On the rocks branding
The Marketing Genius of
Led Zeppelin IV
Why Led Zeppelin’s
untitled, unbranded
fourth album is a
marketing masterstroke
still worth studying 40
years later.
The most remarkable thing
about Led Zeppelin’s fourth
studio album is not its 32 million
copies sold worldwide, its 15plus months parked at the top
of the charts, or even its lineup
of incomprehensibly epic rock
standards (“Stairway to Heaven,”
“Black Dog,” and “Going to
California,” just to name a few).
No, the album’s most noteworthy
trait is its name: It doesn’t
have one. Nor does the most
legendary work of Jimmy Page
and Robert Plant mention the
band’s name or record label. In
fact, it’s almost totally devoid of
text, and certainly has no Twitter
handle or URL.
“Imagine if Apple unveiled the latest iPhone without a logo or if Lady Gaga had released Born This Way without her
name, face, or album title on the cover,” writes David Deal on his SuperHype blog. “That’s what Led Zeppelin did 40
years ago… and, in doing so, it committed a masterstroke of marketing brilliance that still resonates today.”
You have doubts. We did, too. But Deal, vice president of marketing at iCrossing, lays out a solid argument for why the
album unofficially known as Led Zeppelin IV offers lessons for today’s marketers.
1. Substance over style. Atlantic Records protested mightily, but the band insisted its goal was not commercial suicide but
rather a total emphasis on the music — not the blokes who created it.
“Essentially, Jimmy Page was saying that Led Zeppelin had created music so special that conventional labels were
inadequate,” writes Deal.
2. Passionate dialog. Inside the album, fans found four symbols — each one representing a band member — totally
devoid of explanation or context. This ‘totum’ instantly sparked conversation and conjecture among fans who still debate
its meaning today.
“Led Zeppelin IV is a lesson in creating brand mystique by not over-explaining and instead revealing a few well-chosen
clues that provoke discussion,” writes Deal. “The act of essentially offering up the symbols for discussion created a viral
sensation that continues today.”
3. No unbundling. “Stairway to Heaven” caught fire upon impact, but the band refused to release it as a single. If you
wanted to hear it, you had to buy the entire album.