Why you should not be afraid to let your brand take on different shapes

NAIROBI, KENYA: Last week, I took a day off. The thing about entrepreneurship that I love is that when you work hard enough and smart enough, you become your own boss. But it doesn’t come easily, trust me. I’m still going through it. What is important is that you respect the process.

Success isn’t an overnight lottery ticket that you win – it’s a journey where you may have to fail to ultimately win. But you have to be ready to accept the fact that success isn’t promised; you have to fight for it.

So since it was my rest day, I made sure I woke up late to get enough rest, and then got to breakfast. I diverted my phone to my manager so that any business-related calls would still be handled. I usually use my rest days to spend time with family or just by myself. This time round, my family was away, so it was me-time.

I listen to music a lot and happened to bump into my old playlist. The first song that came on was by rapper 50 Cent.

When we were growing up, 50 Cent was a force. I enjoyed the songs on the playlist as I queued up my TV time, and guess what? The 50 Cent-produced series Power was on my list.

That got me thinking – how come 50 Cent is still relevant today, and still getting new deals and appealing to this new generation? That fascinated me and I ended up not resting as I had planned. I got down to research.

Your story

When 50 Cent came into the music industry in the early 2000s, he had a story. At that time, gangsta music recorded the highest sales after rock music.

I remember reading a feature on him and his bulletproof vest. It was a memorable piece – though it’s unfortunate that he got shot nine times. Still, he embraced this story and that’s what drove him.

That taught me one great lesson: when you embrace your story, apart from the product you sell, the consumer feels like they know you on a personal level, which in turn translates into firm customer growth.

Partnerships

Apparently, 50 Cent was signed to both Eminem and Dr Dre, but since he believed in partnerships and the people he started music with didn’t get deals, he went and created a new company, G-Unit Records.

He offered both Eminem and Dr Dre a share of this company. Sounds pretty lucrative, who wouldn’t have wanted to jump on that train?

Immediately the 50 Cent craze hit fever pitch, another wave was waiting to explode: the G-Unit hip-hop group. It had 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck.

To take advantage of their popularity, 50 Cent went ahead and made G-Unit apparel, which in turn boosted album sales. He called up Reebok and asked for a meeting. A short while later, everyone was wearing G-Unit sneakers.

By this time, 50 Cent was really inspiring me and he gave me the blueprint for the foundation of Kaka Empire – partnerships and not being afraid to start new ventures.

Just when I thought that was the peak of 50 Cent, he introduced Vitamin Water, which was also another partnership, and the brand was later sold to Coca-Cola.

What impressed me about the rapper is that he would promote all these products through music. In many instances, you’d see him getting out of a car in some slow motion shot, and the first thing you’d see is his G-Unit sneaker.

He was very clever in the way he handled his marketing, from mentions in songs, to music videos and interviews.

This is a model that has helped me to push my products on any platform I can get my hands on. But most importantly, it is about standing out. Make sure every statement you make is eye catching and convincing.

Metamophosis

Nokia is not as big as it once was – in fact, the brand just got back into the market. Kencell is no longer there, and neither are so many other brands, companies and even artistes.

The two ways I look at this is: knowing when to try new things; and knowing when to get to the next phase of your brand.

50 Cent made a movie, and that created new avenues, especially for his acting career. Since that first gig, we’ve seen him in several other big-budget films, and he’s now gearing up for his latest movie, Den of Thieves, with Hollywood A-lister Gerard Butler.

And 50 Cent still gets into the studio and has new records out, but he’s also busy on Wall Street and just partnered with Floyd Mayweather and is now a boxing promoter.

50 Cent is a great businessman: he’s a songwriter, a movie star, he’s dressing you, stocking your fridge and now bringing your favourite boxers to a screen near you.

The bottom line? Don’t be afraid to let your brand take on different shapes.

Anyway, I’m on Power season 2; don’t spoil it for me.

The writer is an award-winning artiste and entrepreneur.