In 2023 we need to start supporting businesses and brands that are willing to do business with us. If you work at a radio station, you should start buying the brands that buy airtime at your station… If not, what’s the point of supporting that brand? Media houses are not supposed to struggle, while their staff members consume brands every day, including the suppliers of those media houses too – they must come to the party and work together. In that way, we are building communities that care, not just take and take without giving back.
We can’t continue to make brands richer and richer while they’re not willing to work with us and support our businesses, things have to change. We need to start using our power, we can’t let brands dictate how we use our money. Gone are the days where brands were entitled and just collecting our money from our communities.
In the United Kingdom, there’s a young man by the name of Steven Bartlett, who hosts a popular podcast called series called ‘The Diary of a CEO’. Bartlett makes a ton of money from brands that he consumes. He said after starting his podcast series, he approached brands that he consumes daily to advertise on his podcast, instead of cold calling and approaching strangers to buy airtime on his podcast show.
Steven said the model of doing business with the brands he consumes was more rewarding and he managed to make six figures and build a sizeable business through his podcast growth.
Personally, as Rethabile Mohlala, I live by the same strategy of supporting brands that are willing to do business with me, it’s a mutual respect and win-win situation. I find it hard to support brands that are not willing to work with me on my business initiatives.
I once worked for a FMCG retail chain store as a floor salesperson while I was still studying towards my journalism qualification at university, and I happened to host a radio show at a campus radio station. The chain store happened to have a retail radio station and in-house magazine, so I asked them for a radio job or writing opportunity for the magazine, they turned me down on both mediums.
Later, I went to the store management and told them that I can’t work for them anymore – as a media and journalism student, I had a radio show on campus radio station, I was a reporter for Record West Newspaper (a community newspaper in the Capital, Pretoria West), and I produced a current affairs show on their station, yet they still didn’t want to give me a gig at the retails radio station, unfortunately I handed my resignation letter and let that stupid FMCG store. I just couldn’t continue making them rich, while they were not willing to empower me with their resources. Till this day I don’t buy at that FMCG store.
Support your Supporters!
By Rethabile Mohlala – Brand Strategist, Media Consultant and Founder of DameConcepts
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