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Confessions From a Tech Billionaire: “Why Content is King” in the Digital Economy

Content is king, everybody knows that. But what the hell does it mean?

The phrase “content is king”, came from an essay published in 1996 on the first page of Microsoft, by the soon to be self-made billionaire, Bill Gates.

In his essay, Gates publicly predicted what was predicated for the success of any person or business that wished to grow a business online.

Spoiler alert (it’s content). Here’s why…

 

Content is King – Summary From the 1996 Essay

“Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet – just as it was in broadcasting.

“… the broad opportunities for most companies involve supplying information or entertainment.

No company is too small to participate.
I expect societies will see intense competition- and ample failure as well as success-in all categories of popular content.

Those who succeed will propel the Internet forward as a marketplace of ideas, experiences, and products – a literal marketplace of content.”

How to Compete in a Marketplace of Content?

It means that brands are turning to story telling to get the attention of their customer. It means that in order to rise above the noise we can’t be more noise.

You don’t want to promote content for the sake of creating content (God knows the world doesn’t need more content).

Don’t interrupt the content your customer is searching for. Create the content they are searching for.

List out the 5 biggest obstacles your customer faces (as they relate to your product or service). Then create content to solve that problem.

 

At the end of the day you just need to build a list of people that share the journey of solving that pain-point to achieve success…and up-sell to that list your solution.

It’s that simple, that hard, and that unavoidable.

“I like it, I love it, I want some more of it!” – Billy Ray Cyrus

If you’re into this topic get the full story below.

Want to learn the strategy to operate as a media company? We created a comprehensive overview, where I can teach you how to operate your business as a media brand in 32 pages.

Learn how to compete in a market place of content. Click the link below.

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com

Categories
Branding Marketing Personal Development Sales

Did You Know Bloomberg TV Sells $10 Billion SASS Solutions Every Year?

Did you know, that Bloomberg TV isn’t actually in the TV business?

Bloomberg makes all its money ($10B year) selling a software license?

Bloomberg TV is in fact a marketing platform to attract customers interested in what they really sell: the #1 financial software used by every major stock trader on WallStreet.

Long before billionaire and former Mayor of NY, Michael Bloomberg, became a presidential candidate, he was once the general partner at an investment bank called Salomon Brothers. Where he was heading IT development.

In 1981, at the age of 39, he took his $10 million severance package and started a company called Innovative Market Systems, that later become known as Bloomberg LP as we recognize them today.

Bloomberg is Actually a Software Company:

Michael Bloomberg originally developed and built a computerized system to provide real-time market data, financial calculations, and other financial analytics to Wallstreet firms. The Market Master terminal, later called the Bloomberg Terminal, was released to market in December 1982 selling just 20 units.

Overtime, in order to capture the attention and build a loyal audience of financial traders online, they created a media network that became so effective it now consists of a wire service (Bloomberg News), a global television network (Bloomberg Television), websites, radio stations (Bloomberg Radio), subscription-only newsletters, and two magazines: Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg Markets.

The company now has 167 locations and nearly 20,000 employees. By operating first as a media network to attract the buyers they wanted to sell to.

How Did Bloomberg Created a Massive Audience:

1. They Created Content That Attracted the Audience They Wanted to Attract

They launched a 24-hour financial television news network that entered into cable broadcasting in 2000 to offer 24-hour programming aired to 200 million households.

2. They Focus on What Their Audience Wants

Bloomberg is regularly criticized in the press for not being a profitable news organization.

But what their critics don’t realize, is that Bloomberg media wasn’t necessarily meant to be profitable. (Not when the company’s main source of revenue is the Bloomberg Terminal subscription). Their news media is just a beautiful way to attract an audience generated for the terminal clients.

3. Bloomberg Stepped into Media Landscape

Bloomberg TV gets the company name out there, cements the brand and reputation.

4. They Up-sold Their List

Bloomberg captured his audience and converted 320,000 paying customers around the world at a subscription fee of $24,000/year to access their terminal software.

That’s $7.6B in annual revenue on their terminal product alone. Which is pretty impressive given they only made 20 sales their first year in business.

Bloomberg Marketing Summary:

By focusing on creating a network, Michael Bloomberg built a very significant brand (not to mention $59B net worth making him 8th on the Forbe’s list of richest people).

Michael Bloomberg didn’t just advertise on media networks. He f-ing built one!

