Bieber Fever - Just Keeps Coming Back!

Justin Bieber is legendary at building an impressive brand empire. 

Bieber is set to open up a retail store in LA featuring sneakers and lollipops later this year in addition to a highly successful 3D movie Launch featuring himself of course.

In my opinion these are appropriate extensions to the Bieber brand at this point and will be well received by his target market... But he won't be young forever and all of these icons he's creating may just be inconsistent with his brand as he gets older. As of now he is well positioned with appropriate symbols and associations but will he really be able to build a sustainable brand? Although, look at Britney spears who has successfully updated her iconography to match her target market as she grows up.

A great example of Justin's strong brand management skills can be exemplified at his performance alongside Usher at the Grammy's.

An interesting observation here is that Justin is leveraging plenty of the late Micheal Jackson's previously established brand elements. If you notice here, the outfits worn are very similar to the wardrobe style that Micheal Jackson would have worn. The entire performance even employed a number of signature Jackson trademarks like moonwalking among plenty of other familiar dance moves that he created. Bieber is leveraging the Michael Jackson brand and creating new cues and associations that will ultimately help to build his brand. He is also playing off the power of memory and nostalgia. These elements help to establish him as a "great performer", similar to what Micheal Jackson was known for.