Peeling Back the Savannah Bananas
You either know exactly what I'm talking about …or dream about.
Striking out on your own. Leaving that soul-killing job or career behind to build that perfect life with a business and life of your own. To kick back on a Cloud 9 of your own creation that sits on a foundation of stone.
One of the toughest things anyone can do in life is to start their own business with nothing but empty space and a mountain of debt.
Imagine for a moment you’ve rented, leased or purchased an empty space somewhere downtown. You sign a deal with the bank, invest in renovations, hire staff, a lawyer and an accountant. But, inside that space you have nothing. No inventory. No customers. No revenue. Nada. Nothing but a completely void space filled with nothing but wide-eyed fantasies of future success. Never mind trying to create a legendary brand. You’re just trying to figure out a way to survive.
Your “Big Beautiful Idea’ is like a newborn baby and just like any new parent, you experience knots in your stomach, sleepless nights and second-guess yourself 499 times a day. Because no matter what you promised the bank’s bean-counting loan officer or conveyed to your closest friends, it’s now on you to make magic happen. Maybe your vision is to sell tangible products like cars, cheeseburgers, furniture, fireplaces or frozen yogurt. However, the degree of difficulty doubles if you are trying to sell intangible services like car insurance, karate lessons, dance classes, management consulting or entertainment options from an off-Broadway production to stand-up comedy or minor-league baseball.
Jesse and Emily are a husband-and-wife business team that discovered how empty spaces can become wildly popular fulfilment places. Dream big while starting small but, be aware of the insidious DNS Factors; entirely predictable obstacles you are certain to run into. The incredible, runaway success of the Savannah Bananas would never have happened had Jesse and Emily Cole been stymied and stopped by those invisible brick walls of DNS. Buy some peanuts and cracker jacks, root, root, root for the home team and discover how this crazy couple attracted two million fans this year after starting from zero. Step right up and PEEL BACK THE BANANAS! On this extended edition of Leaders & Legends.
“If you’re not scared, maybe you’re not trying something big enough”
Three Timeless Takeaways
By removing friction from baseball with a fast-paced, backflipping brand of “Banana Ball”, Jesse and Emily Cole turned the sports and marketing world upside down; generating millions of fans, massive revenues and monumental growth. More than 2.2 million people bought tickets this season to see the Bananas and their rivals, the Party Animals, the Firefighters and the Texas Tailgaters. The 2025 Banana Ball World Tour, spanned 115 dates, traveled to 40 cities, with stops at 17 Major League Baseball ballparks, three NFL stadiums and drew a crowd of 81,000 for an April contest at Clemson University’s Memorial Stadium.
They have attracted 21.5 million followers across social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube; a larger social audience than any MLB franchise. Here are three things the Bananas do that are absolutely applicable to any B2B, B2C business, organization or non-profit.
1. STAND OUT BY STANDING APART
It begins with asking a powerful yet incredibly difficult question to answer: What Makes You DIFFERENT-ER? What is it about your business and brand that makes it truly remarkable and highly distinctive from everyone else you compete with?
2. BECOME YOUR OWN ‘MEDIA COMPANY’
Leave the Yellow Pages, newspaper ads, direct mail and all other 20th century media relics behind. Focus your marketing efforts by producing consistent, original ad-free content on relevant social media platforms like YouTube.
3. PLACE THE CUSTOMER ON A PEDESTAL
The Savannah Bananas don’t gouge, exploit or erect pay walls. Ticket prices are reasonable, priced from $35 to $60, with no additional fees or taxes. Merchandise sales include free shipping. Every game is also available to watch on YouTube, without a paid subscription.
Few people know the inside story of this phenomenal brand success story like Kara Heater, the Bananas Vice-President of Marketing. After experiences in the food services and real estate sectors, Kara joined the Bananas as an intern in 2018 and has never looked back. In this one-on-one conversation, she willingly shared some of the best kept secrets to the Bananas massive public a-peel.
PLANNING A CONFERENCE OR SPEAKING EVENT?
Could enduring principles from the origin of legends be applied to your company or industry association? In the face of frantic, unforgiving change? BIG LITTLE LEGENDS offers a deeper dive into timeless principles that NEVER change. If you have an in-person event on the 2025 or 2026 horizon, watch the ‘Movie Trailer’ and discover the endlessly fascinating, universally applicable message of BIG LITTLE LEGENDS.
“Heroes get remembered. Legends never die” - BABE RUTH
For more information on scheduling an In-Person or Virtual Speaking Program, contact us here: bookings@gairmaxwell.com.
BRAND STRATEGY: ON PURPOSE & ON TRACK.
It’s been called a metaphorical road trip that is both journey and destination. THE BRANDING HIGHWAY is designed for larger companies and organizations looking to emerge as an undeniable, undisputed, "Category of One.” This proven, market-tested process is an avenue for Executive Teams to discover both a highly distinctive Brand Identity as well as develop the foundation for your own Media Company. Impossible to describe. Filled with many twists and turns, here is a quick preview:
“No one remembers who took second place. That will never be me" -ENZO FERRARI
BIG LITTLE LEGENDS: SPOTLIGHTED IN FORBES 🌟
FULL THROTTLE VIDEO:
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