What Kate Bush and Martin Lewis teach us about media strategy

40 years ago, singer Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love album knocked Madonna off the top of the charts and she became the first British female solo artist to reach No.1 in the Billboards.

She was never a fan of the media circus. The interviews she agreed to do were minimal.

You can imagine her press and publicity team feeling under pressure to deliver a weighty coverage book of newspaper and magazine clippings to promote the album.

Yet Kate stood firm. She did what she wanted and knew what she was. She let her music and live shows do the talking. It was show, not tell.

You can also imagine the frustration of the EMI record bosses when she decided to take over 30 years off from touring at the height of her appeal, from 1979.

Yet this didn’t make her less popular. In fact, she became more popular. To fill the void in her physical appearance, her fanbase grew. They created their own community.

When she decided the time was right to waltz back into the spotlight, the demand along with her reputation, was alive and kicking.

In other words. Do what you do, do it well – promote that – and everything will fall into place.

This strategy isn’t exclusive to Kate Bush. Think of the public figures who you so easily lost respect for once they strayed into areas outside where their talent and purpose lay.

Would Ringo Starr have been better off turning down being narrator for Thomas The Tank Engine?

It’s not just about refusing doing interviews. It’s about knowing where you sit in the media landscape.

Martin Lewis is an exceptional example. (We have to declare an interest here, as he’s been a client of ours for five years.)

While it may seem he’s the sort of person to never turn down an interview opportunity – it’s the opposite. He’ll only do them when he has something to add to the conversation and serves the audience.

And while he has been a pioneer in the UK as a personal finance journalist, he knows what he’s good at – and sticks to it.

He founded a website which has become the No.1 consumer champion and Martin himself wields power with his campaigning on money issues that mean something to the masses.

But he ploughs his own furrow and stays true to his personal values around fairness and transparency. His value comes in staying in his lane.

It means he won’t be going off trying to launch his own rocket to Venus or standing to become the next Prime Minister (even if everyone wants him to).