Founder & CEO of Spanx
Sara Blakely is the founder and CEO of Spanx, a company that produces shapewear and other undergarments. Blakely started the company in 2000 with $5,000 of her own savings, and it has since grown into a multi-billion dollar business.
Blakely is considered a “Renaissance Marketer” because she is multi-disciplined and has long-term thinking. She is not only the founder and owner of the company, but also serves as the company’s chief creative officer and is involved in the product development, branding, and marketing. She has also been credited with creating a new category of apparel and revolutionizing the way women think about shapewear.
In addition to her role at Spanx, Blakely is also a philanthropist and advocate for women’s entrepreneurship. She is the founder of the Sara Blakely Foundation, which supports women’s education and entrepreneurship, and she is also a member of the Oprah Winfrey Network’s “O You!” Initiative, which encourages women to pursue their dreams.
I always tell young entrepreneurs to be an expert in their field, but also be an expert in the field of marketing. It’s not just about having a good product, it’s about knowing how to reach the people who need it.
Sara Blakely
Furthermore, Blakely is also a master of creating buzz around her product. She is known for her innovative and creative marketing strategies that have helped to make Spanx a household name. For example, she was one of the first to use social media to create buzz for her brand and has also been credited with inventing the term “footless pantyhose” that helped to revolutionize the hosiery market. Additionally, she has been very vocal about the importance of building relationships with the media and has been able to get Spanx featured in numerous publications, television shows, and movies.
Blakely is also recognized for being a master at storytelling. She has been able to create a narrative that resonates with her target audience and has used it to build a loyal customer base. Her story of being a frustrated woman who could not find the right kind of hosiery for a business event and decided to create her own brand, is an inspiration to many.
In her book “The Bare Facts” Blakely explains how she was able to leverage her personal story to build her brand saying: “I turned my personal struggle into the foundation of my brand, and it resonated with women everywhere. By being authentic and transparent, I was able to connect with my target audience on a deeper level, and that helped to build trust and loyalty.”
In conclusion, Sara Blakely is a true renaissance marketer, a multi-disciplined, long-term thinker who balances the art and science of marketing. Her success is the result of her ability to identify a gap in the market, her creativity, her ability to tell a compelling story, her use of innovative marketing techniques and her dedication to building relationships with the media and her customers.