Escape The Marketing Mosh Pit
August 6, 2009
A sweltering Thursday night in Moncton, NB. More than 75,000 rock music fans are jammed and crammed to bear witness to history.
For the first time ever, Australian rockers AC/DC are performing on a stage in Maritime Canada. Watching an ocean of people wearing standard rock and roll clothing (black t-shirt with band logo on the front and tour dates on the back), it is impossible not to notice how the entire head-banging audience morphs into one massive sea of sameness.
An outdoor rock concert is the perfect metaphor to describe each and every marketplace. Countless competitors jostling for audience attention; each trying to outshine the others. The same dynamic holds true for everyone from stockbrokers to mortgage brokers and pawn brokers. From wealth management experts to IT consultants, contractors, car dealerships, plumbers, painters, politicians and project managers. The vast majority disappear into the fist-pumping mob.
In each category where hundreds of providers offer the same basic products and services while imitating the look and language of everybody else, it’s impossible for any new customer to see who stands apart from the crowd. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Not when you make it your mission to establish a highly distinctive Brand Identity that is essential to become the headliner in your competitive space. To rise above the swarming multitudes. Occupy a space reserved for undisputed, unrivalled top performers.
“When you’re engulfed in a crowd of 75,000+, it’s tough to move around. Unlike the frenetic Angus Young, whipping across the stage, you are stuck, standing still and swallowed by competitors. ”
Such is the case with the World’s Favorite Baseball Team which began its climb 8 years ago from historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah, GA. Discover how one minor-league baseball team has reinvented sports marketing as we know it, and how those insights can rock your business and brand.
Warm-ups and batting practice is over. The umpire has just shouted Play Ball! It’s time to Escape the Marketing Mosh Pit on Leaders & Legends!
This story has been eight years in the making.
Eight long years from complete anonymity to having more TikTok followers than any team in Major League Baseball, the NHL, the NBA, and the NFL. Really now … can 6 million TikTok followers be wrong?
What started as a college summer baseball team now serves as one of the best examples of how to create a legendary brand in the modern age. With more than 200 minor-league baseball teams in America, the Bananas have emerged as bonafide rockstars; the undisputed, unrivalled, “Category of One”. Clear and obvious headliners in their competitive space, comparable to legendary Monsters of Rock attractions such as AC/DC, Metallica, and Ozzy. GN’R, Bon Jovi, the Crüe, and the mighty Van Halen.
I first heard about Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas back in 2019 and can recall being thunderstruck by their YouTube channel. If you believe that lasting success leaves early clues, the evidence was there for the world to see pre-pandemic. Those early videos may not have attracted millions of eyeballs, but they sure spoke volumes about who the Savannah Bananas were as a brand.
And where they were headed.
For the better part of 90 years, professional baseball in Savannah, GA was a losing proposition marked by many empty seats and a dozen or more minor-league affiliates that all departed for greener pastures. Everything changed in 2016 when Jesse Cole and the Bananas began spreading their unique brand of baseball appeal with sold-out crowds flocking to historic Grayson Stadium. Next came “Bananaball”, a 2-hour game played under very different rules matching the Bananas against their arch-rivals, the Party Animals. Essentially, baseball’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals, currently has a waiting list of more than one million fans eager to buy tickets for their 2024 World Tour. In less than 2 minutes, this video reveals everything you need to know about why the Bananas are one of the hottest brands in the land.
“Bananaball"- Essentially, baseball’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals”
Once a pro pitching prospect before a serious shoulder injury ended his career, diehard Red Sox fan Jesse Cole is now pinching himself. The Bananas are about to headline iconic Fenway Park in Boston on June 8th. Together with business partner and wife Emily Cole, Jesse has built a brand culture of putting fans first. So much so that front-office employees and players receive a Fans First Playbook when joining the organization. It’s an effective way of communicating brand values such as “professionalism is boring” and “we embrace our weirdness.”
a Grand Slam of universal Bananas branding principles
1. Know WHO You Are …. Beyond Products & Services
Lots of teams play minor-league baseball before a lot of empty seats because they fail to develop a Brand Identity that transcends the sport. Trying to entice fans to attend the games, frequent the concession stand, and buy merchandise is a tough sell if you’re depending on baseball alone or whether you have a winning team. If your entire strategy is based on win-lose, that’s a dangerous place to be. The way Jesse Cole describes it, “whatever the opposite of normal is, do that”. That’s why Cole rejected typical team nicknames based on animals, birds, or concepts like Heat, Yankees, Canucks or Jazz. Naming a team after a piece of fruit and wearing a yellow tuxedo and top hat 7 days a week was a true reflection of Jesse’s admiration for icons such as Walt Disney, P.T. Barnum and Colonel Sanders.
