探索传播：好奇能卖钱

    在有线电视巨头探索传播（Discovery Communications），信仰一种品牌理想——并在这种理想上面重金押宝——已经帮助这家公司的股价增长了三倍。

    这是吉姆•斯登格为《财富》撰写的系列文章的第4部分，他曾经担任宝洁公司（P&G）全球首席营销官，并著有《增长力：如何打造世界顶级品牌》（Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies）一书。在今天以及接下来两个周五的另外两篇客座文章中，斯登格深入挖掘那些最佳理想驱动型企业的最好做法，探讨它们从竞争中脱颖而出的秘密。

    “我是一个有信仰的人。”探索传播首席执行官大卫•扎斯拉夫说。

    扎斯拉夫公开宣称，他信仰自己公司的理想（或宗旨）以及核心理念：创造能够满足好奇心的高质量内容。而他正将这种理想转化为公司的健康增长。

    2007年，扎斯拉夫从国家广播环球公司（NBC Universal）跳槽到探索传播。自那以后，探索传播这家有线电视公司旗下的电视网络数量翻了一番。人们最熟悉的包括：探索频道（Discovery Channel），旅游生活频道（TLC），动物星球（Animal Planet），奥普拉•温弗瑞电视网（OWN），以及The Hub。不过，探索传播号称“全球第一非虚构内容媒体公司”，传播网络不断扩张，全球订户数量已经达到了22亿人。与此同时，探索传播的股价已经翻了两番多。

    扎斯拉夫表示，自己的工作就是领导一个由公司创始人约翰•亨德里克斯创造的“信仰体系”。信仰什么？“能够起到教育和启发作用的内容。”奥普拉•温弗瑞电视网络的《奥普拉人生课堂》（Oprah's Lifeclass）就反映了这一点。这个电视网络是奥普拉•温弗瑞跟探索传播创办的合资企业。她的《人生课堂》2011年在OWN电视网络进行首播时，“收视率几乎为零。”扎斯拉夫回忆说：“但市面上没有这样的节目播出，我们站在了它的一边。现在，《人生课堂》和《超级灵魂星期天》（Super Soul Sunday）是奥普拉•温弗瑞电视网最成功的两档节目。因为从价值的角度来看，关键并不在于短期盈利。我们信仰。”

    探索传播向奥普拉•温弗瑞电视网投资近5亿美元之后，后者在去年实现了正向现金流，同时开始为扎斯拉夫的公司带来收益。

    当然，创意大跃进也有可能导致失误——探索传播也曾有这样的经历。但全力投入品牌理想也让探索传播获得了成功，比如《行星地球》（Planet Earth）、动物星球的《鲸鱼保卫战》（Whale Wars）、新的周游美国频道（Destination America）以及大受欢迎的调查探索频道（Investigation Discovery）。

    探索传播这种传教士般的心态也催生出“蓝海”创新，也就是说，这家公司是在引领潮流，而不是跟随对手。最近，探索传播发现了一个新的机会领域，终身学习，于是推出了一个从网络上聚合优秀学习体验的平台Curiosity.com。探索传播还对用于健脑的应用程序Lumosity.com进行了投资。在做出这样的押注时，探索传播管理层依赖公司的品牌理想——创造能够满足好奇心的高质量内容——作为一种战略过滤器。“它有点像我们投资时确定方向所参照的北极星。”探索国际电视网（Discovery Networks International）总裁J.B.培瑞特（J.B. Perrette）说道。

    7年前，探索传播投资5亿美元用于制作内容。如今，它的这项花费已经达到了原来的近三倍。“所以，当我说我们信仰时，”扎斯拉夫指出。“我们是说真的。”（财富中文网）

    译者：王灿均

    At cable TV giant Discovery Communications, believing in a Brand Ideal -- and betting big money on it -- has helped quadruple the stock.

    This is Part 4 of a series for Fortune.com by Jim Stengel, former global CMO of Procter & Gamble and author of Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies. In today's Guest Post and in two more over the next two Fridays, Jim digs into the best practices of the best ideal-based companies and explores how they outgrow their competition.

    FORTUNE -- "I'm a believer," says David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications (DISCA).

    Zaslav professes deep faith in his company's ideal, or purpose, and its core concept: quality content that satisfies curiosity. And he's channeling that conviction into healthy growth.

    Since Zaslav joined the cable company from NBC Universal (CMCSA) in 2007, Discovery has doubled its number of TV networks. The channels you know best include Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, and The Hub. But branding itself "the world's No. 1 non-fiction media company," it reaches 2.2 billion subscribers worldwide through an ever-expanding portfolio. Meanwhile, Discovery's stock-market value has more than quadrupled.

    Zaslav's job, he says, is to lead a "a belief system" that was created by founder John Hendricks. The belief? "Content can educate and inspire." One reflection of that is Oprah's Lifeclass on OWN. Winfrey's network is a joint venture with Discovery, and when her Lifeclass premiered on OWN in 2011, "it got almost no rating," recalls Zaslav. "But there's nothing like that on the air, and we stood by it. Now, that and Super Soul Sunday are two of the most successful things on OWN because from a values perspective, it wasn't about near-term dollars. We believed."

    After Discovery invested close to $500 million in OWN, the network turned cash-flow positive last year and has started to pay off for Zaslav's company.

    Of course, creative leaps can result in misses -- and Discovery has had its share. But leaning into its Brand Ideal has led to hits like Planet Earth and Whale Wars on Animal Planet, and new channels like Destination America and the popular Investigation Discovery.

    The missionary mentality also gives rise to "blue ocean" innovation -- that is, leading a trend instead of following rivals. Discovery recently identified a new opportunity space, lifelong learning, and launched Curiosity.com, a platform that aggregates cool learning experiences from across the web. The company also made an investment in Lumosity.com, a brain fitness application. In placing these bets, management relied on Discovery's Brand Ideal -- quality content that satisfies curiosity -- as a strategic filter. "It's a sort of north star in our investment approach," says JB Perrette, president of Discovery Networks International.

    Seven years ago, Discovery invested $500 million on content. The company is spending almost three times that today. "So, when I say we believe," Zaslav notes, "I mean, we believe."

    For seven years until 2008, Jim Stengel was the chief global marketing officer at Procter & Gamble (PG), where he oversaw an $8 billion advertising budget and 7,000 employees. Now heading a consulting firm/think tank aptly called The Jim Stengel Company, he advises companies on how to grow globally by driving ideals. He's the author of Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies, which uses a 10-year study involving 50,000 brands to show how at the best companies, financial performance relates to an ability to connect with fundamental human emotions, values and greater purposes. Stengel, 58, is also an adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and on the board of directors of AOL (AOL). He's writing this series for Fortune.com with Chris Allen, the Arthur Beerman Professor of Marketing at the University of Cincinnati.