So can you. You have access to all of the same broadcast tools. I can prove it.

 

Want to Build an Audience to Sell to Like Bloomberg?

In order to stand out in today’s cut-throat digital economy, you’re going to need to find ways to make your brand stand out where the traffic is.

You’re going to need to operate as a media brand and create content to attract an audience to sell to (just like Bloomberg did).

Want to learn the strategy to operate as a media company? We created a comprehensive overview, where I can teach you how to operate your business as a media brand in 32 pages.

Learn how to compete in a market place of content. Click the link below.

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com

 

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Branding Case Studies Entrepreneurship Growth Marketing Personal Development

The Surprising Origin Story of the Red Bull Brand

Remember that time Red Bull spent $65 million on one video so that we could all watch someone skydive 24 miles from outer space?

Seriously, who the hell does that?

Well turns out his name is Dietrich Mateschitz. He’s the founder and CEO of RedBull and currently #53 on the Forbes list of richest people with a net worth of $19.5 billion.

Making him the richest man in his home state of Austria and easily the most prolific figure to come out of the country since Arnold Schwarzenegger.

WATCH:

I mean, what kind of strategy does one need to become a self-made billionaire selling a can of sugar water in an overcrowded and cut-throat beverage industry?

How does one take over significant marketshare in a crowded industry?

To quote the parting words from the final scene of Leonardo DeCaprio’s  Jordan Belfort portrayal in The Wolf of Wall Street….“Sell me this pen” (or technically an energy drink in this case).

Whatever your answer is, chances are, most of our marketing plans would have focused on promoting the beverage product to retail buyers. RedBull on the other hand,  developed a vision to dominate the entire world of peak-performance culture by promoting the lifestyle to build an audience of athletes.

Before He Started Red Bull

Long before Dietrich took over the world with RedBull, he had pretty relatable back story for a soon to be global marketing mastermind.

First off, it took Mateschitz 10 years to earn his degree in business from the Vienna University of Economics and Business. While spending his decade as a career university student he spent a good portion of that time working as a ski instructor to pay his bills.

After graduating, at 28, he spent the next 10 years as a the international marketing director for a German hygiene manufacturer called Blendax. They sold toothpaste…

Then, at the age of 38, something happend. He hit a wall. In an interview awhile back with Duff McDonald of Bloomberg Business Week, Dietrich explained his outlook at the time;

“All I could see were the same gray airplanes, the same gray suits, the same gray faces. All the hotel bars looked the same, and so did the women in them. I asked myself whether I wanted to spend the next decade as I’d spent the previous one.”

While contemplating the change he wanted in life, he went on a trip. He took a flight to Thailand in 1982, an experience that would change Mateschitz’s life forever.

The Origin Story of Red Bull

While suffering from jetlag, as the story goes, Deitrich was introduced to a bizarre working-class drink the locals loved called Krating Daeng (Thai for “water buffalo”).

Krating Daeng had a cult-like following by Taiwanese truck drivers. It was Invented by a former antibiotics salesman who owned a small pharmaceutical company, Chaleo Yoovidhya, who developed the original concoction as a low priced alternative to coffee.

Dietrich fell in love with the concept as a cure-all for jet lag, tiredness, and even hangovers. Dietrich came up with the idea to rebrand the product to a western market. At the age of 40, he quit his job and started out on his own.

In 1984, Mateschitz approached Yoovidhya, and convinced him on the idea that the two should invest $500,000 apiece to establish a 49/49 partnership (the other 2 points went to Yoovidhya’s son), with the plan to take the drink world-wide as dual partners.

When Red Bull Failed to Launch

Mataschitz struggled for the first few years trying to get the proper international license to sell the drink in his home state of Austria. He lost over a million dollars in two years just trying to get started. He still believed his idea would work though and made the decision to launch the brand to a different market.

The two then decided to introduce the product in Hungary, Germany, and the UK. With a revised product. Dietrich carbonated the drink and altered the taste and branding. They moved away from the Krating Daeng name.

This was a pretty mission critical stage of the journey. With no money left to invest in advertising, he had to borrow favors from friends to try to build a brand presence.

The Guy Who Invented the Red Bull Logo

Dietrich turned to a college friend who owned an ad agency. Johannes Kastner’s and his team developed the iconic blue-and-silver can emblazoned with the logo of two muscular bulls about to smash heads in front of a yellow sun. On spec!

