The 5th Principle of RELENTLESS: Relentless BRANDING
“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.”
—Benjamin Disraeli
When I married my wife back in 1991, I gained more than a wife. I gained a grandpa—Norm Johnson, known to one and all as “Grandpa Norm.” It was love at first sight. Grandpa Norm and I got along like we’d been grandpa and grandson our entire lives. We shared a love of God, family, sports, sports cars, and most importantly fitness. We were both workout fanatics. Our relationship was meant to be.
With all we had in common, there was one big difference. I was already a well-known personality in the media and sports world and Grandpa Norm—well, Grandpa Norm was a retired blue collar print shop worker. He was loved by all his family and his many friends. But the truth was, he had been an anonymous working-class guy his entire life. I never considered that might bother him. But I soon found out it did, a lot.
One day, out of the blue, Grandpa Norm said, “Grandson, I love you and am going to ask you for a huge favor. I’ll be ninety-two on my next birthday. As a special gift, can you make me famous? I’ve been a ‘nobody’ my entire life, but before I die, I want to be famous. I want to live your life, even if only for a few days. I want my fifteen minutes of fame. Can you do that for me?”
THROW GRANDPA FROM THE PLANE
Wow! How do you pull off something like that? But Grandpa Norm had faith in me and knew I was relentless. Once I got an idea in my head, I never stop until it becomes reality. He counted on that. He was right. I dreamed up one heck of an idea. I would use Relentless BRANDING to give Grandpa Norm his birthday wish and make him a celebrity. I would create a celebrity brand for him with a concept I called “Throw Grandpa from the Plane.” A week later I came back to Grandpa Norm and told him, “I have the idea that will turn your dream into reality, Grandpa. Are you ready to be famous? You’ll need to take a leap of faith with me. Literally. We’re going to celebrate your ninety-second birthday with a grandfather-grandson skydive! You do that with me, and I’ll make you famous. Are you willing to jump out of a perfectly good airplane from thirty thousand feet up, then dive down to earth at over 120 miles per hour?”
Grandpa never hesitated, “Grandson, I’m in. Let’s take that leap of faith!”
Now came the hard part. I had about five months before Grandpa Norm’s ninety-second birthday to make this happen. If I failed, Grandpa would be crushed. The disappointment might kill him—literally. The weight of the world was on my shoulders. So, as usual, I turned to The Power of RELENTLESS. I went on the offense. I attacked the media with abandon for the next five months. I bombarded them with press releases, calls, FedExes with my invitation to the event. I peppered them with reminders about Grandpa Norm, the ninety-two-year-old who was going to jump from an airplane. I didn’t wait for their reply. I hounded them with follow-up calls. I wouldn’t take NO for an answer. I wouldn’t rest until I made Grandpa Norm famous. I was, in short, RELENTLESS!
Then came the big day. My Relentless BRANDING of Grandpa Norm had paid off. When Grandpa and I landed safely, we had over thirty news organizations waiting for us. Most every news station in L.A. was waiting for an interview. Local NBC News opened the 5:00 p.m. newscast in the second largest city in America with our landing and an interview with Grandpa Norm! All of Los Angeles watched. Grandpa was a star for the first time in his ninety-two-year life. Grandpa made the most of the opportunity, trying to pick up the beautiful anchorwoman, Colleen Williams, on live TV with the whole “Southland” watching. He said, “Colleen, I know you’re married, but that’s okay. We can still be friends.”
But making Grandpa Norm into a local hero was only the start. I delivered an even bigger prize with my relentless media attacks—taking the Relentless BRANDING of Grandpa Norm to a new level. I convinced Rosie O’Donnell to interview Grandpa. There, behind the thirty TV news crews in a feeding frenzy interviewing Grandpa, was a limo to race us to the airport for a flight to New York to star on The Rosie O’Donnell Show. It was the first limo ride of Grandpa Norm’s life and his first ever flight in first class. When we got to New York, Grandpa informed me that it was his first ever trip to Manhattan, too. It was certainly his first time on national TV! Rosie had him OPEN THE SHOW by introducing her. Next she interviewed him about his life. Then she showed her thirty-five million television viewers the video of the sky dive. She asked Grandpa, “Why did you do it?” Grandpa Norm pointed to me and said, “There’s the guy who MADE me do it. My grandson, Wayne, pushed me out of the plane!” The audience roared with laughter. Grandpa was a hit! To end the interview, Rosie’s producers rolled out a cake with ninety-two candles and the entire studio audience sang “Happy Birthday” to Norm. With thirty-five million people watching, Rosie and Grandpa blew out the ninety-two candles and hugged each other—to wild applause.
