Chicago entrepreneurs featured in new Porsche campaign
Porsche taps Trunk Club's Brian Spaly and 1871's Howard Tullman to explain why there is #nosubstitute
"Being an entrepreneur has a lot of prestige," according to luxury car maker Porsche.
Chicagoans represent two of the six entrepreneurs featured in Porsche's latest brand campaign.
Chicago entrepreneurs are featured in a new Porsche campaign that rolls out this month, and it’s Howard Tullman who got them there.
The six “There Is No Substitute” videos highlight American entrepreneurs including 1871 CEO Tullman and Trunk Club CEO Brian Spaly, whose company announced its acquisition by Nordstrom last week.
The videos will appear on YouTube and be promoted on social media by Porsche.
Chicago's prominence is no coincidence: The subjects were selected by Philo Broadcasting, a Chicago-based video content company in which Tullman’s VC fund, G2T3V, is invested. Tullman said the Philo team pitched an entrepreneurship-focused content marketing campaign to Porsche and approached him to appear in it.
He said he also helped secure interviews with Spaly and Danae Ringelmann, co-founder of crowdfunding site Indiegogo, with whom he said he expects 1871 to partner in the future.
The campaign’s goal is to highlight what “There is no substitute” means to Porsche as a brand, said manager of marketing communications Scott Baker. The phrase has been a part of the company vernacular for years — some may even remember Tom Cruise saying it in 1983’s “Risky Business,” Baker said.
Now, as Porsche rolls out a number of new models that Baker called “the most exciting lineup of sports cars in our history,” the company is trying to leverage a phrase that it hopes will appeal to aficionados and aspiring owners alike.
He said the campaign intends to demonstrate the values Porsche shares with entrepreneurs, who tend to be high achievers.
“We gravitated [toward entrepreneurs] because we found out that they’re special people,” Baker said. “There is a certain makeup if you are starting something from scratch and...being an entrepreneur has a lot of prestige.”
Each of the videos tackles a different principle related to business success. Spaly discusses the importance of personalization, something he knows well through building a service that delivers apparel to men based entirely on their tastes and preferences. He also talks about ending a founder relationship, as he did with Andy Dunn in his first startup, apparel brand Bonobos.
Tullman’s focus in the ads is excellence. The veteran entrepreneur and investor touches on his track record and says success is dependent on a “commitment to doing things right.”
Flywheel Sports founder Ruth Zukerman, Women Moving Millions CEO Jacki Zehner and Wheels Up CEO Kenny Dichter are also featured, along with Ringelmann. Their interviews touch on passion, leadership, boldness and authenticity.
Copyright © 2014, Chicago Tribune