What’s Your $5 Comedy Special?

In recent months, three popular comedians have taken an innovative approach to releasing new material.

Thumbing their noses at traditional media distribution labels and cable networks, Louis C.K., Aziz Ansari and Jim Gaffigan opted instead to cut out every middleman possible by offering their latest comedy specials directly to the public. For $5. As digital content available exclusively on their own websites.

And how did they fare? To cite just one example, in the first 12 days after Louis C.K.’s “Live at the Beacon Theater” special was released, it grossed over $1 million. Even factoring in production costs, bonuses for his staff and charitable contributions, that still leaves a sizable chunk of change for C.K. himself.

This is certainly not the first time that someone – or a few someones – have eliminated the costs and barriers associated with the old school rules of media and marketing. Bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have released albums directly to their fans with no help from record labels.

However, this is the first time we’ve seen this trend cross over to other artistic endeavors, and it presents a compelling model for any company that’s interested reaching their customers more effectively.

Here’s what you can learn from the success of the $5 comedy special:

Direct communication

What business doesn’t want to hear directly from their customers?

Granted, you might not always like what they have to say. But in both good times and bad, the benefits of direct communication are immeasurable.

It’s a fact of doing business that your customers are going to talk about your products or services. When you open the lines of communication and give them ways to funnel that feedback directly to you, you can learn exactly what they want and what they need.

And the flow of this communication doesn’t run in one direction only. When you build a solid foundation of trust with your customers, you’ll earn their permission to command their attention when you have something important to share with them.

Ease of use

How easy is it to go to a website, pay $5, click a link and download a comedy routine?

When you remove the barriers to acquiring your product or services, you’ll instantly increase the number of people who are interested in obtaining those products or services.

Make it easy for your potential customers to find and access what they need, and they’ll reward you by buying what you’re selling.

Lower costs

The rise of social media has allowed artists like bands and comedians to forgo (or at least lessen their dependence on) traditional vehicles for advertising and promotion and the burdensome expenses that go with them.

By “marketing” directly to their fans, these digital media pioneers can offer their release at a lower price point while keeping the lion’s share of the revenue in their own pockets. It’s a win for both the artist and the fan.

In the same manner, when you can find creative ways to eliminate the traditional middlemen of marketing and distribution by promoting and selling your products directly to your customers, you can drop your prices while simultaneously improving your profit margins.

The power of evangelists

The fundamental element underlying the success of this no-middleman approach is having a tribe of people who love what you stand for and will help you spread your message.

Louis C.K., Aziz Ansari and Jim Gaffigan all have loyal fanbases that not only bought their comedy specials but boasted about doing so to all their Facebook friends and Twitter followers.

Before you can cut out the middleman, you must invest in cultivating a community around your brand. You need to build strong relationships with your customers and fans so that you have an army of enthusiasts who will not only buy from you but will be your advocates as well.

Doing this requires caring for your customers in ways that are more than pocketbook-deep. You must approach the task of fulfilling their needs with authenticity and passion and give them reasons to feel passionate about it, too.

Survival of the smartest

The takeaway here is this: to compete effectively in today’s marketplace, you must identify your tribe and give them what they want, in the way they want it and at the price they want to pay for it.

No matter what you’re selling, there’s a good chance you can streamline the methods by which you promote and distribute your products or services so that the process of acquiring them is faster, easier and more direct.

So the challenge we leave you with is this: What is your $5 comedy special?

Rethink, Refocus, Reinvent, Rename: 4 Ways to Revitalize Your Brand

Your brand is your identity. Its value is built over time, step by step, brick by brick until it is recognizable, desired and even worn like a badge among your loyal customers. Once it’s established, it becomes the touchstone around which all of your marketing and business growth efforts stem.

But what happens when that momentum shifts and suddenly the value of your brand starts to wane. In a constantly changing marketplace, today’s top brand can become tomorrow’s relic. Your customers’ needs, habits or preferences start to shift. A new competitor emerges in the marketplace. New technology or new trends arise and undermine the relevance of your offering. A negative connotation attaches itself to your good name.