But wait. We’re not done. Grandpa’s dream day was just heating up. His favorite actress was Drew Barrymore. Guess who was sitting backstage waiting to come on the show as the next guest? Drew Barrymore. She hugged and kissed Grandpa and said he was her star. SHE asked for Grandpa Norm’s autograph. But Grandpa’s day still wasn’t over. Grandpa’s favorite TV show was Golden Girls, about a group of elderly ladies enjoying life as single chicks. As we walked outside to catch our limo, one of the stars of Golden Girls, Estelle Getty, was arriving for her guest appearance on Rosie. She asked Grandpa why he was there. Grandpa, the old ham, told her his entire story. She jumped up and down with glee and gave Grandpa a big kiss and told him, “You are my hero.”
When we got on the plane, the pilot for American Airlines asked Grandpa if he’d enjoyed his trip to New York. Grandpa told him every detail of his story. Once we took off, the pilot announced over the intercom what an honor it was to be flying “the most famous ninety-two year old in America.” Then he asked the entire crew and all the passengers to join him in singing “Happy Birthday” to Norm. For the rest of the flight, Norm was asked for autographs by dozens of passengers. Finally the flight attendants had to ask people to stop coming up to first class because they were creating a mob scene.
Grandpa came home to receive the key to the city of Pasadena, his home. Blue Cross Blue Shield awarded him their “Ageless Wonder” award and featured a story on Grandpa Norm in their nationwide newsletter. Stories appeared in newspapers and on TV news shows across the country. Other elderly people were soon in the news, inspired by Norm’s stunt to jump out of airplanes themselves, including one eighty-nine-year-old woman. And then there were the marriage proposals. Dozens of women sent letters to Grandpa Norm proposing marriage, some of them twenty years younger. Norm got a real kick out of that.
The power of Relentless BRANDING was able to turn an ordinary ninety-two-year-old print shop worker into a national celebrity. Norm died a happy man, but only after going racecar driving with yours truly at 150 miles per hour at the California Speedway in Fontana, California, in front of a crowd of reporters—to celebrate his ninety-third birthday! I loved Norm, but I swear a part of me was relieved when he died before his ninety-fourth birthday. I had no idea how to top those stunts!
But you know I would have . . . because I’m RELENTLESS!
Are you already using branding to grow your business, attract clients, and ratchet up your success? Why not?
Look at Floyd “Money” Mayweather. Boxing is a dying sport. TV ratings are in the toilet. Seats at the events are empty. MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) have killed boxing. Yet a great brand can overcome anything.
The biggest brand in boxing is Floyd “Money” Mayweather. As I write this chapter the Mayweather/Pacquiao championship fight is days away in Las Vegas. It is the most talked about event in Las Vegas history. It’s bigger than the Super Bowl. CNN reports it’s the biggest payday for any athlete in world history.1
Mayweather will earn about $180 million for this one night’s work. Manny Pacquiao will earn $120 million for this one night.2
Even in the middle of a terrible economy, every seat at the MGM Events Center is sold out at prices that defy reality. The nosebleed seats are being sold by ticket brokers for $8,000 to $10,000 per SEAT! To get a ringside seat you’ll need a $250,000 credit line!3
Hotel rooms are the most expensive in Las Vegas history. Rooms that normally cost $130 per night are going for up to $2000 per night.4
And the Pay-Per-View price to watch at home will be $95, the highest in history. The economy is gasping for air. It doesn’t matter. Boxing is a dying sport. It doesn’t matter. People are hungry for success . . . celebrity . . . winning. When people find a brand name “valuable,” they will pay anything to feel like a winner. That’s branding!