Johannes was ALSO credited with the birth of the infamous slogan: “It Gives You Wings.” Which means that it provides skills, abilities, or the power to achieve anything you want.

It’s as much an invitation and call to action as well as a request to take on bold challenges.

Taking his new brand positioning to another level, Mateschitz’s strategy early on proved to be a brilliant one. Rather than promote the beverage itself. He immediately started to promote the lifestyle that he himself was lacking at the time…FREEDOM!

 

How Red Bull’s Brand Values Took Flight

Everyone values freedom and Red Bull sponsored it through sports and activities wherever they could. Inspiring others to pursue their dreams as well.

Most of the early sponsored events they covered were all Dietrich’s Austrian friends that were in his network.

Red Bull then went on to sponsored exclusive and exciting events that got high volumes and more importantly, FREE global media coverage.

They “sponsored” over 500 extreme sports athletes who compete in special and often record-breaking events.

Red Bull is More of a Media Brand than Energy Drink

Instead of creating a marketing department. Red Bull went on to create a media publishing house, Red Bull Media House, with the mission to inspire and fascinate people through sports.

And their strategy is brilliant. Triggering engagement through inspirational awe-inspiring videos that naturally go viral with their fan base of adrenaline junkies (with their brand prominently displayed of course).

In the post digital era where every brand has access to communication tech to become a media company. Few companies take it as seriously to heart as Red Bull has from the beginning of its inception.

inside Red Bull, led by Dietrich Mateschitz, is a true pioneer in every sense of the business. Stud.

CONCLUSION

The Red Bull brand manages to inspire people. Instead of marketing a product they marketed values: freedom and taking massive action in life while you can.

Instead of running commercials, Reb Bull became the show itself and ultimately became a legitimate publishing network.

By taking the bull by the horns and having the ability to play outside the box Red Bull has sold over 68 Billion cans..That’s roughly 10 cans for every human alive (But mostly from men aged 18-35).

I can still remember a time when nobody knew what a Red Bull was. Today it’s on par with Starbucks and Coke.

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com

Categories
Branding Case Studies Culture Entrepreneurship Marketing Personal Development

This Rebrand Will Make You Cry Laughing!

A few years ago, in an office in Toronto, an Oglivy advertising intern named Hunter Somerville, was working a part time job for a Kraft Cereal brand client, called Shreddies.

Shreddies Cereal Had a Major Problem

The Shreddies brand was facing a major dilemma. It was 60 years old with an aging and declining customer base.

So Kraft hired Ogilvy, in a bit of a hail-mary attempt to come up with fresh ideas. Their goal was to return their crown as the rightful heir to the throne of the breakfast kingdom they had once dominated.

So Kraft tasked the Ogilvy to give their older brand an exciting new makeover. But only under one condition, the couldn’t actually change any aspect of the actual product…

With that massive caveat in mind, the Ogilvy team acccepted the challenge. But now how would the team alter the perceived brand value without changing the actual product?

Then an Idea Emerged…

The answer turns out, came in the form of a joke made by an intern in a client brainstorming session.

You see, during a team meeting, according to Fameable, Hunter Sommerville, reached into the cereal box, and pulled out one single square piece of Shreddie cereal.

Holding the square carefully in his fingers, he then rotated it 45 degrees, and jokingly boasted; “this isn’t a square, it’s a DIAMOND!”

It was in this moment, out of these fateful ashes, where Hunter planted the idea for the new, and far more exciting, Diamond Shreddies. I kid you not.

They Didn’t Change the Product – They Just Changed the Story

The team immediately jumped on the fresh idea. A square is a term that literally means boring. But a diamond, that’s rare, coveted, and exciting!

They spun Hunters joke into pure gold. They stepped into it and made it a full campaign. They made it into a viral sensation. Reviving the aging brand in awesome fashion.

They re-tooled the messaging while maintaining all the physical characteristics of the original. With a twist (literally).

WATCH:

They Became Worth Talking About

But wait, what happend to the square Shreddies version? Don’t worry, they came up with a concept to make them both available. In a combo pack! LOL!

They gave consumers the option of choosing between the two shapes, traditional or diamond. Both of which were, in fact, the same exact product. It became an inside joke that create awareness for the brand.

By updating their messaging they were able to create awareness for the product that translated to an increase in sales by 18%.

