Talent Isn’t Enough: Lessons From The Replacements on Why Firms Fail to Grow
Have you ever heard of the band The Replacements? (and if your first thought was, “that’s not a band, that’s a Keanu Reeves football movie”, then I am instantly sad).
I’m guessing roughly 50%, probably more of you, have not.
And that lays out the main point of my post right up front.
They were a legendary band out of Minneapolis, who wrote some of the best rock/power pop songs of all time. (Don’t throw things, Beatles Fans, or Stones fans, or even Big Star fans.)
And they sabotaged themselves at almost every turn.
So this wannabe music journalist is going to explain to you how ad agencies and professional services firms often do the same thing to themselves.
A lot of firms out there have amazing chops, but their prospects won’t ever know.
So who are the Replacements?
Quick intro to set the stage (thanks for the summary, Perplexity!):
The Replacements were an influential American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979. Originally rooted in punk, they evolved to become pioneers of alternative rock in the 1980s, known for their raw, heartfelt songwriting and notoriously raucous, unpredictable live shows. The core lineup featured Paul Westerberg (vocals/guitar), Bob Stinson (guitar), Tommy Stinson (bass), and Chris Mars (drums). Their critically acclaimed albums, including Let It Be and Tim, cemented their status as cult icons. The band was active from 1979 until they disbanded in 1991, later reuniting for select periods in the 2000s and 2010s.
And before we jump in, one point where most agencies are (ideally) NOT like The Mats:
Profuse amounts of alcohol.
Up until roughly the last tour (which was amazing) and the reunion, these boys drank, a lot, onstage and off.
That certainly was a rather large part of their self-sabotage, so I’ll put that aside for the rest of the post, but it was a contributing thing.
So why are many firms like The Replacements?
Early refusal to do “real” videos
As The Replacements started to become indie darlings (sort of), 1986 was, of course, a ripe year for MTV.
Just a small list to give you an idea/remind you of some of the biggest videos of that year:
- Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer
- Dire Straits – Money for Nothing
- A-ha – Take On Me
- Madonna – Papa Don’t Preach
- Whitney Houston – How Will I Know
- Janet Jackson – Nasty
- Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name
- Talking Heads – And She Was
- Run-D.M.C. & Aerosmith – Walk This Way
- Prince & the Revolution – Kiss
- Robert Palmer – Addicted to Love
( Damn!)
The Replacements seminal album, Tim, came out that year, and the record company wanted a video for the single, “Bastards of Young”, and the band did not want to do it, or videos at all, at that point.
Paul Westerberg had famously (infamously) written the song, “Seen Your Video” on their 1984 album Let It Be with these lyrics:
All day, all night, all music video
Seen your video, that phony rock ‘n’ roll
We don’t want to know, seen your video
No one can really know if a “proper” video would have helped The Mats (the nickname was shortened from The Placemats, a joke on their band name, which stuck because it fit their sloppy, irreverent, self-deprecating vibe. And they leaned into that anti-image.) but it probably would have helped sales.
Ad agencies and professional services firms have failed to promote themselves or create thought leadership content for decades now
Has it gotten better in the 20 years RSW/US has been in business and driven business development for firms in the ad and marketing industry?
Yes, I’m happy to report.
But there are still so many small and mid-sized firms especially that have this mentality: “we don’t have the time”, and “we don’t really need to put ourselves out there to get new business”.
It’s never been easier to create content that shows your prospects your expertise.
And with all the (free) research tools out there and inexpensive, or even free tech/platforms out there to create and execute content, there’s really no excuse.
Again, did you know who The Replacements were when I asked up at the top?
Exactly.
(Side note, The Mats hilariously compromised, if you want to call it that, and did a video that was largely just a shot of a speaker playing the single that pulled back over time. I had to include it)
Blowing Key Live Shows
The Mats were know for either legendary shows that were as close to perfection as possible, or bizarre, drunken debacles.
