Tag: what we can learn from

On May 19, a rapper you’ve never heard of announced that he’d be headlining a show at D.C.’s top music venue, the 9:30 Club. On Twitter, he wrote, “if i do a show at 930 clun [sic] in 14 days..can i sell 900 tickets?”

On Wednesday, that rapper — D.C.’s own, Wale — got his answer. He didn’t sell 900 tickets in two weeks.

No, in two weeks, he sold out the place, 1,200 tickets in all.

And consider this: less than two years ago, when The Washington Post called him “The Great Rap Hope,” he hadn’t even released an album. Two years ago, he was still living at home with his parents.

So how’d he reach this point in his career? It’s the subject of this week’s “Things Journalists Can Learn From….”

1. Brand Yourself. In The Post’s 2007 article, a business partner said, “He’s like a one-man marketing machine.” On Wednesday, Wale — a frequent Twitterer — asked fans to Tweet him song requests during the show. He’s also famous for “The Mixtape About Nothing,” a Seinfeld-themed album that he released for free online. One of the special guests on the album: Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It’s all a part of Wale’s effort to build his own name and associate himself with top-tier talent.

2. Repackage Your Content. Wale’s biggest single to date was 2007’s “Nike Boots” (video available here). But then Wale came back with a remix of the song, and made sure that it got attention by featuring Lil Wayne on the track. Rap fans who didn’t notice the song the first time tuned in for the remix. The point: great original content should be delivered via multiple platforms to reach the largest audience possible.

3. Network. Wale’s new album, “Attention: Deficit” features production work from Mark Ronson (of Amy Winehouse fame) and TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek. He’s signed Jay-Z’s Roc Nation to manage him, and he’ll be touring with Jay-Z this summer. Then there’s his new single, “Chillin’,” which is generating buzz thanks to the backing vocals of Lady Gaga. Wale might not be a household name just yet, but with support from a network like that, you know you’ll be hearing his songs on the radio soon.

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H/T to D.C. Fab for the photo of Wale at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday.

When I was in sixth grade, I went to California for the first time. We were visiting our cousins, and Blair had just bought a new car with a GPS system. At the time, this was fairly revolutionary; the year before, we’d just gotten dial-up internet at my house, and we weren’t the most tech savvy family. So the idea that your car could tell you where to go was almost Jetsonian. That it didn’t require an overture of that annoying AOL dial-up noise made it even better.

Blair wanted to show off the new GPS by using it to find us an In-N-Out Burger. We’d heard about In-N-Out for years; it was Blair’s favorite restaurant in California, and we assumed that he ate about 95 percent of his meals there (with all other meals consumed at Jamba Juice). By sixth grade, In-N-Out had reached mythical status. We simply had to try it, and Blair was more than happy to show us the way.

The GPS system, though, wasn’t. It said the restaurant was a mile away, but when we arrived at the address, the In-N-Out wasn’t there. So we persisted, and some twenty minutes of misdirections later, we arrived. I still remember that first burger; I haven’t made a trip to California that didn’t involve In-N-Out since.

What we discovered that trip was that Blair wasn’t the only one obsessed with In-N-Out. Everybody in California wanted those burgers, and people were willing to deal with long drives or broken GPS systems to get their hands on a double-double.

The truth is, In-N-Out is not just a burger place; it’s a lifestyle. I don’t think I’m going too far when I say that, to Californians, it’s essential.

So with the news industry’s best interests in mind, I’d like to suggest three things that journalists can learn from In-N-Out Burger.

1. Transparency and trust go hand-in-hand. The In-N-Out kitchen is open, which means that customers can look and see potatoes being sliced and burgers being flipped. It’s easy to trust a company that lets you backstage.

2. Do one thing, and do it well. That was founder Harry Snyder’s motto. If you’re in news, don’t lose sight of your mission: telling great stories.

3. Your brand is a promise. That’s what Warren Buffett said last month, but it sticks with In-N-Out’s motto. There’s a reason why people go out of their way for those In-N-Out burgers. People love the brand, and they love what the brand stands for: fresh food, cooked when you order it, and for cheap. If people trust your brand, they will continue to seek it out.

H/T to Stacy Perman’s excellent new book on In-N-Out, and to jasonlam and nattokun for the images.