Southern college football fans of a certain age will remember the radio show “Leonard’s Losers.”
For those among us who never experienced the joy of a “Leonard’s Losers” broadcast, the premise was simple: Leonard Postoasties –the alter ego for the show’s creator, Athens, Ga., entrepreneur Leonard Postero, would pick the losers for that weekend’s college football games. From tailgates in Tuscaloosa to living rooms in Lexington, folks would crowd close to their radios to hear Leonard’s prognostication for their favorite teams.
He’d affix creative nicknames for college teams. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets became the “Slide Rule Buzz Jockeys,” a nod to Tech’s reputation as an engineering school. The Alabama Crimson Tide became “’Bear ‘Bryant’s Big Red Pachyderms,“ instead of the Crimson Tide. The Florida Gators were the “Giant Water Lizards.” You get the drift.
It was great fun. And it was marketing genius.
Not only did Postero reap success from radio advertising revenue from throughout the South from Texas to Virginia, he also ran a successful free newsletter that he distributed in college towns and markets across the South. Postero made big bucks hiring hungry college kids to sell ads for the newsletters – on a commission basis – that would give the advertisers exposure in their target markets. Customers at restaurants, bars, convenience stores and gas stations snatched up Leonard’s weekly publication and read every word.
The college kids benefitted too, not only from sales and marketing experience, but good commissions. I’ve heard of one local “publisher” – Postero’s title for the young marketing reps –who in the early 1980’s earned enough money in ad sales to pay cash for a new car.
But what can your bank learn from Leonard’s Losers?
- First, know your market’s passions, Postero tapped into the passion of southern football long before ESPN, sports talk radio and conference TV networks. Living in Athens, Ga., Postero saw and felt that passion every day. Get up from your desk and walk the streets of your town. Find out what the people – your current and prospective customers – care about.
- Find an untapped source of energy: Leonard struck a gushing well of energy by hiring college kids as local publishers. Granted, your bank can’t hire high school or college kids for branch assignments – save internships. But how about selecting bank ambassadors at schools in your community to help advocate financial education, as well as your bank’s products geared to them and their families. Driven high school kids are looking for extra activities to boost college applications.
- Make marketing fun. Leonard’s show made people laugh. One regional bank did the same by enlisting a normally serious Alabama coach, Nick Saban, to counsel a young lady on wise financial decisions concerning the potential purchase of a $700 dress. It was unexpected and it was funny. In these serious times, a laugh or a smile in your marketing never hurts.
- Be visible. Leonard Postero was a fixture on the speaking circuit, appearing at quarterback clubs, alumni events, fundraisers, etc. You may not be the featured attraction at local events – Rotary meetings, high school ball games and the like – but by investing time in the community, relationships are built and friends made for the bank
- And last, if your game plan works, stick with it. If it doesn’t work, try something else. My college coach, the legendary Ralph “Shug” Jordan, understood the force of staying with what works, but knew when to be flexible, based on the personnel at hand. For example, in 1971, Jordan had a Heisman Trophy winner in Pat Sullivan and an All-America receiver in Terry Beasley. His offense was freewheeling, able to strike from anywhere on the field with deadly accuracy. The following year, with an inexperienced quarterback, but a stout defense and kicking game, Jordan switched to a power running game, often “three yards and a cloud of dust.” His team was expected to finish last in the SEC, but his 1972 team won nine games and upset nationally-ranked Alabama, Tennessee and Colorado along the way.
Leonard Postero – with alias Leonard Postoasties and his sidekick, Percy Peabody – may not have expected “Leonard’s Losers” to be a marketing case study, but it is. And the show’s lesson’s score every time.
In closing, it’s appropriate to close with Leonard’s familiar sign-off:
“Get me outta here,” Percy.”
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