I realized I was getting older when I didn’t know half of the celebrities in the American Express ads. That’s right I said it, “I’m getting older.” Most of my life I tried to stay in touch with what the youth were up to, but getting up on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons, checking out Soul Train, Comedy Central and paying very close attention to who is advertising, can make a grown man tired.
well, some of us knew too.
How did he get so popular? Well the Web has given us a control we consumers never had. As a group mind, we can determine what, where and when we wish to buy. Partake or not to partake. It also works in the opposite direction as well. It gives entertainers the ability to reach a targeted list of their fans.
Dane Cook took control of his career by using the Internet – While performing at colleges over the past 6 years, Dane amassed emails from college fans from all around the country. When it was time to be booked at a certain college, he emailed his list for that area and voila, a packed audience.
It looked like magic. Most managers and bookers were amazed believing it was some sort of phenomenon, when in fact it was hard work and old-fashioned brand building. He just happened to use the Internet. Dane eventually began to have a marketing machine in place when he took it to another level: Playing to sold-out crowds in stadiums and arenas.
What made it easy was he already had a database of names to hand over to his marketing firm. As an individual or start-up brand you can do the same.
Build your data from already existing customers. If a comedian can do it at a grassroots level, so can you.
I recently attended my 25th high school class reunion. One of my classmates approached me and blurted out…“I did a Google search on you and Dude, you’re like famous!” I started laughing but a voice in the back of my head was like, “How old do you have to be before you stop using the word ‘dude’?”
Email Dane Directly for his upcoming show dates...
The World Wide Web can make you famous. Use your powers for good. But remember, it’s old-fashioned branding that is actually at work. With MySpace, WordPress, Squidoo, Flickr and other free sites, it makes an individual’s marketing campaign extremely economical. The best part is when you have a list of already existing customers, your campaign becomes very targeted.
No more shotgun marketing.
I advise companies and individuals on the best way to build their brand— whether online or traditionally. The trend USED to be that most didn't take their personal reputation seriously. BUT times have changed. Individual brands are hot dude! And Dane Cook proves it.
Brad Szollose
Bridging Generational Chaos: multigenerational management expert, award-winning author, business consultant and keynote speaker
Check out these up and coming comedians:
Johnny Watson
Johnny and his mom Judi Watson battle it out on politics and life...
http://www.watsonnwatson.com/
Rodney Laney
Rodney is just hysterical and a great person. I look forward to him being big...
http://rodneylaney.com/
Andrew KennedyOne of my favorite people and an incredibly funny comedian, Andrew talks candidly about his mixed heritage: his father being British and his mother being Colombian. Growing up in Colombia, Puerto Rico, China and New Canaan Connecticut!
http://www.andrewkennedylive.com/
But this is not based on management theory: With a 30 year career as an entrepreneur he knows firsthand what it’s like to grow a company from a simple idea in a coffee shop to an internationally recognized brand.
Brad is a former C-Level Internet Executive who went from entrepreneur to IPO in 3 yrs—co-founding K2 Design, the very first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His company experienced 425% hyper-growth for 5 straight years, expanded from 2 business partners to 4 with 60+ employees and offices worldwide. At its height, K2 was valuated at over $26 million. His results only management model (ROWE) was applied to the first wave of young Generation Y workers producing great results—winning K2 the Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation.
Brad Szollose is also the *award-winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia which explores the subject of new leadership styles – mainly how to get the tech-savvy Generation Y and analogue driven Baby Boomers working together. ISBN-13: 978-1608320554
Known for his humorous and thought-provoking presentations, Szollose received the highest testimonial of his career from a C-Level audience member: "I just had my mind blown." Brad’s keynotes and workshops are highly interactive, heart-warming, humorous, and filled with high-content information that challenge assumptions and help leaders and managers create a better work environment for innovation to thrive.
Liquid Leadership has been called "THE guidebook for the 21st Century" and has won the 2011 Axiom Business Book Award silver medal for leadership, The Indie Business Book runner up silver medal as well as becoming a #1 Best-Selling Business Book on Amazon for Organizational Learning. Published in the United States by Greenleaf Book Group, in India by Prolibris and in South Korea by UI Books/Iljinsa Publishing.
Mr. Szollose also writes a monthly column on business and marketing techniques that reach Generation Y for A Captured Mind newsletter and is part of The Mind Capture Group faculty.
Today, Brad helps businesses close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a Cultural Divide – created by the new tech-savvy worker...and customer.
* 2011 Axiom Business Book silver medal winner in the leadership
* #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author
