business

Super Bowl LVII

In 2023, Rihanna turned a 13-minute Super Bowl performance into a $250 million windfall - all without earning a cent from the NFL or boosting album sales. How? Through one genius move that redefined the halftime show as a platform for brand storytelling. The Super Bowl, with over 113 million viewers, is one of the most-watched events globally. While the NFL covers production costs, it doesn’t pay performers, who typically use the stage to promote tours or albums. But Rihanna, who hadn’t performed live in seven years and had no new music to promote, saw an untapped opportunity: the halftime show as the world’s most valuable advertising slot.

Mid-performance, she casually used Fenty Beauty’s Invisimatte Blotting Powder compact, a seemingly spontaneous moment that exploded across social media and news outlets. But this was no coincidence. Fenty Beauty had launched new products just days earlier, and Rihanna’s on-stage touch-up drove massive online searches, leading consumers straight to fresh offerings. This strategy aligned perfectly with Fenty’s inclusive ethos, appealing to the Super Bowl’s diverse audience. As a trailblazing Black entrepreneur owning 50% of a $2.8 billion beauty empire, Rihanna’s performance embodied Fenty’s values. The results were extraordinary: Google Trends reported a spike in searches for Fenty Beauty, and analysts estimated $250 million in sales in the months following.

Rihanna’s visionary approach showcased the power of authentic brand building, proving the future of music isn’t just about streaming - it’s about fostering human connection through shared experiences. I think her halftime show wasn’t just entertainment; it was a masterclass in leveraging culture to drive commerce.

Opportunity gives courage

Success often requires taking risks, even when failure is a possibility. Think of an entrepreneur launching a new product: they risk financial loss but also open the door to innovation and market breakthroughs. In a corporate setting, a leader encouraging their team to test bold ideas - knowing some may fail - builds a culture of creativity and resilience. True success isn’t just about avoiding failure; it’s about embracing the lessons it brings and using them to grow stronger.

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Trust your instinct

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I help individuals develop a success-oriented mindset. I think by trusting your instincts and leveraging the power of storytelling, you can highlight the unique story that sets your business apart. Focus on solving meaningful problems as this is the foundation of true impact. Remember, understanding the difference between being right and achieving success is key to long-term growth.

“We don’t build trust by offering help, we build trust by asking for it.”
— Simon Sinek

Flip it on its head

Can you take a concept that people think they understand very well and flip it on its head?

Yes, no problems!
A brand isn’t just a logo or a company name. I think a brand is a shorthand: it’s what people expect when they hire you, when you walk into the room, or when they see your name. If your approach is just "Tell us what you need, and we’ll make it," you risk losing any distinct identity. You won’t stand for anything unique. Many creatives struggle to set prices for their work, often feeling like a sell-out when they find commercial success.

Value comes from the story and the price. You can choose one of two paths: you can position yourself as an affordable, general option, someone who competes on price alone and gets a steady flow of business. Or you can position yourself as a premium choice, someone who charges more but delivers exceptional value. You may get fewer clients, but those who value quality over cost will seek you out. Who do you want to be?

““Don’t become a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific.”
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— Zig Ziglar

Business fundamentals

Here are some fundamental questions about a business which are valuable to ask at various key moments in the business lifecycle:
What do we stand for?
What’s our function?
Who do we appeal to?
Who’s our target audience?
How do we present ourselves?
How do we differentiate ourselves?
How do we make ourselves look different and feel valuable to the people who encounter us?

I think these questions will keep the business grounded and adaptable, making sure it consistently offers a clear, differentiated, and valuable experience to its audience.

Where do you win?

Even if the market is small initially, you need a strategy to reach a larger market. Good positioning involves understanding your unique value - What can you offer that no one else can? An effective positioning communicates this value in a way that customers can easily grasp. In the business to consumer (B2C) market, value can encompass various factors, such as how a product makes someone look or feel, or how it influences others' perceptions of them based on the brand they use. However, in the business to business (B2B) market, the concept of value is quite different. B2B transactions usually involve multiple stakeholders, typically between 5 and 11, each with decision-making influence. In my experience, you must present a compelling business case to justify why your product or service is the best choice when working in B2B.

Things to consider

In today’s world, business outcomes are influenced by factors such as new technologies, increasing geopolitical uncertainty, value-chain disruptions, energy transition, and climate change. Gender norms also play a significant role in shaping societal roles. In Denmark, it is expected that both men and women contribute to household income, share parental leave equally, and view a model where both parents work in equal proportions as most desirable. I think that promoting an inclusive workplace culture relies on awareness-raising, training, positive reinforcement, and accountability. What do you think?

