Earlier this year an anonymous piece of street art appeared beside an ordinary residential building on Hornsey Road, Islington. Green to give the illusion of leaves to a nearby tree, it didn’t just add intrigue to the wall. It created the type of buzz every marketer dreams of.
At the nearby Roasting Shed café where I was that morning, there was only one question on every punter’s mouth: “Is it a Banksy?”.
Over the next few days, photographers came to capture the wall. Drawings of it quickly decorated the café. Soon it was official as the elusive artist posted a before and after on Instagram.
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Then it was defaced. So valuable it had to be protected by boards and plastic windows (which some might argue obfuscate the view of the painting).
Speaking at MAD//Fest 2024, former Unilever global marketing VP and founder of Pecorino, Ian Maskell, highlighted that Banksy’s annual revenue amounts to £500 million. But why does a single guerrilla artist have the type of clout and ROI every multinational brand dreams of?
For Maskell it comes down to three key principals: values, purpose and personality. And he believes CMOs could learn a thing or two from Banksy.
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Stick it to the art world – defy structures to make a mark
Banksy is certainly known for being defiant, in a way that a lot of the business world would probably be hesitant to embrace.
For instance, Banksy infamously shredded his painting of a girl with a balloon painting at the height of the elite art world Sotheby’s auction house, and did so right after it was sold for £1 million. For Maskell sticking it to the hierarchical art world adds value to Banksy’s brand as it not only keeps the artist in the press but adds guerrilla clout.
Not everyone should go around shredding paintings. But as Ogilvy chairman Rory Sutherland pointed out in his MAD//Fest keynote speech there should be more room for creatives to break convention and be a bit subversive, for it can bring a brand to new heights.
“You will always have marketers come up with a bunch of great ideas, then have to run them past the finance team, but you will never get that happen in reverse,” Sutherland said.
Likewise, for Maskell, Banksy’s winning strategy involves rebellion against the art world’s financial structures (indeed there’s been a legal dispute that could force the artist to reveal themself). Yet the anonymous works are some of the most lucrative around…
Distinctive, subversive and consistent – keep your personality
Another element of Banksy that Maskell says marketers should learn from is consistency. The artist’s stencil style is distinctive and has appeared on countless t-shirts and merchandise as well as in cities across the world. Maskell highlights that on Amazon alone there are 30,000 venues selling Banksy merchandise.
Moreover, Banksy has 12.6 million followers, which is more than Damien Hirst who has 1 million followers, and Ai Wei Wei who has 702,000 followers.
Given Banksy’s style, fans get an inkling when a work might be his. Crucially, the fact that Banksy posts images of the works on Instagram mean that those interested in the work head there to confirm its validity. It keeps intrigue alive and satisfies the appetite of a global fanbase (a CMO’s dream, surely).
Do tap into the zeitgeist – leverage moments
A further reason for Banksy’s success according to Maskell, is that whilst maintaining core values, he consistently taps in to current affairs.
From activism in the Middle East to highlighting issues of domestic violence to works with statements like “If you repeat a lie often enough it becomes politics”, Banksy’s purpose is very clear. Again a winning trait for CMOs to take head of.
Indeed despite shaking up the art scene, Banksy’s approach stands out in its outlandish consistency (something which can be seen in successful brands like Liquid Death, Gymbox or Lucky Saint), and it comes down to one truism – “What Banksy hasn’t done is follow convention, but what Banksy has done is follow the rules,” Maskell summarised.