You can watch the entire campaign explained by Ogilvy executive, Rory Sutherland here:

 

Brand Conclusions:

For starters, it paid off to turn to an outside perspective for a fresh approach to solve an aging brand problem.  Specifically, from someone that occupied the demographic they were hoping to attract. 

Second, they choose to address the obvious elephant in the room, that their brand became became stagnant. They turned the problem inside out and openly made it into a campaign and something fun to talk. Finding a fresh way to tell the story of a 60 year old product to a new generation of buyers.

They brilliantly introduced themselves to a new era of Shreddies consumers that now view the brand as fun and creative.

The Shreddies story is a great example that innovation can take place without changing the product but how you introduce your product or service. Shreddies increased sales by 20%, just by simply talking about their product in a new way.

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com

 

Categories
Biography and History Branding Personal Development

From Homeless to a $300 Million Dollar Brand

How Dwayne Johnson wrestled his brand to success

 

 

Everyone knows who Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is today, but fewer know his story and his gritty past.

Before He Was a Household Name

Before you dismiss his success as just some lucky lottery winner you can’t relate to. You should know that when he started building his path to success years ago. He started his journey with $7 to his name the day after he thought his life was over.

After he failed his dream of nearly getting into the NFL. His stardom comes from an unbelievable story of defying a life of adversity.

His story is legendary and as they say: “Legends aren’t born their made” and Dwayne Johnson certainly made a legendary brand from scratch and there’ s a lot to be learned from his unconventional story.

We talk a lot about building personal brands today. But we don’t honestly do a great job of talking about what REALLY, goes into them.

 

Before He Was Famous

His is a story of defying the odds, teaching us that building a personal brand is just that. Personal.

Before being named “Peoples’ sexiest man alive”, before he was ranked as the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.

Before he had a hit HBO show and popular YouTube channel with millions of social media followers and endless blockbuster movies. Before hosting SNL not once but 5 times, and long before Johnson teased a run for president, his beginning started from a place of quiet despiration.

 

 

Early Days Growing Up

Johnson was a regular kid born in California but grew up in Hawaii.

His father, a former professional wrestler who was let go from the circuit. Out of work, the family was evicted from their 1-bedroom apartment after failing to meet the deadlines for paying rent.

Dwayne was 14 years old. There wasn’t much he could do, but he quickly found solitude in a local gym lifting weights.

 

Turning Passion into Purpose

Johnson mentioned in his official Facebook page:

“I started training hard at 14 years old. Not for fame or a competition, but because we were evicted from our small apartment in Hawaii. I really hated that feeling of helplessness and never wanted that to happen again. So, I did the only thing I could control with my own two hands in hopes that one day my family would never worry about being evicted again – I trained,”

 

 

This experience changed him forever.

It was this moment that carved into Johnson a sense of urgency as a survivor. Forced off the island without a place to live.

The family wound up moving to a little motel outside Nashville, Tennessee where he stole steaks from a local grocery store only to realize that he didn’t have a way to prepare the meat in the motel room.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t all he stole.

 

Overcoming His Demons

Johnson joined a gang and had been arrested eight or nine times by age 16.

But thankfully the time and energy Johnson was putting into the weight room started paying dividends when he found himself a fatherly figure in football coach named Jodi Swick who gave him a chance to play on the football team.

Dwayne fell in love with competition and chose a more productive path in sports.

He trained and worked hard eventually earning his way play for the University of Miami. His future was starting to look brighter with pro football a possibility. Until a sudden injury cut his dreams into shreds.

Warren Sapp replaced his spot on the roster who ultimately went on to play in the NFL and became famous instead of Johnson. Crushing his dreams and everything he planned for up to that moment.

 

With Only $7 in His Pocket Left

After graduating Miami with no prospects Johnson went to Canada to play semi-pro for the Calgary Stampeders in 1995 only to be cut from the team after just 2 months.

With no job and a wife to support, Dwayne had $7 to his name and no idea what to do.

He called his father to pick him up and had to move back into his parent’s apartment.

The voice in his head told him. “You’re done. Your life is over. You failed! You’re worthless.”

He later recalled recalled dealing with a bought of depression:

“I found that, with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone. You’re not the first to go through it; you’re not going to be the last to go through it… I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and say, ‘Hey, it’s gonna be OK.
It’ll be OK.

I didn’t want to do a thing, I didn’t want to go anywhere. I was crying constantly. Eventually, you reach a point where you are all cried out.”.