“BROADWAY” JOE NAMATH
“Broadway” Joe Namath is a brand. If you just look at Joe Namath’s stats he was average. His career win-loss record is 62 wins vs. 63 losses.5 Joe Namath’s career completion percentage was a mediocre 50.1 percent. His career touchdowns-to-interception ratio was terrible—Namath actually threw far more interceptions than touchdowns (173 TDs vs. 220 INT).6
Yet he’ll go down in history as one of the great NFL gunslingers and greatest brands ever! Why? Relentless BRANDING. Namath had a knack for promotion and a bigger-than-life personality. Putting your personality out there in the public spotlight is what defines and sells a brand—and that’s exactly what “Broadway” Joe Namath did.
He was bold enough to predict his team would win the 1969 Super Bowl as 19-point underdogs. That prediction branded him for life. He wore fur coats on the sidelines of games.7
He did a TV commercial wearing women’s pantyhose.8
His bigger-than-life personality made Joe Namath one of the biggest brands in sports history. His net worth is $18 million.9 Not bad for a guy with more interceptions than touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who won 62 games and lost 63.
That’s Relentless BRANDING.
And it’s the same reason people are paying to see the Mayweather fight—because Floyd has put his bigger-than-life personality out there and made himself a BRAND. Personality makes people feel alive. It can be positive or negative. You may love it or hate it. But it makes you feel. It’s memorable. It gives you energy, electricity, and excitement. People pay big money for “memorable!”
RALPH LAUREN
I’ll bet many budding young fashion designers think they are “too good” to worry about sales or promotion. They believe their products will “sell themselves.” But one of the “best” fashion designers ever certainly understood the importance of Relentless BRANDING. His real name was Ralph Lifshitz. But he understood rich women would never buy his clothes, no matter how fashionable and classy, if he didn’t project the right image.
He changed his name to Ralph Lauren and created a dream image of a wealthy, tan, WASP playboy riding horses at his estate in Greenwich, Connecticut . . . as opposed to the truth: a short (5′ 6″) Jewish kid from the Bronx named Lifshitz, who used to be a broke tie salesman. Can you imagine women bragging, “This is my latest dress from Lifshitz”? It’s all about BRANDING.
I’ll bet there are many young lawyers who think they are “too good” to worry about their brand. They think it’s all about their legal skills. One of my lawyer friends proves them dead wrong. He is one of the most famous and powerful lawyers in America. I walked into his office one day and was completely intimidated by the walls lined with media headlines celebrating his many winning cases. I said to my friend, “That’s really impressive—you must have a 100 percent winning record.” He laughed and said, “Actually I’m 50-50, but I only put the winning cases on the wall to impress and intimidate anyone walking into my office.” It’s all about the WINNING BRAND.
THE U.S. MILITARY
Do you think young men and women join the Army or Navy only because of patriotism? Not true. The Army and Navy spend tens of millions of dollars on ads each year. They hire Madison Avenue executives to design those advertising campaigns. Those ads don’t show a sobbing mom and dad at a funeral. They don’t show a soldier in a psych ward with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They never interview a kid who has no legs or arms, or whose best friend died in his arms. That would be too frightening and negative.
Instead, Madison Avenue shows images of fun, independence, and a proud young person in a perfect shiny uniform dripping with medals. They show scenes of friendship, camaraderie, and bravery. They have slogans like “An Army of One.” It’s enough to make a patriotic kid run to the Army recruiting office and enlist! It’s all about Relentless BRANDING.
A great example of the importance of branding has to be my hometown of Las Vegas. Five words—“I’m going to Las Vegas”—produce an instant smile on faces all over the world. But what separates Las Vegas, Nevada, from Las Vegas, New Mexico? In this Vegas we understand the power of the brand! We don’t just understand it, we live it. Everything is image. Everything is branded. Everything is memorable. Everything is bigger than life. Everything is based on slogans.
Vegas is “Sin City” . . . the gambling capital of America . . . the tourist capital of America . . . the convention capital of America . . . the fun capital of America . . . the sex capital of America . . . the low tax capital of America . . . and of course, “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.”
