Fifteen years ago, Simon Sinek gave us the Golden Circle. Fifteen years later, I still apply this strategy to every decision I make, and search for it in the success of others. Of Sinek’s principles, two have always stood out to me.
- A purpose-driven strategy that connects your why with your consumer’s why
- A proven strategy to back it up
Sinek argues that successful organizations and their leaders begin with a clearly defined purpose. He famously says people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Making money results from what you do but that’s not the why. It’s about impact. Inspiration. Changing the status quo and shaking things up. This is the first key to the one-dollar strategy that made J. Cole and Roc Nation millionaires.
Coming up with a million dollar strategy
In Sinek’s talk, he uses Apple as the pinnacle of a company doing this well. In ours, we use J. Cole and Roc Nation. J. Cole was doing alright, but Roc Nation knew that by tapping into his fanbase, they could make even more money. The best part? They could do this with a few thousand fans. They didn’t need to try to gain the favor of millions of people; they just needed a few thousand true fans. In Sinek’s example, these are early adopters. In entertainment, we call them superfans.
Either way, they knew that they needed a compelling narrative to drive action. So that’s exactly what they set off to do.
The story:
Leaning into J. Cole’s existing fanbase, they launched the Dollar and a Dream tour and sold tickets for, you guessed it, one dollar. They donated all proceeds to The Dreamville Foundation, effectively losing money on the tour. Sounds insane, no? But this is where narrative meets strategy. On the surface, it’s a nostalgic throwback to J. Cole’s early days, a mindful wink to the OG superfans.
Below the surface? This is where Sinek’s second rule comes into play — the how. It’s what brings your Why to life.” You might also call it their unique selling point, processes, or systems, but the outcome is the same. If Why is about values and beliefs, and your “How” is about behavior.
The strategy:
They had his fanbase hooked, now they needed to deliver on the promise. They sold tickets at small venues to follow through on the promise that this would feel like one of his early shows. Locations weren’t revealed until hours before the show, creating a feeding frenzy for fans, and turning the whole thing into a game. It led to a ton of organic momentum and promotion not from ads or sponsors, but from the fans themselves.
This created Sinek’s third variable, the What. Following Sinek’s logic, the What is the thing you sell. While most brands will focus on the What, it’s actually the Why that moves the needle. If Roc Nation had simply launched a tour and sold tickets for the normal rate of $30-$50/ticket, they would have done well. But would they have done $60 million dollars well? You can only create that kind of momentum by focusing on the Why.
The key to their success? They did things differently.
It would have been easy for Roc Nation to simply throw money behind ads, or book larger tours and charge more for VIP meet and greets. In the short term, they would have made more money. But they weren’t looking for a cash grab. What they wanted was to create fans for life.
From $1 to $60 Million
So how exactly did we get from one dollar to sixty million?
Since all ticket sales went to The Dreamville Foundation, we know they lost money on the tours. But, after the last Dollar and a Dream tour in 2015, they began to see a massive increase in revenue. Since then, J. Cole’s concerts have made close to $60 million dollars. His fourth studio album, 4 Your Eyez Only, went platinum within four months, with KOD breaking streaming records on Spotify and Apple Music.
All of this for about $50 per fan acquisition. That’s $50 for a lifetime of fan loyalty, tons of social proof, and a lasting legacy.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Each show cost six figures to run, so we can estimate that they spent about three million for nineteen shows.
- An estimated 60k fans came out in those three years.
When you do the math, that’s $50 per fan.
It’s not so bad when you break it down, is it?
How can brands apply this strategy?
When you think about marketing, do you look at the long-term benefits, or do you look at the cheapest way to go from A to Z? Do you think about what makes you unique and how to capitalize on that, or do you try to replicate what others are doing? Are you taking shortcuts or are you playing the long game?
Like true thought leaders, Roc Nation created a strategy that was entirely customized to their consumer base. They didn’t copy trends or lean into what others were doing. Instead, they focused on their goal and built a strategy that was custom-suited to it.
It’s natural to look to others for the answer. But while learning what’s worked for competitors can provide inspiration and get your brainstorming juices flowing, the most creative marketing campaigns will always be tailored to you. Because no one on the planet can do what you do in the way you do it. And that’s your UVP. That’s what you need to be focusing on.
J. Cole and Roc Nation knew this and created an experience that only they could provide. No one else could have built an experience for fans like that, and they knew it. That careful attention to detail and strategy is exactly what made it so successful.
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