Is it time to just give up and pack it in? Not at all.

It is time, however, to retool your brand. Here are four ways you can approach the rebranding process and rekindle the flames of passion between your company and its customers.

1. Rethink.

Approach your product offering with new eyes, as if you have never seen it before. Forget your past success and look ahead to what it will take to capture a newer, broader buyers' market.

Ask yourself what will make your product relevant to today’s consumer. Does your product promote green living? Does it support a healthy, active lifestyle? Can it create greater efficiencies in an economy where everyone’s looking for new ways to stretch a dollar?

Fast food mega-monopoly McDonald’s is a prime example of how taking a fresh look at your company’s offerings can not only keep you relevant but help you thrive in an ever-shifting marketplace.

Established as a burger joint and maligned by the well-hyped documentary "Super-Size Me" as being synonymous with obesity and grease, McDonald’s took a step back and envisioned a restaurant where healthy offerings such as salads, fruit and yogurt could peacefully co-exist with good old-fashioned fast food fare.

This approach reaped immediate rewards, as customers who had left McDonald’s in droves in pursuit of healthier options discovered that it was finally safe to return to their old familiar favorite Golden Arches.

2. Refocus.

When it comes to rebranding, it’s vital to keep a keen eye on exactly who it is that you want to target.

It’s possible that your sales are flagging because in trying to increase your market share, you lost sight of who it is you serve best. In casting your net too wide, you may have alienated your most loyal customers.

Rebranding gives your company a chance to refocus and retool your efforts specifically to appeal to those who will realistically be most interested in and most likely to buy your products, rather than wasting time and money on a less effective, too-broad business plan.

When J.Crew saw its sales start to decline in 2003, the company hired former Gap CEO Millard Drexler to take action. Returning their focus to a narrower, more upscale clientele, the label began introducing more luxury items such as cashmere and tweed to their line alongside their traditional selection of tank tops and t-shirts. Add to that the endorsement of one very sophisticated First Lady – Michelle Obama – and the rebranding of J.Crew was complete.

3. Reinvent.

Would you believe that Burberry – yes, that Burberry – was once synonymous with gangwear in England? It was – so much so that one English pub even banned anyone wearing the label from entering its establishment.

What happened? In the 1970s and 1980s, the brand became associated with football thugs and hooligans. Imposter garments with the signature Burberry check print were sold to the masses, creating the impression that it was no longer an exclusive brand and undermining its desirability among affluent clientele.

Burberry struck back, relying heavily on a series of endorsements from young, A-list celebrities like Kate Moss, Agyness Deyn, Emma Watson and Rosie Huntington-Whitely to reposition the brand as fresh and appealing.

In addition to advertising heavily in glossies like GQ, Esquire, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, they also employ a viral marketing approach, placing ad banners on top fashion websites. Additionally, the brand appears at fashion weeks around the world without fail, hosting their own shows to present new lines, which keeps their name constantly in the fashion press. In doing so, Burberry has reinvented itself and reclaimed its historic stature as a high-end, aspirational brand.

4. Rename.

A complete change of name can be a risky strategy but one that can also be highly effective when implemented with perfect timing and execution.

A great example of how one company changed their fortunes by changing their name is the fast food chain originally known as Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Founded by Colonel Sanders in 1956, the company made the wide-sweeping decision in 1999 to shorten their name to simply "KFC." There are several prevailing theories as to why this change was ordered. Some say it was the desire to disassociate themselves from the word "fried" and all of its unhealthy connotations. Others claim the company wanted to remove the word "chicken" in reaction to pressure from government food regulators upset about treatment of livestock. Still others say the company removed the word "Kentucky" because the name was actually trademarked by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1990, slapping all who wanted to use the name with a hefty licensing fee. Whatever the real reason for the switch, KFC was reborn and sales skyrocketed.

Whatever the reasons, if your customers have lost their passion for your products and your sales numbers are feeling the squeeze, rebranding may prove to be just the shot in the arm you need to revitalize your revenues.