and radio interviews, KISS promoted its brand through aggressive merchandising, placing order forms in their albums and selling T-shirts, belt buckles, posters and anything else they could brand KISS at concerts. KISS was a leader in generating merchandise revenue, capitalizing early on what brands like Ralph Lauren, Aber- crombie & Fitch, and Hard Rock Café have discovered-the best advertising possible occurs when your fans pay you to wear and to promote your brand. However, even after a series of sold-out concerts and with legions of fans living the KISS brand, album sales fell dreadfully short of the potential the band and its manager expected.     KISS Listens to Its Boss   In many respects, KISS had become one of the most successful rock- and-roll bands in the United States, selling out concert venues wher- ever it went, but the music industry measured a bands success by the number of records it sold. With poor album sales, expensive shows, and a nearly bankrupted record label, doom loomed dangerously near. But KISS would tackle the problem with two brilliant branding     strategies, both of which drew upon the bands intense relationship with its fans. From a technical perspective, KISSs first three albums were quality productions, following conventional wisdom of laying down tracks in the studio, getting the perfect sound, and mixing the product to the highest quality. Yet their records didnt hit the charts, received little airplay, and failed to create much excitement in the market. The band was baffled. In what researchers today would call focus groups, the band talked to its fans. "People would come to see us in droves," says Stanley. "And when people would tell us about their feelings about the albums, they would always say, it doesnt really sound like you guys. I think the problem with the first three albums was that they didnt capture what KISS basically was and is-and thats a live experience." Whereas fans of other bands wanted their heroes to perform songs the way they sounded on the albums, KISS fans wanted their idols to perform the songs on the album the way they sounded on stage. The challenge was capturing the concert experience-energy, explosions, excitement, and all-on a flat piece of vinyl, foregoing the studio- perfect sound of most albums for the raw sound of a live performance. The only way they thought they could do this would be to record a live album, which producers and label execs insisted never sold well. They didnt understand KISS fans and how they were different from fans of other rock-and-roll bands. KISSs management fought for what the fans wanted, and the result was Alive, not a single disc but a double-album compilation of live recordings of concerts in Iowa, New Jersey, and Michigan, where the bands connection with its audiences and fan appeal were strongest. Released in September 1975, immediate success ensued, with the album selling over 4 mil- lion copies. "After Alive came out, we became the biggest band in the country," says Simmons. The album featured a song that would forever synonymous with the band. "Rock and Roll All Night," which had been recorded on