What if Elon Musk would run your content marketing?

1. The Single Lesson to be Learned
from @TeslaMotors’ #ContentMarketing
Content Marketing Inspiration Series #6 - @FrankDelmelle - July 2014
ANTAGONIZE

4. “Despite having to fight numerous
lawsuits, countless naysayers and
obstacles, uphill battles for direct sales,
Elon Musk and Tesla Motors have
not only survived and proved the
naysayers wrong... but have thrived.”
Tesla Timeline, MARCH 11, 2014, http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/tesla-timeline-0

5. “Despite having to fight numerous
lawsuits, countless naysayers and
obstacles, uphill battles for direct sales,
Elon Musk and Tesla Motors have
not only survived and proved the
naysayers wrong... but have thrived.”
Tesla Timeline, MARCH 11, 2014, http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/tesla-timeline-0
Thanks to

6. http://www.buyautoinsurance.com/tesla-motors/
Tesla Motors' history
isn't all sunshine and roses.”
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/

7. Tesla’s achieved this success by tearing
up the rule book, and probably making a
few powerful enemies along the way too.
James Crawford, 10 April 2014,
http://www.stateofdigital.com/challenger-brand-tesla-disrupting-market/

8. Tesla’s achieved this success by tearing
up the rule book, and probably making a
few powerful enemies along the way too.
James Crawford, 10 April 2014,
http://www.stateofdigital.com/challenger-brand-tesla-disrupting-market/

9. Effectively, Tesla’s content marketing
is a choreography of epic battles
co-producing subsequent media
and business successes.
@FrankDelmelle, Creative Content Strategist

10. Tesla's content marketing track record
has the narrative structure of a screenplay,
– David vs. Goliath – a classical hero's journey.

11. Narrative structure of a screenplay*
STATUS QUO
INCITING INCIDENT
Rising hope
Rising fear
TWIST
POINT OF ATTACK
RESOLUTION?
LOCK IN
FIRST OBSTACLE(S)
RAISING THE STAKES
FINAL BATTLE
*Rough synthesis, generalization.

12. Tesla’s content marketing track record*
vs. narrative structure of a screenplay
 Tesla’s content marketing track record
 Narrative structure of a screenplay
STATUS QUO
INCITING INCIDENT
Rising hope
Rising fear
TWIST
POINT OF ATTACK
RESOLUTION?
LOCK IN
FIRST OBSTACLE(S)
RAISING THE STAKES
 MUSK: “Thought
we would fail”
 CAR
DEALERS
CLASH
 MUSK: “Let
me run Detroit””
 PATENT
WALL DOWN
 BATTERY FIRES
 AUTONOMY
QUESTIONED TESLA“to ween
the industry off oil-
combustion engines’
 ?
*Rough synthesis, generalization.

13. http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=tesla
 Search for Tesla #GoogleTrends 2010-1014
 Tesla’s content marketing track record
 Narrative structure of a screenplay
Search for ‘Tesla’ #GoogleTrends 2010-2014
vs. Tesla’s content marketing track record
vs. narrative structure of a screenplay

14. https://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ
%3ATSLAei=6LKyU-DXAs-uwAPt9YCYCg
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=tesla
 Tesla share price #GoogleFinance 2010-2014
 Search for Tesla #GoogleTrends 2010-1014
 Tesla’s content marketing track record
 Narrative structure of a screenplay
Tesla share price #GoogleFinance 2010-2014
vs. search for ‘Tesla’ #GoogleTrends 2010-2014
vs. Tesla’s content marketing track record
vs. narrative structure of a screenplay

15. Let’s see a few ‘antagonizing’scenes...

16. 2003-
“Tesla Motors will strive to ween the
industry off oil-combustion engines.”
Petroleum lobby aren’t too happy.
Lisandra Maioli, Strategic marketing For Tesla Motors - UC Berkeley Extension, Aug 29, 2013,
http://www.slideshare.net/lmaioli/strategic-marketing-for-tesla-motors-uc-berkeley-extension;
James Crawford, 10 April 2014, http://www.stateofdigital.com/challenger-brand-tesla-disrupting-market/

17. 2008
Tesla attempts to sue the BBC TV show Top Gear
claiming the Roadster driven in an episode was
staged to lose a charge while cameras were rolling.
Tesla isn’t too happy.

