Mike Nelson of Martin Guitars Talks Heritage, Craftmanship, Brand Evolution and John Mayer

John Paquin There are legacy brands and then thereamp8217s Martin few of us are stewards of a nearly 200yearold brand and one still owned by the founding family With such a rich and storied legacy how does that responsibility weigh on your shoulders Whatamp8217s it like to report to a sixthgeneration ownerMike Nelson Martinamp8217s legacy is an incredible asset but it is also daunting One of the most challenging aspects of the job is to make sure we stay true to the heritage while moving the brand forward to maintain relevance Plus there are millions of devoted fans some of whom have had a Martin guitar passed down through their family for generations who are also stewards of the brand helping to keep us honest And working for a sixthgeneration owner is such a unique opportunity Itamp8217s rare to have that much institutional knowledge in one person and because he wants to ensure the company stays in good shape for his grandchildren he takes a much longer view than anyone I have ever worked withPaquin With those six generations of ownership itamp8217s clear that the family takes great pride in that heritage of craftmanship Have there been times where they have thought of perhaps selling the company or moving manufacturing overseas to lower costs and boost sales as other icon brands have Chuck Taylors now made in China come to mindNelson One of the things that makes Martins so special is that they have been made in Nazareth PA for over 150 years While we do have manufacturing in Mexico to help us offer lower priced models we have no plans to leave Nazareth And because Chris Martin takes such a long view for the company he has no intention of sellingPaquin A classic marketersamp8217 challenge is what to keep what to evolve and what to leave behind when building or reinventing a brand That must be a tough conversation to have at Martin How do you decide Does the term amp8220brand buildingamp8221 or amp8220reinventingamp8221 even apply to a brand like MartinNelson At Martin weamp8217re always more about evolution than revolution but we understand the brand must evolve if we are going to stay relevant So while we are open to reinventing the visual identity and working with new marketing platforms or pushing the limits of what an acoustic guitar can do we have to stay true to what has made us great And that has really come out in the new brand strategy and purpose For 190 years Martin has made the finest instruments to help unleash our customersamp8217 inner artist That will never changePaquin With an amazing lineup of musicians who have played Martins over the years from Muddy Waters to Dylan to Clapton celebrity endorsements or amp8220signatureamp8221 products seem like they would be a natural part of your marketing plan but that doesnamp8217t seem to be the case How do you view these amp8220brand assetsamp8221 and how do you leverage them without compromising themNelson The first thing we consider when working with an artist is authenticity They have to be a fan of the brand We will never pay an artist to play our guitars over another brand Because of this the artists are happy to work with us Luckily there are plenty to choose from But when it comes to signature models we want to be selective Having a Martin signature guitar is special So while they are a key part of our marketing plan we recently launched a new John Mayer model a Shawn Mendes model and a Rich Robinson Black Crowes model we donamp8217t want to overdo itPaquin And speaking of lost arts and the subject matter at hand for the conference how does a company such as Martin a trusted amp8220partneramp8221 to so many of the most talented and creative people in our society think about and leverage that proximity to such creativity in your own marketing programs Nelson Itamp8217s a great position to be in With access to so many great artists there is no shortage of content But itamp8217s also a challenge because we never want the artist to feel like weamp8217re exploiting them So we walk the fine line of working with the artists to promote our brand and our products without being too commercial Because of this many artists are willing to give us more than we could ever afford An example of this happened this year when John Mayer decided to do a solo acoustic tour where he played only Martins He asked if he could put our logo on his concert tshirts he played our guitars alone on stage for sold out arenas and we got a lot of great content It doesnamp8217t get much better than thatPaquin And finally what is the one best piece of advice a 200yearold brand has to offer to modern marketersNelson Stay true to who you are and resist the temptation to follow trends Weamp8217ve seen a lot of fads in the music industry over the years but we stayed focused on our core values and it served us wellPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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Mike Nelson of Martin Guitars Talks Heritage, Craftmanship, Brand Evolution and John Mayer

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"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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