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Trust yourself

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c/o Medium

Artificial Intelligence (AI) lacks business acumen, it cannot delve into a business and apply nuance, experience, or patterns learned from other contexts. Back in the days when I used to sell clothes and accessories, I visited various businesses and noticed that many of them faced similar problems, despite different contexts. I think by observing these patterns, I can now have meaningful conversations with leaders and senior executives about their businesses. While AI can analyse data and provide information, it cannot interpret it in a way that human beings can understand, because it cannot grasp the context of what is truly happening in a business. What do you think?

Can they see the correlation?

Moving from asking insightful questions to internalising that information and then communicating it to decision-makers is what I do – bridge building, connecting the dots between various elements. As without this skill, building a business case becomes difficult. Trust is built when you articulate value bridges unique to your customers in a language they understand. By asking better questions, you’ll better understand how your services help your customers achieve their outcomes.

Back in the days

I wrote this text in 5 years ago…
”SB Consultancy is a customer experience research and consulting firm that helps organisations become more customer-centric.  My goal is simple: accelerate the path to delighting customers. I am a strategic optimiser, helping organisations improve business results by changing how they deal with customers. As part of this focus, I examine strategy, culture, interaction design, customer service, branding and leadership practices. I am passionate about spotting emerging best practices and helping companies master them and I also speak about these topics in keynotes and lecturing engagements.”

The best performers

High-performance in any chosen field whether it be business, stage or sport requires involves ongoing management of one's mindset. I think it's about continuously evolving your personality, expanding your abilities, and being open to facing new challenges. Therefore, this journey toward high-performance isn't just about success in your profession; it's also about nurturing your mental and emotional well-being. This holistic approach emphasises the interconnectedness between personal growth, professional success, and overall well-being.

One of the most valuable laws

One of my favourite principles is the Principle of Conservation of Energy, which essentially states that energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system, only transformed from one form to another. This principle transcends various fields, from physics and engineering to economics and even psychology. In finance, for example, the concept of conservation of energy could be related to how resources are allocated and redistributed without any loss. I think it's incredible how foundational principles like this one can have such wide-reaching implications across diverse domains.

Busy vs. productive

There is a difference between busy and being productive!
Being productive is really about narrowing your focus, it’s about prioritisation and it means you carefully select what’s most important, and eliminating things that are not so important. I think you should invest your time and energy in things where it’s going to make a difference to your goals and outcomes. A successful day is a day where you make massive progress on the things that matter for you. There are only two major things that make you productive in sales, one is opportunity creation and, and the other is opportunity capture.

“Being busy is about being good at everything while being productive is about being great at a few important things.”
— Burrellism

If I had the key

Senior executives require specific knowledge to effectively carry out their roles, for example, they need to know both how to create exciting, profitable new ideas for their business and how to implement them. In other words, they need both intellectual and practical knowledge. I think they need a combination of intellectual insight and practical skills.

 

Business operations today are focused on enhancing efficiency by optimising processes that may no longer be relevant in the present. This often involves analysing historical data to identify cost-saving opportunities and efficiency enhancements. Unfortunately, this approach frequently leads to a narrow focus on cost reduction, with the finance department receiving accolades for these efforts while escaping accountability for missed opportunities.

There's no easy route

Standard economic theory envisions individuals endowed with perfect information, complete trust, and consistent preferences while possessing a complete understanding of their utility functions. In other words, they possess clear knowledge of their desires, their willingness to invest, and a deep-seated trust in their potential sellers. Many economic models build upon these foundational assumptions, and these models operate under the notion that the sole avenues to enhance a product's appeal involve reducing its cost or expanding its functionality. I think that we have allowed economists to create a culture in which business makes the same assumptions that dictates the only means to enhance value is through efficiency improvements. However, reality teaches us otherwise, value creation can also arise through the establishment of trust, by telling a story which frames the price of the product or function of the product in a new enlightening and more motivating way or selling it in such a way that fosters confidence in the consumer's decision.

Four ways

There are only four ways to increase profit:

  1. Increase volume

  2. Increase price

  3. Reduce cost

  4. Change product mix

It's important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and often, businesses use a combination of these approaches to achieve sustainable profit growth. Also, other strategies and factors can influence profitability, such as marketing, branding, customer service, and innovation. Even though I think that understanding the changing market dynamics is typically the most effective way to increase profit over the long term. The effectiveness of these strategies can vary depending on the industry, market conditions, and the specific circumstances of a business. Contact me via e-mail to arrange a meeting about a more well-rounded approach that considers all aspects of your business.

Meaning and structure

Starting a business is a multifaceted journey that involves bringing a marketable skill, idea, service or product to life, creating value for your target audience, and leveraging your knowledge, abilities, efforts, and time to achieve success. Adaptation, continuous learning, and effective resource management are ongoing processes that contribute to the growth and sustainability of your business. To ensure you have a clear understanding of your business venture, you should consider the following questions:

• What exactly is it that you do?
• Who is your target audience?
• Why does your business matter?

Are you thinking about starting a business? Contact me via e-mail and book a business development strategy meeting.