long look at his life. By the age of 43, hed become a white-haired, over- weight addict hiding behind a Steinway. "I looked like a 70-year-old man playing the piano." The time had come to save himself from bulimia, alcohol, and drugs. He spent most of 1991 out of the public eye, then reemerged sober,     fit, and filled with a new lust for life, on George Michaels remake of "Dont Let the Sun Go Down on Me." Taupin summed it up best in a VH1 Behind the Music interview: "He made mistakes, he got into a rut, he got himself out, case closed." The 1990s brought another string of hits, among them "The One," which became his first number-one hit in 16 years. It struck an emo- tional chord with old fans from the 1970s and 1980s and new ones from the 1990s. Perhaps the greatest impact on what the Elton John brand stands for today began with an announcement he made dur- ing a press conference in 1992. John told the media, "Every single I release in America from this point... all my proceeds will go to AIDS research and AIDS charities." To date, John has raised well over $20 million for the cause, making him a hero in the eyes of fans and critics alike and giving fans another reason to remain devoted to him. During this brand reformulation, John traded in his feathers for designer Versace duds (although sequins still appear from time to time as part of the image). But he got back to the core of his brand- great piano-based rock and roll, entrenched in his understanding of the musical masters. "I stress (to young musicians) to listen to the great masters who came before us," he said at the 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. He did just that, and in the process figured out how to manipulate the peripheral cues (from personality to staging and dress) to present his core strengths best, rather than use them to cover up and distract from what really makes him great-his music.       Reaching Multiple Seg ments with One Underlying The me   One secret behind Elton Johns abundant success and mass appeal is good old market segmentation strategy. Over the years, he has reached a number of audience types, spanning beyond traditional age, in- come, and gender boundaries. In the past decade, he has attracted kindergarten-age fans and their grandparents with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and "Circle of Life" from Disneys megahit, The Lion King. After conquering Hollywood by winning an Academy Award for his work on The Lion King, he took on Broadway, collaborating with     Tim Rice on Aida. "I was scared to do Aida because I hadnt done any- thing like that before," recalls John, "but the scary things are the most enjoyable, and you need the scary; you cant be complacent." He has been anything but complacent over the years. He has stayed fresh and relevant to numerous market segments with intense cobranding efforts. Not only did he tour with Billy Joel to offer audi-