All of that that memorable branding makes you forget that Las Vegas is in the middle of a sweltering hot, godforsaken, ugly, tumbleweed-infested desert. Until Vegas embraced gambling, booze, sex, and quickie divorces, it was an empty town where you stopped for gas on your way to Los Angeles. Relentless BRANDING changed that just a bit.
Because of the success of that sales job and image makeover, well over 40 million tourists visited Vegas last year (an all-time record). Over 22,000 conventions were held in Las Vegas last year.10 Nevada gaming revenues were over $11 billion last year.11 Nevada was the fastest growing state in America for nineteen consecutive years.12 Las Vegas is home to at least half the reality TV shows in America.13
And then there’s the amazing statistic about Las Vegas nightclubs. Seven of the ten top-grossing nightclubs in America are found in one city: Las Vegas. Vegas’s top clubs and bars grossed $612 million in 2014. Second place went to Miami with $192 million, with New York in third place at $181 million. Just one Las Vegas nightclub—X/S at Wynn Resort—grossed more than every nightclub and bar in Los Angeles combined ($105 million vs. $97 million).14 This ugly desert town has used Relentless BRANDING to become the most famous town in the world!
But now let me tell you the story of the polar opposite, a story of a humble man who never understood the power of the BRAND. His name was Phil Tobin, and what makes this an amazing dichotomy is this man was the “Father of Las Vegas.”15
I’ll bet you’ve never heard of him. Neither has anyone else. He died anonymous and invisible—the opposite of everything about Las Vegas.
But without Phil Tobin, Las Vegas, Nevada, would be no more famous than Las Vegas, New Mexico. Tobin was a “cowboy legislator” in the Nevada State Assembly in the 1930s. At the time, Las Vegas was a town of five thousand people. It was a stop on the highway on the way to Los Angeles until Phil Tobin dreamed up legal casino gambling and fought for it for years in the Nevada legislature. He said, “If gambling is made legal, Las Vegas will become the playground of the United States.” What a visionary. That’s exactly what happened. After three tries, Tobin finally got his bill passed.
Satisfied and sick of politics, he went back to ranching. But his timing was awful. It was in the middle of the Great Depression. Tobin lost his ranch. He wound up as a ranch hand working for others. He lived in a tiny, dirty bunkhouse and slept on a dirty, stained mattress. He died penniless at age seventy-five in 1976.
When he died, stories appeared in Nevada newspapers honoring Tobin as “the father of legalized casino gambling” and “the father of Las Vegas.” His friends and fellow ranch employees were shocked. They told the newspapers that Tobin was polite, humble, nice, and never bragged about himself and never said a word about his role in legalizing gambling. “We had no idea” was the phrase heard most often by reporters at his funeral.
I’m sure Phil Tobin was a nice man. Yet Tobin never made a penny off his vision, or his heroic efforts to turn his dream into reality. I’m sad to report that “nice” isn’t enough in this competitive, dog-eat-dog world. I don’t think God wants anyone to be so humble that they die penniless and anonymous. “God helps those who help themselves.” If you want success, you need to relentlessly promote your brand.
THE “WALL STREET PORN STAR”
My final example of branding is an X-rated one. While I’m not endorsing this career choice, sometimes even a negative choice can prove the value of branding. Paige Jennings was an anonymous part-time intern at a Wall Street stock brokerage firm in early 2015. She decided she wanted a career in porn and needed an angle. The angle? She became the “Wall Street Porn Star.” She submitted “selfies” taken in the bathroom of her Wall Street firm to an adult film company searching for a star for a new film.16
Thousands of women submitted their photos. Guess who got a call back in three hours? The “Wall Street Porn Star.”17
Branding works. Thousands of women applied, but only one had her own brand, “Wall Street Porn Star.” Next Ms. Jennings set up a Twitter account. Within hours she was being inundated with media interview requests from across the country. The “Wall Street Porn Star” made headlines in the New York Post and Business Insider. Soon she was fielding offers from media all over the world. The “Wall Street Porn Star” was offered a six-figure sponsorship deal—something that had never happened in the history of the adult film industry. Keep in mind she was just a lowly intern—she really had nothing to do with Wall Street. Yet she got a major six-figure sponsorship deal and was soon paid an unheard of sum to star in her first movie, even though she had never done an adult movie scene in her life. That’s branding!
