Two Vital Brand Building Lessons Joe Wicks and Arnold Schwarzenegger taught me (SO bloody obvious)

Two Vital Brand Building Lessons Joe Wicks and Arnold Schwarzenegger taught me (SO bloody obvious)

lesson one: the art of storytelling

Before Joe Wicks.

Fitness was a carousing circus of complicated - - convoluted - - confusing crap.

Bodybuilders liked to impress other Bodybuilders with their “complicated” “technical” knowledge.
Bodybuilders talked about the convoluted right range of motion for bicep curls
Bodybuilders talking about the confusing way to grip the barbell for bench press
Bodybuilders waxing lyzzy about macros and micro nutrients, macro ego’s and micro dicks, Raging Roided Rhino Rodney’s

Fitness was complicated.

2015
Enter Joe Wicks
Joe Wicks’ genius was he created something INCREDIBLY simple.
Joe Wicks created a SIMPLE story.

“Lean in 15”.
HIIT workouts.
Simple recipes.

Joe Wicks’ simple story “Lean in 15” spread far and wide because the story spread was so simple.

Simple to get = Simple to spread.

Seth Godin taught me a vital lesson in brand building: your story has to be simple. so simple it spreads.

In Food and Drink, founders, like bodybuilders, sometimes, make everything so complicated.

Kombucha - your triple distilled fermenting process is like bodybuilders talking about how many grams of over night oats they bosh

Gut Health brands - your microbiome is like a Bodybuilder talking about the perfect range of motion to do bicep curls.

Consumers are left confused. Complicated stories - don’t spread.

Simple ones do.
Your brand story, like “Lean In 15”, must be simple. so simple it spreads.

TRIP - Calm in Everyday Chaos
JUBEL - Dangerously Refreshing
ITSU - Eat Beautiful
Bold Bean - Making You Obsessed With Beans By Giving You The Best of Beans

How easy is it for you story to spread?

• How would we explain our brand to a 3 year old toddler?

• How would someone explain your brand if they’re drunk?

• Knock Knock Test - imagine your brand knocks on someones door to a complete stranger - what’s the first thing you say?

Oh! Also, read stuff by David Hieatt - the master of short stories.

lesson two from bodybuilding

Negative Internal Bias = External Positive Results

Arnold Schwarzeneggerr is Arnold Schwarzeneggerr for one reason.
Arnold’s not looking at how big his biceps are.
Arnold’s looking at how small his calves are.

Arnold’s insane external positive results are built on an internal negative bias foundation.

externally

Arnie is the greatest bodybuilder of all time. 7 x Mr Olympia.

internally

Arnie is always looking at what needs improving. What needs tweaking. Slight moderations. Improve the calves. Bulge the triceps.

Super successful food and drink founders have this too. An internal negative bias often produces insane external results.

Something like this:

Insane External result = 1500 JS stores with 4 skus and a massive Fuck Off-shelf

Internal negative bias = why is the ROS crap in these 20 stores, how do we improve it?

Constantly worrying about what could go wrong, what needs improving, protecting.

The old adage:

“Only the paranoid survive.”

Arnold was paranoid about how small his calves were.
Arnold wasn’t marvelling how big his biceps were.

And, that’s why Arnold was the greatest body builder of all time.

the negative internal bias = external positive results is GREAT for brand building.

But it’s not great for life. too much = burnout.

I’ve been burning out recently. Feel like a charred piece of Weatherspoons bacon sitting on a sticky Strongbow Fruits booze-soaked table in Romford. Constantly, looking at what needs improving and tweaking and getting better and perfecting.

Constantly thinking, If I slow down and do nothing, someone will overtake me.

Sometimes you need to dial it down.
Sometimes you need slow down and enjoy it.
Sometimes you need to admire your biceps.

I asked Stew from Black Bear Burger, “how do you enjoy it and keep the joy in the work”

Stew said, “sometimes I just come, sit down at the bar and listen to the hum of a restaurant. I drink a beer.”

Your Negative Internal Bias is going to produce Insane External Results

So if you’re berating yourself.

Please on this Friday morning.
Please for the love of God.
Just sit back and enjoy what you’ve built for once in a while.

Admire your biceps.
Flex your Glutes.
Be proud.
Give yourself some credit.

As Ta La Vista Babbbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Wanna speak to the big fish gang?

fancy a free consultancy sesh from big fish?

Our wonderful sponsor big fish are responsible for the BIGGEST brands in the game. Charlie Bighams. GU. Tyrell’s. The Coconut Collaborative. Roda’s. RANA. Yeo Valley.

big fish has worked with pretty much EVERY single brand in your cupboard.

The TOTALLY-bloody amazing news?

We are offering one free consultancy session to one lucky brand… If you’re a Force for Good. Truly disruptive. Taste amazing.

Please feel free to reply to this email, we’d absolutely love to hear from you!

Still Hungry? Course you are…

Please feel free to gorge on the most downloaded podcast episodes of all time (these are CERTY: BANGERS)

1. Rory Sutherland: Why Challenger Brands Must Never Follow Logic to Truly Disrupt Categories 

2. Waitrose CEO: How Challenger Food & Drink Brands Can Win and Build Profitable Partnerships with Waitrose - James Baile

3. Spencer Matthews: How Spencer Matthews Built Unshakeable Resilience and Raised + £10m to Launch Clean Co. in Sainsbury's, Tesco and the U.S.A. 

4. How Grenade Exited to Mondelez for £200 Million and Lessons in Unapologetic Authenticity- Juliett Baratt

5. Tyrells Tycoon: How William Chase built and sold Tyrells for £50 million and sold Chase Distillery to DIAGEO 

Or read our most read articles of all time

1. Quick quick - we must escape the Middle

2. You moron you let the disease infect your mind

3. do you like bad sex?

4. raving in Ibiza taught me six brand building lessons