This week Fader Magazine announced the release and free streaming of MGMT’s sophomore album, Congratulations. Catchy riffs mixed with psychedelic surf rock melodies are a far cry from their tremendously successful and far more Pop release Oracular Spectacular. Like many agencies out there, MGMT was a huge part of our 2008 playlist. Unlike many, we would have had the great opportunity to work with them…until their drummer broke his foot three hours before the show.

All things aside, why am I writing about this album release on Mowalla’s blog? The topic’s been covered by many a savvy music journalist. The truth is that I found Fader’s three little words they went weird inspiring. I believe there are lessons that experience driven brands and agencies can learn from MGMT’s journey. What a genius and simplistic marketing protocol. When the world knows what to expect from you…go weird.

I love this in so many ways. To me, it is a call to action for brands which rely on traditional methods of promotion. It is also a great example of a group at the height of their popularity doing what felt most organic, instead of what everyone else expected them to do. Sure, MGMT could have parlayed their exotic brand of psyche-pop into twelve more songs, some becoming singles. Instead, they took a left turn, going back to what made them so popular in the first place, their innovation. Bypassing what many artists do on a sophomore release seems like a risk, but when looking at these innovators of indie (and I use that term loosely) creating something unexpected actually seems…just right.

MGMT streamlined their style, got down to their core values and used their organic philosophies to make a record that reflected where they are at this point in time. While some may argue that a more saleable approach would have been better, I think it sets MGMT up in a good position. They can bank on their current fan base by standing ground on the core values that made Oracular Spectacular such a good album, and they can broaden their horizons with a fresh sound geared towards the latest generation of music consumers. ‘Life moves pretty fast’, after all…

We here at Mowalla recently went through a similar transition. Stripping away at years of varnish, we asked ourselves: Who are we, really? How can we provide business solutions that are relevant to today’s marketplace? The result was a restructuring of our core business capabilities that was harder than expected.

Looking in the mirror can be tough at first. Agencies tend to want to be everything to everyone. However, most smart marketers know that this is a fantasy. We decided to take that left turn and go back to what we were best at- creating amazing experiences with superior execution. Of course we still provide all that goes into a full scale production- media, promotion, guerilla teams. However, adding that we can build your brand a Foursquare-ish application that rocks to our repertoire would be ridiculous.  We are production people at our core, not programmers. These truths have reignited our passion for live experiences. Our revamp just felt right and seemed appropriate for the times in which we are living. And much like MGMT, I think that deserves some congratulations.

-          Mowalla, Chicago