How to Unleash Your Marketing Pitbull...

Admittedly, I'm late to the Armando Christian Pérez (aka Pitbull) party. Of course, I'm likely not in his target demographic. Nonetheless, he recently showed up on my radar. Since then, I've seen him everywhere.

I'm a big believer that you can learn new things from a wide range of sources. The more I looked at him, the more I realized that there are plenty of marketing takeaways from Pitbull.

If you aren't familiar with him, here's some background on the performer:

• 34 year old rapper and record producer born in Miami, Florida.
• Sold millions of digital singles
• Produced two No. 1’s on Billboard’s Rap Albums charts (his gold 2004 debut M.I.A.M.I. and 2009’s Rebelution, which also debuted at No. 8 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart)
• Appeared in three movies, one video game (voice), and numerous television shows including 2012 appearance on Shark Tank and Dancing with the Stars
• Recently Landed a deal for his own Sirius XM Satellite Channel - Pitbull's Globalization

I recently heard Pitbull interviewed and walked away with 5 marketing lessons:

1. Network in Numerous Circles

True, pitbull works with hip hop performers who are part of his genre; however, he doesn't limit himself to just that network. He's also performed with country music singer Brad Paisley. He has even expanded his circle to include Governor Jeb Bush and Senator Marko Rubio. Rubio recently tweeted this about Pitbull:

@Pitbull makes party music not message music.Always been place for that in   #HipHop.As he gets older he will have more 2 say about life."  

• What type of network have you and your company developed?
• Are you continually running in the same circles or are you constantly looking for ways to broaden your network?

2. Never Underestimate the Value of Your Brand

Pitbull recognizes that his brand is extremely valuable. He isn't staying in a small niche or limiting himself to music. He has leveraged his name and notoriety to gain promotional deals with Kodak, Bud Light, and Dr. Pepper. 

• When is the last time you asked people both inside and outside your industry about the value of your brand? 
• Are you leveraging that value accordingly? Or, are you leaving opportunities on the table?

3. Surround Yourself with Talent

Pitbull speaks in terms often reserved to the business world. He talks about surrounding himself with great talent and empowering people to do what they do well. He means it. As he explains, by allowing audio engineers to do their job, he is able to focus on what he does best.

• Does your organization have the right talent in the right places?
• Are you allowing team members to do what they do best?

4. Work Anywhere and Everywhere

Pitbull doesn't only go to the record studio to produce a song. If he feels inspired, he will turn his hotel room into a recording studio. Move the furniture around and allow the engineers to set things up and he's ready to go. He doesn't allow the constraints of location to hold him back from doing good work.

• Are your people acting on inspiration when and where they find it?
• When's the last time you purposely sent people outside of the office to create something new?

5. Protect Your Brand

Pitbull's webpage has 60 million Facebook likes. He is well known and has a strong brand. He's very proactive in guarding that brand. In the age of selfies and unwanted Instagram photos, Pitbull carries a Blackberry in an effort to improve security and prohibits photos and videos at his personal gatherings. Does this mean he doesn't do outrageous stuff? No. I'm confident in saying that he does crazy things. He just works hard to keep them off of the web.

• Are you and your people ardent protectors of your organization's brand?
• What 2-3 things should you kill today that you know are hurting your company's reputation?

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All the best- Patrick