Pow! doesn't just come. You have to work for it, think about it, try a whole whack of things and if you're good--and lucky--something will cut through the marketing message mayhem.
Maybe.
These days, one of the toughest fields in which to make some noise is, ironically, the music biz. The easing of barriers of entry, the ensuing glut of artists and the annihilation of the label-driven model makes it more diff than ever to stand out and be heard.
But later today, a Vancouver band called The Thurston Revival will no doubt cause some stir when they release Somewhere There's an Angel in England, which they claim to be "the most expensive single in the history of pop music."
The single will be limited to 100 copies, cost 100 British Pounds apiece, and as a tongue-in-cheek shout-out to marketing vets everywhere, be released on the "Victorious Kiam" label (ask your parents or your prof.).
So what do you get for your money? As explained by the band's bold publicist (and more, I'd suspect) Cate O'Connell:
"Each of the high-quality 12" vinyl recordings will come beautifully packaged, numbered and signed in covers designed by ten of the UK's most exciting young artists including Harry Pye, Jasper Joffe and Cathy Lomax.
"These records will not be available in stores and will only be available at a special invite-only event in London's Sartorial Contemporary Art Gallery."
Quite an audacious stunt, and one that has been given the unanimous thumbs-up at Surprise Central, particularly when the reasoning behind it all is to make the statement that in a world of peer-to-peer downloading, "music still has a value" (a sentiment shared by my son Aidan, who actually turned me onto the band, and this attention-grabber).
You can check out the cover art at the Victorious Kiam website and listen to the track here.
And you can re-learn an old marketing lesson that I first absorbed when reading Al Ries and Jack Trout's missives in the '80s. Paraphrased in a proverbial blogosphere nutshell:
Be the first.
And if you can't be the first,
be the biggest or the smallest.
And if you can't be the biggest
or smallest, be the most.
The most what is up to you.
Find a way to fill in the blank after
"The Most _______ "
...and you'll be something.