beatlz
May 21, 2003, 07:55 AM
How John and Paul could be the new Janet and John May 21 2003
By Mark Hookham Daily Post Staff
ATTRACTING a new generation of Beatles fans could generate a billion dollar industry for Liverpool, according to an international marketing expert.
Prof Gary Davies says those who can control the band's lasting image should move quickly to cash in on the Fab Four's fame by refreshing their brand name.
He is organising an international conference which will be told tomorrow that memories of the group will fade unless a marketing campaign is launched targeting young people.
The Corporate Reputation, Identity and Competitiveness conference at the Manchester Business School will bring together branding and marketing experts from 20 countries. They will visit the Beatles Story museum at the Albert Dock in Liverpool on Friday for the main conference dinner.
Prof Davies told the Daily Post last night that Beatles John and Paul should replace Janet and John as a way of teaching children how to read and dedicated television channels created to ensure the band's name lives on.
The professor also suggested a brand relaunch could include a Beatles' theme park or a tourist attraction similar to Elvis's Gracelands home in Memphis.
He thinks Apple Corps, which owns and administers the Beatles' brand, could follow the success of the Disney cartoon channel and launch a Beatles' specialist digital or cable television channel, or resurrect the Beatles' cartoon, which was shown on US TV between 1964 and 1965.
He said: "Why not have Beatles' books, where the characters of John or Paul could help children learn?
"If you look at something like Disney, they have managed to keep cartoon characters first drawn in the 1930s relevant today.
"The individual members of the Beatles had strong characters who would appeal to children and further the brand."
A recent study by regeneration body Mersey Partnerships found Beatles tourism attract 600,000 visitors to the city each year and generated more than £20m for the local economy.
Last year the Mathew Street Festival, held during the August bank holiday, raised more than £15m and generated more than 10,000 bed nightsworth of business for city hotels.
But Prof Davies believes the brand has the potential to be expanded further and earn the city a lot more.
London-based Apple Corps last night declined to comment but Jamie Ferguson, acting manager of the Beatles shop in Mathew Street, said some of the Beatles' most devoted fans were children.
He said: "Most of this sounds like marketing rubbish. We get children in here from as young as seven up to the age of 17. They buy the memorabilia and the sheet music so they can learn the songs.
"There was one kid, who was only about eight, who came in every week to buy original bubble gum cards for £3.50.
"He knew absolutely everything about the Beatles - including all their birthdays."
Coun Warren Bradley, Liverpool City Council's executive member for culture and tourism, said: "Each year the Mathew Street Festival is a massive hit with children and youngsters.
"The Beatles still have a very wide appeal and I do not think there is a branding problem."
Capital of Culture leader Sir Bob Scott last year called for a World Beatles Centre to be built in Liverpool.
He said: "There has to be an archive to the Beatles and that has to be in Liverpool.
"If we could put this archive into an authorised, developed, magnificent library, it would be absolutely brilliant. We are only scratching the surface at the moment."
Beatles' memorabilia is sold for millions of pounds a year.
Last year, a ticket stub for a 1963 Beatles concert at London's Royal Albert Hall was sold for £3,500 while bricks from the Cavern club can be traded for £500 each.
By Mark Hookham Daily Post Staff
ATTRACTING a new generation of Beatles fans could generate a billion dollar industry for Liverpool, according to an international marketing expert.
Prof Gary Davies says those who can control the band's lasting image should move quickly to cash in on the Fab Four's fame by refreshing their brand name.
He is organising an international conference which will be told tomorrow that memories of the group will fade unless a marketing campaign is launched targeting young people.
The Corporate Reputation, Identity and Competitiveness conference at the Manchester Business School will bring together branding and marketing experts from 20 countries. They will visit the Beatles Story museum at the Albert Dock in Liverpool on Friday for the main conference dinner.
Prof Davies told the Daily Post last night that Beatles John and Paul should replace Janet and John as a way of teaching children how to read and dedicated television channels created to ensure the band's name lives on.
The professor also suggested a brand relaunch could include a Beatles' theme park or a tourist attraction similar to Elvis's Gracelands home in Memphis.
He thinks Apple Corps, which owns and administers the Beatles' brand, could follow the success of the Disney cartoon channel and launch a Beatles' specialist digital or cable television channel, or resurrect the Beatles' cartoon, which was shown on US TV between 1964 and 1965.
He said: "Why not have Beatles' books, where the characters of John or Paul could help children learn?
"If you look at something like Disney, they have managed to keep cartoon characters first drawn in the 1930s relevant today.
"The individual members of the Beatles had strong characters who would appeal to children and further the brand."
A recent study by regeneration body Mersey Partnerships found Beatles tourism attract 600,000 visitors to the city each year and generated more than £20m for the local economy.
Last year the Mathew Street Festival, held during the August bank holiday, raised more than £15m and generated more than 10,000 bed nightsworth of business for city hotels.
But Prof Davies believes the brand has the potential to be expanded further and earn the city a lot more.
London-based Apple Corps last night declined to comment but Jamie Ferguson, acting manager of the Beatles shop in Mathew Street, said some of the Beatles' most devoted fans were children.
He said: "Most of this sounds like marketing rubbish. We get children in here from as young as seven up to the age of 17. They buy the memorabilia and the sheet music so they can learn the songs.
"There was one kid, who was only about eight, who came in every week to buy original bubble gum cards for £3.50.
"He knew absolutely everything about the Beatles - including all their birthdays."
Coun Warren Bradley, Liverpool City Council's executive member for culture and tourism, said: "Each year the Mathew Street Festival is a massive hit with children and youngsters.
"The Beatles still have a very wide appeal and I do not think there is a branding problem."
Capital of Culture leader Sir Bob Scott last year called for a World Beatles Centre to be built in Liverpool.
He said: "There has to be an archive to the Beatles and that has to be in Liverpool.
"If we could put this archive into an authorised, developed, magnificent library, it would be absolutely brilliant. We are only scratching the surface at the moment."
Beatles' memorabilia is sold for millions of pounds a year.
Last year, a ticket stub for a 1963 Beatles concert at London's Royal Albert Hall was sold for £3,500 while bricks from the Cavern club can be traded for £500 each.