THE NECESSITY OF HOOKING
No, not that kind of hooking. I’m talking about the kind of “hooks” that create hit songs. Success in the business world is no different from success in the music business. You need the right hook or angle to create a hit. Why? In the music business there is so much competition that singers are a dime a dozen. To catch listeners’ attention, to stand apart from the crowd, every singer needs a “hook.” One such hook is a memorable song verse that resonates with people. You know, like Lionel Ritchie’s “Easy like Sunday morning.” I personally love Sundays. I always have, always will. It was the only day of the week my hardworking blue-collar dad was home with the family. The verse “Easy like Sunday morning” from Lionel Ritchie’s hit “Easy” was released almost forty years ago, but I still remember that verse like it was yesterday. That’s the power of a “hook.” By the way, that song hit #1 on the Soul charts. Today Lionel Richie is worth over $200 million.18 A good hook is worth its weight in gold!
I went from nowhere to one of the top online syndicated political columnists in America because of my “hooks” (i.e. headlines). You can write a great story, yet no one will read it without a compelling, memorable headline to catch reader’s attention. That’s my specialty. Hooks and headlines are BRANDING.
I always use the New York Post as Exhibit A for the value of outrageous headlines.
The classic headline in newspaper history, used to describe a murder victim found in a strip club:
“Headless Body Found in Topless Bar”19
Another great headline used to describe a monumental mistake on the golf course by Tiger Woods, who dropped his golf ball in the wrong place:
“Tiger Woods Puts Balls in Wrong Place Again”20
A classic NY Post headline to describe the murder of a gay mob boss:
“Mobster Sleeps with The Swishes”21
A classic headline to describe the NY Yankees beating the Boston Red Sox on the one hundredth anniversary of Fenway Park:
“100 Years of Ass-Kicking”22
I credit my success as an entrepreneur to having grown up reading and learning from the New York Post. To this day it’s my favorite newspaper.
My favorite website is the DrudgeReport. Matt Drudge has an amazing “touch” for picking the most colorful, fun, outrageous and controversial headline. It is an art form. That talent has made the DrudgeReport one of the most-read websites in the world—with over 27 million page views per day.23 Drudge drives more traffic than Twitter and Facebook combined!24
Drudge has three employees, Matt Drudge plus two others. The site is worth close to $1 billion.25
A great “hook” is what empowers Drudge to stand out in a web world with millions of sites.
I have applied that talent to my entrepreneurial and political careers. I always try to think of a headline in my political commentaries that will attract attention and stand out in a crowd. Every advertising headline I write is designed for “shock value.” If it doesn’t shock, it’s a loser.
Everything you do and say as an entrepreneur should be measured by how much attention you attract and how many leads you attract (phone calls or sign-ups on your website). “Hooks” are how you stand out in a crowded field. The reality is you’re either a “talented hooker” or you’re just screwing yourself!
Branding means something simple. It means something memorable. It sets you apart from the crowd. Your name, “hook,” or brand is what people remember and pay for. Relentless BRANDING is a crucial part of success in any field. What is your brand? What sets you apart from the crowd?
Use your morning TRIAD time to brainstorm about what’s unusual and compelling about you and your business . . . what’s memorable about your personality or product. What do you have that’s unique, that no other person or company can offer? It may be a new product or business idea. It may be something in your personality or style that makes doing business with you an experience unrepeatable anywhere else. It may be a marketing concept or a fundraising scheme. Whatever it is, it’s something that sets you apart from the competition and makes you unique. That’s your BRAND. Once you know what it is, you just have to sell the world on it with Relentless BRANDING—just like “Broadway” Joe Namath, or Las Vegas, or the “Wall Street Porn Star,” or my personal favorite, Grandpa Norm. I gave Norm’s skydive story a name, “Throw Grandpa from the Plane.” The media ate it up! Keep reading to learn more secrets of how to sell your BRAND—with Relentless STORYTELLING!