the brilliance of Diamonds career uncovers some of the same values and marketing strategies that some of the worlds most enduring brands have used to stay profitable for decades. Those lessons include:    Connecting with a market segment and moving with it      Creating and maintaining emotional connections based on nos- talgia and the comfort of familiarity      Understanding how values affect product, marketing, and man- agement decisions.     The Neil Diamond product and marketing approach creates a musical brand that mirrors several successful consumer product brands. One in particular comes to mind-Neil Diamond is the Velveeta cheese of the world of rock and roll. And before all of you Diamond fans get your feathers too ruffled, let us explain. Upon     announcing a tour, Diamond doesnt need to rely on mass advertis- ing to get the word out and sell tickets; word of mouth among fans does the trick. When you attend one of his concerts, you know what to expect; unlike KISS, there wont be a lot of surprises, pyrotech- nics, or fire-breathing. Theres only one Neil Diamond, and people know his brand well. His new albums are likely to sound like those of the past, which is pleasing to most of his fans, yet he does release new material occasionally to keep in touch with them and keep them engaged. While we know legions of devotees exist, you might be hard-pressed to find many wholl fess up to being die-hard Dia- mond fans. For most of the 50-and-under group, such admittance seems a bit too schmaltzy, classifying Diamond more as someone their parents should like. Yet, when his tour hits their vicinity, these boomers will go-and, more important, theyll love every minute they are there. Now, compare that to Velveeta. Kraft certainly doesnt have to do a lot of advertising for this product. It has its place in Americana, and it coasts merrily along on that sea of repeat purchases. When it comes time to replenish the Velveeta supply, what do consumers write on their shopping lists-processed cheese loaf or Velveeta? There really is no substitute. Its popularity is partially about consistency, but oc- casionally Kraft will shake it up a bit with innovations like Picante Velveeta, which, like Diamonds new releases, is the same basic prod- uct consumers love but with a little kick. Its a fact that Kraft sells tons of Velveeta, but Velveeta fans tend to be of the closet variety rather than an in-your-face breed. Closet fans can be challenging to marketers. Their tendency is to be loyal but not to evangelize-a major benefit to companies that create fans. Hormels blockbuster brand, Spam, had a similar posi- tioning. Thousands of people ate it, but not many wanted to admit it. But with a tongue-in-cheek approach, the company launched a mar- keting and