With Eyes On Remaining Relevant, Monster Launches Revamped Business Model

This was a big moment for Noel Lee and the Monster team out here in Las Vegas for their annual CES press event on Monday. It seems like every year the audio brand tries to one up itself by trotting out big-name celebrities wearing their product, announcing some big product partnership, and gearing up for the always-eventful Monster Concerts at CES. But that was explicitly not the case for Lee and his brand this year.

Rather, Monster’s press conference had more of a humble tone to it, with the Head Monster attributing his success to things like strong retail partnerships, and him very candidly admitting that the brand doesn’t have the same mass market appeal as the likes of Sony, Samsung, or Apple. That fact, Lee said, has necessitated Monster’s evolution as a company and the launch of “Monster 4.0” here at CES 2019.

The new business model, which was rolled out in the company’s 40th year, places a major emphasis on partnerships. Still present in Monster’s expansive product lineup are updated headphones, its Blaster speaker, and other audio-driven products. But the company, which recently experienced something of a leadership upheaval, is dead set on leveraging forward-thinking and effective partnerships to expand its portfolio in ways that traditionally wouldn’t seem to make sense for a brand like Monster—except they’re actually shockingly on point.