Steven Bartlett Case Study: Brand Strategy Breakdown

This week’s “Brand Breakdown” is about how a university dropout went from stealing food to becoming a millionaire by 23.

Let’s get into it…

💼 The Brand: Steven Bartlett

Steven Bartlett was born in Botswana to a Nigerian mother and a British dad. After spending his childhood in struggle, he became determined to find success. Dropping out of his university during his first lecture, he took things into his own hands by learning marketing, growing his agency to $600MM, and eventually launching a globally successful Diary of a CEO podcast.

💛 The Heart

Steven’s brand has a sophisticated edge to it, challenging his audience to become more self aware. The heart behind business is to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs — especially minorities and those in disadvantaged communities.

👤 The Head

Steven first found business success as the CEO of a multi-million dollar marketing agency. But where he struck brand building gold is by how he’s positioned himself. Steven’s approach to life and business is introspective, calm, and sophisticated.

This sets him apart from many business thought leaders who only preach with a guns-blazing-beast-mode approach. From conversations about mental health, business, AI, and even sex — Steven brings a vulnerable, nuanced approach to the conversation.

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✋ The Hands

Here are a few of the ways Steven has built his brand…

• His Diary of a CEO podcast isn’t just business talk. With guests like Seth Rogen, Deepak Chopra, and Russel Brand — it’s almost like the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Joe Rogan Experience had a baby.

• He guest hosts the Dragon’s Den — the UK version of Shark Tank. Fun story… years before joining the show as an investor, he was denied after he applied to pitch one of his business ideas.

🧪 Try It Yourself

Want to grow a brand like Steven? Try this: leverage your brand personality type everywhere.

In every arena — whether marketing agency, podcast, TV show, or simply his content marketing — his brand personality type shines through.

The podcast title “Diary of a CEO” sets your expectations for a sophisticated, introspective, and nuanced conversation.

The title of of his book “Happy Sexy Millionaire” might raise an eyebrow, but it also sets your expectations that the book is going to be about more than just money.

This is intentional. And you can do it too.

Instead of naming your lead magnet or podcast or newsletter something generic — try a name that represents who you are. Consider your personality, write 10-15 potential options, get some feedback and then take action!

Want a cheat code? Try entering this prompt into ChatGPT: “My business is [name of your business] and we have a [your type] brand personality type. Come up with 10 different [newsletter, lead magnet, etc.] names related to our personality type and brand.”

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