A few quick examples:
- SNL appearance: 1/18/86
They were invited last minute to replace the Pointer Sisters, strangely.
They had a solid, taped rehearsal and then the drinking began.
Live and on air, singer and guitarist Paul Westerberg swore off-mic and the band was felling no pain, as it were.
To cap it off, they trashed their hotel room after the show, causing $1,100 in damage. (I actually don’t think they played particularly badly, you can see it here.)
But they were summarily banned from SNL for life!
2. Sire showcase- 2/4/86
The Replacements had just signed to Sire Records (the label known for Madonna, Talking Heads, and The Ramones).
Sire was giving them a big industry push, and they were invited to play a showcase for industry execs and press, basically their shot to prove they could be the next breakthrough band.
Instead of treating it like a career-making opportunity, they did what The Mats often did:
- Showed up drunk (or got drunk onstage).
- Played sloppily and deliberately tanked songs.
- Mocked the audience instead of winning them over.
- Covered random tunes half-heartedly rather than sticking to their own setlist.
By all accounts, it was chaos.
One journalist later said they were “a band that could play the greatest show you’d ever seen or the worst show you’d ever seen, sometimes in the same night.”
Ad agencies and professional services firms tend to pick and choose what prospect meetings they actually prep for, or just decide to wing it.
Look, life happens, and clients do need to come first, but we’ve seen way too many instances of firms not doing even the modicum of prep that they should for first prospect meetings.
Just like the content example above, there’s really no excuse for not doing basic prep work.
(And there’s a third show example, which I witnessed, and I just have to mention: I grew up in Nashville, and in 1989, I was excited to see The Mats open for Tom Petty at Starwood amphitheater, for what should have been an incredible double bill. Well, Tom petty fired The Mats that night.
Here’s why, from The Bitter Southerner blog:
Earlier that day, the Replacements had broken into Petty’s bus and stolen several dresses from Tom’s wife, Jane. They wore them on stage for the set, which was by far the worst and most chaotic of the many Replacements shows I had seen.
At one point, lead singer Paul Westerberg told the crowd, “Last night, Tom Petty said that if we f**k up again, we’re fired. F**k you, Tom Petty. And f**k you, Nashville.”
Then, they played an instrumental version of Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side” for about 10 minutes before leaving the stage 20 minutes before their scheduled time.
The Heartbreakers came out 20 minutes early and told the crowd, “Since the opener didn’t bother to finish their set, we’ll play a little extra. Because we care!” Then, they pulled out a scathing version of The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go.”
I should also point out that I believe the drummer, Chris Mars, fell off his drum stool at one point. Yikes.
Lineup chaos & self-sabotage
The Replacements were infamous for lineup changes, switching drummers, or unraveling under their own antics.
It was unpredictable, and momentum was always being reset.
(To be fair, the bass player, Tommy’s brother, Bob was fired for drug/alcohol use, which was kind of like Guns and Roses drummer Steven Adler getting fired for the same reason, how bad did it get comparatively? (Bob’s story is actually a sad one, and he was very talented.)
Agencies do the same thing when they start a biz dev push, then abandon it after a few months, or when new leadership scraps an approach without giving it time to work.
That inconsistency kills traction.
Here Comes A Regular
At the end of the day, much of the Replacements self-sabotage can be attributed to pretty severe anxiety and doubting their own talent, something all of us have probably experienced to varying extents.
Regardless, there’s so much in these examples that could have been prevented.
The Mats came up with R.E.M, who went on to arguably become the biggest band in the world for a time.
If you and your team have the Replacement’s talent, don’t squander it by not putting some effort into biz dev and getting your name consistently in front of your prospects.
Addendum: The Mats went on to play excellent, sober shows on their last tour and reunion tour, and I’ve met Tommy and Paul, and they couldn’t have been more appreciative and friendly. I hope I didn’t talk you out of listening to their albums, they are amazing.
In a 