2. Create a Connection Between the Public and Your Employees
People buy from the people behind your brand. It’s always a good idea to post behind-the-scenes videos on your website and social media platforms and let viewers get to know your people. Fostering those deeper connections makes your brand more attractive and more human to both customers and job candidates.
3. Begin With Being Original
The goal is not to be the best at doing what most already do. The goal is to be the one and only; to create your own “Category of One”. The Bananas have a highly differentiated, one-of-a-kind business model. Tickets to the games are all-inclusive (other than beer), which means you get to gobble down plenty of hot dogs, peanuts, and soda and not be nickeled-and-dimed. There is no ballpark advertising—no messages on the outfield walls or logos spray-painted on the field. More than 90% of total revenue comes directly from fans through merchandise sales.
The team also has its own pep band, a group of male cheerleaders, and a beloved over-65 female dance team called the Banana Nanas.
4. Establish Your Own Media Company
As detailed in Chapter Nine of BIG LITTLE LEGENDS, the Savannah Bananas are a shining example of taking complete ownership of your own media. From content development to platforms and distribution strategy, this team does it all. Only you know how much of a priority you place on producing consistent, original content. In the highly competitive Attention Economy, Jesse Cole is fond of saying, “you don’t need a marketing plan, you need an Attention Plan”. The brand that serves people with the best stories and information will always slaughter the one who just wants to sell products or services. In a cynical, post-trust world, the most effective and practical way to create meaningful connection with any audience is with consistent content based on who you truly are. Nothing fabricated or manufactured. Just a reflection of your true self that flows from values that you live by. And it begins with taking those audacious first steps to uploading those first videos. Long-term thinkers recognize you don’t attract 6 million TikTok followers without first getting 1,500 YouTube views.
If your brand is treading water in the sea of sameness, the visual of a rock concert mosh pit is more than relevant but also begs the question of whether there is a true headliner in your category. What’s stopping you and your brand from taking the main stage? From making a concerted, intentional effort to develop a headline act?
What makes you Different makes you an Original.
What makes you Original, is what makes you a Leader.
What makes you a Leader, is what the world needs most.
Why be one of many when you can go Bananas and be the only one?
“Gettin' had
Gettin' took
I tell you, folks
It's harder than it looks
It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll”
BON SCOTT
“Without promotion, something terrible happens... nothing!”
BIG LITTLE SECRETS: Three Keys to Unlocking the Legend Within
Want to know more? Our newest program entitled BIG LITTLE SECRETS scheduled for 90-minutes, is a virtual forum with two options. A group session the last Friday of each month with a private session arranged on request. Both programs include up to 3 senior leaders in your organization to discover BIG LITTLE SECRETS: Three Keys To Unlocking The Legend Within
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Reach out to our Chief Efficiency Officer, Maria Pegg for further details. You can e-mail her at maria@biglittlelegends.com.
PLANNING A SPEAKING EVENT?
The wheels of business turn faster each quarter and your company or industry association may be curious to explore enduring principles from the origin of legends. We know true and measurable value doesn’t occur from time on the stage, but the enduring IMPACT generated after the smoke clears and the dust settles. If you have an in-person event coming up later this year or in 2025, you may want to consider offering the universally-applicable message of BIG LITTLE LEGENDS.
ACCELERATE YOUR BRAND: NAVIGATE THE BRANDING HIGHWAY 🚀
Is the horizon beckoning your brand to chart its distinct course? Embark on an exhilarating metaphorical road trip through THE BRANDING HIGHWAY. Tailored for larger enterprises and organizations, our Executive Bootcamps act as both your compass and destination, propelling your brand to ascend as a trailblazing, unrivaled “Category of One.” En route, unravel the art of forging formidable Differentiation, strategic Relevance, and harmonizing your executive ensemble. The Branding Highway, with its riveting bends and revelations, begs to be experienced first-hand. Catch a glimpse of this high-octane journey in the teaser video below.
BIG LITTLE LEGENDS: SPOTLIGHTED IN FORBES 🌟
CRAFTING MASTERPIECES WITH DEFIANT ASTRONAUT MEDIA 🎥🚀
Every single week, we’re flooded with queries about the captivating allure of our videos. The wizard behind the curtain? Defiant Astronaut Media, our ingenious media partner breathing life into the narrative through spellbinding storyboarding, meticulous production, and polished editing. With a command center in Toronto, ON, and a strategic outpost in Calgary, AB, Defiant Astronaut Media is not just a company; it’s a launchpad empowering business trailblazers across the continent to redefine the horizons of creativity. Buckle up and venture into a realm where artistry knows no bounds.
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