The LA Lakers retired my pretend cousin’s jersey last night.
Actually, they retired two jerseys for the two numbers he wore while he played.
Here’s a little trivia for you.
In addition to Kobe’s legendary basketball career, did you know he’s also started and sold an advertising agency… directed many of the Nike commercials he starred in, and is now involved in all kinds of marketing activities for his own company and others?
Yep.
Kobe is likely to go down in history as a Hall of Fame athlete and ad man.
Earlier this year, he spilled the beans on his Triangle Offense of storytelling and copywriting. I’ll let him tell you in his own words:
—–
“The product and the messaging must be one and the same, right? It’s like a triangle approach I take with all storytelling…
1) What is the essence of the product? What is the product here to do? What is the messaging that we want to represent?
2) How can we best communicate that plainly and simply?
3) And thirdly, how do both of those things relate to human nature as a whole?
If those three things align, then I know we have the right messaging.”
—–
It’s hard to beat that simple formula.
Get down to the core, emotional benefits. Share those benefits with clarity as they related to human nature and psychology.
The only thing I would add here is that you can go beyond general human nature and address the specific nature, dreams and desires of your specific target audience.
Of course, Kobe knows that. He just didn’t say it in this interview.