18. http://www.wired.com/2009/06/elon-musk-on-the-inevitability-of-the-ev-running-
detroit-and-firing-a-certain-someone/
2009
Tesla chief Elon Musk:
“Let me run Detroit
(and fire a certain someone.)”
Detroit (and a certain
someone) aren’t too happy.

19. http://investorplace.com/2013/12/tsla-stock-tesla-motors/#.U7JxwxZe6zA;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Motors#History
2013
“Fiery headlines over fires in Tesla batteries”
Tesla owners a.o. aren’t too happy.

20. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/
SB10001424127887324049504578541902814606098;
James Crawford, 10 April 2014,
http://www.stateofdigital.com/challenger-brand-
tesla-disrupting-market/; Siimon Reynolds, Forbes,
9/01/2013, http://www.forbes.com/sites/
siimonreynolds/2013/09/01/why-you-should-copy-
teslas-way-of-marketing/
2013-
(‘Showrooming’in shopping malls)
Tesla clashes with car dealers
US dealer networks aren’t best pleased.

21. Joe Lazauskas, Editor in Chief @ Contently,
http://contently.com/strategist/2013/02/18/tesla-vs-the-new-york-times-everyones-a-media-company-and-a-media-critic-now/
; http://www.buyautoinsurance.com/tesla-motors/
2013
Tesla takes a blow as The New York Times
issues an unfavorable Model S review
(titled “Stalled Out on Tesla’s Electric Highway”)
Tesla seems not pleased.

22. http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/people-new-jersey
2013
Musk writes an
‘Open Letter to
the People of New
Jersey’criticizing
the auto dealer
lobby “monopoly”
NJ Governor a.o.
not amused.

23. 2014
Musk tells '60 Minutes':
I thought we would
most likely fail.”
X are (not) amused.
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/energy-ticker/2014/03/31/teslas-
musk-to-60-minutes-i-thought-we-would-most-likely-fail/?
mod=MW_home_latest_newslink=sfmw

24. 2014
(In a dramatic blogpost signed Musk)
Tesla announces the wall around
its patents has been removed.
X are struck with awe, ...
http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2014/06/23/
teslas_new_patent_policy_may_already_be_paying_off_101135.html

25. Conclusions?

26. Tesla Motors has no advertising,
no ad agency, no CMO, no dealer
network. And that's no problem.
Michael McCarthy, Advertising Age, November 2009,
http://adage.com/article/special-report-americas-hottest-brands-2009/tesla-motors-america-
s-hottest-brands-case-study/140487/

27. Musk is a PR polymath.
For every negative story he’s made
a proactive and confident rebuttal,
winning further headlines.
He’s even gone on the attack and
taken on much bigger automotive
brands, again winning more editorial
and plaudits along the way.”
James Crawford, 10 April 2014,
http://www.stateofdigital.com/challenger-brand-tesla-disrupting-market/

28. If you are Tesla, your customers already
create your content for you. (...) If you
have an amazing product that people can’t
help but use, promote, and evangelize,
you might not need content marketing.
Joe Pulizzi, JULY 27, 2013,
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/07/reasons-not-need-content-marketing-plan/

29. “Tesla has the last laugh”
“In spite of the recent bad press, Tesla Motors is
standing on solid ground. The company now has
a whopping $20 billion market value, which is
virtually unheard of for a 10-year-old auto
manufacturer. Tesla currently makes a mere 1%
of Ford's monthly sales, yet the company has
reached close to one third of Ford's $64 billion
market value.”
Thanks to
http://www.buyautoinsurance.com/
tesla-motors/

30. Tesla's share price
has risen 450%
in the last year.
James Crawford, 10 April 2014,
http://www.stateofdigital.com/challenger-
brand-tesla-disrupting-market/

31. Try this at home?

32. Convention says
only challengers
‘antagonize’...

33. Convention says
only challengers
‘antagonize’...
That’s
a lousy
excuse.

34. You’ve got
 an amazing product
 a brand you believe in
 some storytelling skills.
Pictured: @DougKessler,
#FusionMex Antwerp,
Spring 2014

35. You’ve got
 an amazing product
 a brand you believe in
 some storytelling skills.
Pick a battle
and co-produce
content marketing
and business successes.
Pictured: @DougKessler,
#FusionMex Antwerp,
Spring 2014

36. The Single Lesson to be Learned
from @TeslaMotors’ #ContentMarketing
Content Marketing Inspiration Series #6 - @FrankDelmelle - July 2014
ANTAGONIZE