Anyone who knows me knows I am all about the power of relationships. Every once in a while, something unexpected happens that seems almost too good to be true.
So two months and 53,000 YouTube views ago, I had no idea something this unpredictable would happen….
Over the course of 5 episodes, we’ve:
- trampled on a Chipotle campaign,
- discussed when to (and when NOT to) use humor in branding and how James Corden gets it right
- clarified the liability of cliches and a closely guarded branding secret
- crystallized how a new retail brand is crushing it (with $225 million in sales) in a $40 billion category, and
- unveiled how GEICO, Oreo and Old Spice use 2 rules that help convert commodities into a must-have brands.
I am talking about this new collaboration I am super pumped over: The David and Ted Talk Show.
The Problem with Branding Today
This all started a while ago.
I admit it: I started following David Brier.
After seeing his posts and seeing his name pop up everywhere I happened to be reading, I soon discovered he was:
- a kickass branding expert unafraid of telling like it is,
- someone who had a unique viewpoint
- a fellow New Yorker
- funny as hell and
- wrote case studies that (contrary to the usual fluff and BS) crushed it.
And I kept seeing his branding and brilliant videos appearing in ADWEEK, Forbes, Fast Company and Business Insider.
Then I saw he was following me too. (Did I say he was a really smart guy?)
Fast forward: David reached out to me earlier this year and we instantly hit it off (David reminded me of the branding equivalent of myself — except my focus is social marketing and relationship building, and not branding, with the other notable difference being he’s kept more of his hair below the nose and above the eyebrows… #LOLOLOL).
Shaking the Tree to See What Falls
The idea: with today’s Webosphere filled with books and videos from the insightful minds of Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Donny Deutsch and Shark Tank stars:
- What if we discussed very real, very down-to-Earth topics of social marketing and branding, providing a voice that isn’t out there?
- With some street smarts like Gary Vee?
- With actionable and human insights… anda Return on Relationship bent?
- But with practical advice from two professionals who have seen it all… or at least a lot of it?
I looked and found nobody that had two New Yorkers, each of whom is in the ring fighting every day versus somebody sitting on the sideline merely taking notes.
In short, could we provide some immediately useful and practical insights that would help today’s CEOs, CMOs, brand managers, business owners, startups and entrepreneurs?
That became the basis for a talk show.
We decided to give it a shot.
The first one got over 4,100 views:
It was organic like Sonny and Cher… OR Lethal Weapon. Or for those who have NO idea who THEY are, imagine this:
We all know Gary Vaynerchuk, right? What if Gary Vee got together with some other high energy person who could keep up with Gary? Maybe somebody like Grant Cardone (both New York Times bestsellers) who Gary calls “Mr. 10X” — that kind of synergy would be freakin’ cool.
It felt kind of like that.
Every Brand’s Secret Weapon
Then David told me he’d bring in his “secret weapon”
In 5 episodes, the videos have already gotten over 53,000 views.
David’s secret weapon? Social media distribution ninja Justin Matthew of iBoom Media.
David’s point confirmed what we both knew: the greatest content is about 20% of the battle. The other 80% is the distribution, getting the word out, getting it seen.
I couldn’t argue with the logic. I’ve seen it too many times: great content which doesn’t get enough eyeballs. The bankruptcy courts are filled with the remains of those.
David told me Justin’s response after pitching the concept and sharing a couple of episodes: “The chemistry between you two is very organic. We have to get these videos seen by entrepreneurs, CEOs, readers of INC, Fast Company and Entrepreneur.”
Justin also shared:
“There are over 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute so it is critical that we upload the videos to the right category. Videos uploaded to People and Blogs = 2,354 views/video average (that includes any viral video stats) compared to the average view count in How-to and Style = 8,332 views/video average. So let’s go with How-to and Style category.
“Let’s ensure the titles are engaging with questions and intrigue.
“Lastly, let’s create a style for the thumbnails so this will work as a playlist and be easy to recognize.”
The newest episode talks about Old Spice, Oreo Cookies and GEICO and the lesson marketers can learn from them. David came up with the angle: Can You Turn a Commodity into Must-have Brand?
After seeing that the first 5 episodes hit over 53,000 views, Justin added, “Social Media is one of the major contributing factors in the success as the three of us combined have over 500k followers and along with titles like Chipotle, What the Hell are you Thinking? to Branding Genius—Old School Tactic Crushes a $40 Billion Market with Ted Rubin & David Brier which creates interest in potential viewers or the latest video Can You Turn a Commodity into Must-have Brand?— presenting the title as a question only broadened the appeal.”
This is only the beginning of “The David and Ted Talk Show.”
Leave it to a couple of New Yorkers to find a voice that restless brands want to listen to.
Stay tuned.