Makeup, money and merchandising: The strategic branding and marketing of KISS

Abstract

From an inauspicious start in the early 1970s, the band KISS transformed the musical landscape with its theatrics and iconic face-paint, but more importantly, it created a new way to brand and sell merchandise on an unprecedented level. Four men from New York, who critics lampooned as musically tasteless and talentless, developed the preeminent business plan for future bands to follow. KISS created consistent branding, giving fans exactly what they wanted and expected, and in doing so, created a lifestyle. KISS continually upped its game, creating bigger shows with more pyrotechnics, theatrics and an ever-growing line of products. KISS never sat on its merchandising laurels, consistently developing diverse and often strange products to appeal to a growing legion of fans. KISS protected its brand throughout the decades ensuring no one could duplicate or even remotely mimic its style — ‘We sue people all the time’, said Gene Simmons in a 2011 interview.1 Even though the band has effectively played the same songs in the same way for over 50 years, those in attendance never feel they are getting a watered-down experience. KISS seems fresh every time with energy and fan-experience at its forefront. Together, these elements provide a timeless blueprint for musical acts to follow.