 

He Had a Decision to Make

He spent that time pondering his next moves and if he even had any at all. Dwayne stayed cooped up in his family apartment biding his time simply cleaning.

Then one day his former Calgary coach called him up and asked him if he was interested in coming back.

But he wasn’t. Instead, Johnson turned to something familiar to him.

Watching his father and grandfather wrestle growing up, he decided to attempt a career in their footsteps. Only to receive some discouraging feedback from his family. After hearing his new career choice his father, Rocky, told Dwayne this was the worst mistake he would ever make.

But that didn’t deter Dwayne. And Rocky agreed to train him anyway. Johnson was able to arrange several tryout matches through the then WWF. He had his foot in the door. The professional wrestling journey for Johnson began in that awkward and disparaging beginning.

 

Making His WWE Debut

His father trained him and just a year after being cut from the Stampeders, Dwayne made his WWE debut in 1996 with the stage name “Rocky Maivia” combining the names of his father and grandfather. Later to be known simply as “The Rock”.

And once again, his experience didn’t go as he planned. The audience didn’t take to him or his character and it seemed as though his father was correct. It was all a mistake.

But Dwayne didn’t give up. He kept pushing forward. He made changes in his character and increased his efforts to stand out and personalize his stage presence. He went all-in.

He eventually won the audience over with his magnetic personality and became known as the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.

Dwayne started using his own catchphrases, so much so, that Merriam-Webster Dictionary officially added his “smackdown” phrase to the dictionary in 2007.

 

Leveling Up

After catching his stride in the ring and with his new and growing fans, the Rock was no longer surviving he was creating momentum.

Rather than being handed obstacles to deal with, he was finally making opportunities for himself.

Unbeknown to Johnson, at that same time, Saturday Night Live wanted to bring a pro wrestler on to host the show.

Because of the charisma he put into the ring, they chose him.

 

Hosting SNL

In 2000, Saturday Night Live asked the now well-known wrestling celebrity to take center stage and host a show.

It was at this moment that the outside mainstream world became aware of The Rock’s personality and energy. Things changed forever. Lorne Michaels recalled Johnson’s first hosting gig in a NY Times Interview:

 

“He has a wonderful sense of timing, he has an innate theatricality and because he projects strength, the audience kind of relaxes with him. He could do nuance, he could do subtle, he could do big and broad.”

 

Johnson stepped up to the plate in a big way.

He took the flame of success he created and added fuel to the fire. He decided to launch a book, a memoir for his life until that moment.

 

Building His Brand

The story of his life became number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Another win that created more awareness and opened even more doors for him.

It was only five years after Johnson had started wrestling, and was thrown very quickly into the world of Hollywood films.

He adapted quickly. Bringing the charm he created in the ring to the studio. But he didn’t just hone his acting capability, he elevated his personal brand and marketing skills as well.

Johnson started changing the way movies were promoted.

Sharing set secrets and behind the scenes shots before a movie premiere used to be taboo. But the Rock turned the game upside down when he inked a deal to get paid an extra $1 million to promote his own movies due to the power to promote his project to his now enormous social followers.

That’s pretty badass.

 

 

And He isn’t Slowing Down

Dwayne currently has over

  • 100 million Instagram followers
  • 58.1 million Facebook followers
  • 13.9 million Twitter followers
  • over 2 million YouTube subscribers

Across all those channels he shares photos, videos, and announcements about the films he’s in as he’s working on them.

Johnson’s posts, featuring things like set photos with fans on set, often create organic media placements.

Creating even more coverage for the films he stars in, and it cost him nothing.

Conclusion

He not only stepped into Hollywood as a player, he quickly learned how to play the game and changed it.

Through his years of talented brand building. He adapted and capitalized by being the most entertaining player in his space.

At the beginning of Dwayne Johnson’s journey, it would be difficult to predict the success he would manifest if any at all. Through his perseverance and determination not to quit and race towards new opportunities, today Dwayne Johnson’s net worth is north of $320 million and climbing.

He’s a 100% certified self-made-man, an inspiration to millions, and the hardest worker in the room. But best of all, through his success, he remained as humble as the man that began the journey.

Threw his story, his actions, and his positive influence, he became a man worth following.

 

“Be the type of person that when your feet touch the floor in the morning the Devil says, “aww shit…there up.”

– Dwayne Johnson

 

For more information visit tylerhayzlett.com