Entrepreneurship and wealth building
Kevin's Three Steps to Rebuild a Business Through Digital Marketing
Kevin Harrington - The Digital Age of Capital Raising
Founders and business owners who want to see how a legacy business can shift to digital marketing and how brands used influencers and user videos to grow.
What stood out
- Follow where attention has moved. Kevin was told to ask where the 50 percent of viewers went when they left television. They moved to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube, so his business had to go there too.
- Replace the old team with new advisors. His staff came from television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Step one was a new advisory board of tech experts, celebrities, influencers and digital marketing experts.
- Embrace digital disruption. He compares adoption speed. Radio took 38 years to reach 50 million listeners, television took 13 years, and the Pokemon Go app reached 50 million downloads in 15 days.
- Raise your own profile. Kevin had built brands for others but not for himself. Step three was raising the profile of the business, the product or the person, and moving products from television to social media.
- Track acquisition cost and lifetime value. In digital brand building, he says the focus is customer acquisition cost against the lifetime value of the customer. He points to micro influencers, user style videos, funnels and affiliate marketers as the tools.
What this talk covers
Kevin describes how his television based business came under pressure when viewership fell 50 percent in ten years. His company was doing 500 million a year with 500 employees, and sales began to slip. After advice at Necker Island, he took three steps: build a new advisory team, embrace digital media, and raise his own profile.
He backs the plan with brand examples such as Harry's, Dollar Shave Club, Casper, Allbirds, BarkBox, Glossier and Warby Parker. He also describes joining the board of Celsius and the growth he says followed. The talk ends on customer acquisition cost, lifetime value and the move from a few channels to many.
From the source
- Radio took 38 years to reach 50 million listeners, television 13 years, and the Pokemon Go app 15 days.
- Kevin says BarkBox has about 600,000 customer videos of people opening the box and a business of 250 million dollars a year.
- Kevin says Warby Parker has raised about 215 million dollars in venture capital and has 56,000 user generated videos.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Kevin Harrington - The Digital Age of Capital Raising. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around public company disclosures, capital raise structure and investor communications. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Quotes from the session
"We needed to get a new dream team, a new advisory board: tech gurus, celebrities and influencers, digital marketing experts. This was the key, because where did the eyeballs go?."
"The key thing here, in my world, is focusing on the customer acquisition cost and the lifetime value of that customer."
"The old way: a few channels broadcasting to millions. The new way: millions of channels broadcasting to a few."
- 1Build a new advisory team
- 2Embrace digital disruption
- 3Raise your profile and content
Related questions
- How do I close a funding round?I close a funding round by focusing on investors who fit the opportunity and moving each interested prospect through clear, consistent follow-up.
- What documents do investors request during due diligence?Prepare a clear, organized package covering your operations, investments, compensation, team, and track record.
- How do I raise capital for my business?I raise capital by building a repeatable system for attracting the right investors, establishing credibility, and developing relationships before asking for money.
Questions about this video
What three steps did Kevin take when his business was declining?
He built a new advisory team of tech and digital marketing experts, embraced digital disruption, and raised the profile of his business, products and himself.
Why did Kevin say he needed to change his business?
A Morgan Stanley report he cites showed a 50 percent decline in television viewership over ten years. Sales were slipping while TV stations still wanted the same money for airtime.
What did Kevin say about Celsius?
He describes joining the board when Celsius was a much smaller company. He says it raised capital and added hundreds of fitness influencers.
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