're a

music artist or creative business,

you're essentially a community builder.

And it's important to know the game that

you're in is more biological and

psychological than it may be creative.

Joining communities is part of our

builtin survival DNA. There's an actual

scientific concept called the need to

belong theory and it was created by Roy

Bowmeister and Mark Liry in the 1990s.

They argued that the drive to form

strong lasting relationships is just as

fundamental as hunger or thirst. This

theory also explains why humans build so

many different types of groups. From

family groups to friend circles, clubs,

online communities, fan groups of all

kinds, music, sports, games, movies,

shows, every one of these groups is a

way to meet deep psychological needs.

Belonging is the invisible thread that

ties all human culture together. So

belonging isn't just a want, it's a need

to survive. But in this, there's also

strong science behind the consequences

of feelings of not belonging. A lack of

belonging can cause higher risk of

depression, anxiety, and shorter

lifespans. Have you ever heard the story

of a widowerower or widow whose spouse

passed away and then within a few months

they also join them. And then what about

retirement? How quickly someone's health

can decline and they pass away soon

after retiring. Before retirement, they

felt a feeling of being a part of

something. They had purpose, a cause,

and a belonging. and then all of a

sudden they didn't. Their mind

acknowledged the shift and then their

body's physiological makeup changed just

by a sense of a lack of belonging. So,

human beings need to belong. We're wired

for it. But what do we do when we found

something to belong to? How far will

humans go to feel that sense of

belonging? And how can you use this

knowledge to build your own community?

Section two, the transformation into a

belief system. The best branded

communities have clear belief systems.

But how is it that they get you in and

keep you in? What's the psychology here?

So, to start, there needs to be a point

of entry. So, let's run the scenario.

You've heard about a new community and

they've clearly presented you their

beliefs and what they're all about.

Based on your life experiences, you

identify with those beliefs and you want

in. But how do you get in? To become a

part of a community, there has to be a

point of conversion. A significant

transformation will occur that brings

you in. Gangs have initiations.

Fraternities and sororities have pledge

week. The Army has boot camp. Exclusive

country clubs have applications, but

within the application, they also have

sponsorships. An existing member of the

club needs to recommend you to even be