Launch Part 2: How 1851 is the Internet of 2015

It was 1994 when Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel tried to explain what the Internet was to their viewers. Chances are, you didn’t know either. “What’s the mark with the “a” and then the ring around it?”

It’s now 2015, and clearly we know the “@” symbol and its meaning, but there are still plenty of new unknowns, including the BMW i3 – one of the top Super Bowl commercials this year.

I recently read an interesting story about Couric and her journey into the world of Internet broadcasting, a la Yahoo. It’s a world of unknowns, as mainstream broadcasters had not yet made their way from the tube to the screen. But for adventurers like Couric, it was a world of opportunity, as she said, “I’m in this giant petri dish where anything is possible.”

That quote is very sustainable, as that is what 1851 is becoming for franchising – a petri dish where anything in franchise development becomes possible.

You see, we are trying to eliminate a franchising world of “hows” and turn it into a world of “whys.”

As you can see from the new site, there are many bells and whistles – including the private dashboard and the customized publications for brands. Within that customized publication, you have the ability to target the exact prospect you desire. How? No, why.

Why are we doing this? Many reasons, but first, we’re doing this because content marketing is the clunky desktop computer Couric refers to as the size of a mini fridge when the Internet was born.

Agencies have created content marketing as a service. The challenge is, from the way it’s structured, it is you saying you are great. Which you should believe, but frankly, your prospect doesn’t give a (bleep) about you thinking you are great - they need to believe it.

With stronger third-party content, your story can be told in a controlled atmosphere by someone else. They become the storyteller, and you get back to being the story.

When creating the new 1851, our team white boarded out every issue with franchise development we could identify and created a solution for each of those categories. Is 1851 perfect? Of course not – as AOL was not perfect in 1994 (and it’s debatable if it is perfect today). But, it’s a start. It is a start of connecting the dots together to create something different that is result driven and measurable.

Can we explain it perfectly? No. Just like Couric said, it’s still a petri dish. But in ‘94, or ‘96 or ‘98, did you join the Internet revolution? Duh, of course you did. There are some things you will not understand now, but how excited were you when you sent a message with an @ and it was delivered to another person?

1851’s version of the Internet launch starts now. Our vision is that all businesses – franchise or not – will have the ability to use our platform to tell their stories. The map we have created is intense in order to hit mass appeal as quickly as possible.

If you could tell your 1994-self that that Internet was going to become a giant solution for communication, would you? (Duh, and you would have probably bought a load of Google stock when it became available). Hopefully, 1851 does the same for franchise development and then business. Hopefully, it helps define a new form of communication I am calling “Proactive Marketing.”

Are you ready to join the mission?