A Modern Media Kid – How To Brand Yourself 101

One of the big stories here in the last week has been the hilarious going ons of a teenage lad/genius called Corey Worthington.

Corey is a 16 yo kid from a Melbourne suburb who has brilliantly encapsulated a lot of the success of modern marketing.

• You see, he held a party.
• He advertised his party of MySpace.
• 500 kids turned up.
• They drank and got drunk.
• They then annoyed the neighbours.
• The cops were called.

It emerged that Corey had been left home alone.

Then the outrage started.

The media has pounced on this story to give oldies a forum to vent about “the youth of today”.

Then something unexpected happened.

Corey showed he was smart. Or at least that he understands modern media.

• He was different.
• He was outrageous (so he was noticed – he cut through the clutter).
• He leverage social media.
• He branded himself (yep, those yellow sunglasses that he refuses to take off).

The Classic Answer

The classic answer was to the question from the “outraged” current affairs show host.

“What do you say to other kids thinking of having parties whilst their parents are away?”

I think the host was expecting a contrite “Ooooh, don’t do it.”

Instead Corey comes out with “Get me to do it for you.”

Then she comes out with “I suggest you take a good long hard look at yourself…..”

Corey says: “I have. Everyone has. They love it.”

Ha!

He’s managed the media brilliantly. And the media have managed the story brilliantly to cultivate the sense of outrage.

(And still, there are people who simply don’t understand that the media are there to get the highest ratings possible, so they’ll keep hammering away with this false sense of outrage to make this story run and run and run.)

The Benefits To Corey

The benefits to Corey are numerous.

1. He’ll get a girlfriend(s)
2. He’ll make some money.
3. He’ll have his 15 minutes of fame.

If he was smart he could leverage it into a whole career, but I’m not sure he’s that smart.

The Lessons For Any Business

• Get noticed.
• Brand yourself so that you stand for something in everybody’s eyes (but big yellow sunglasses are already taken).

Thanks oh wise one Corey.