First launched in 1955, the Guinness Book of Records was an instant best-seller, tapping in to an innate desire among the British public to escape the mundanity of post-war drudgery.
What was once purely a publishing operation has now developed into a truly global phenomenon, with a presence in over 100 countries and a media empire spanning all facets of content production. Guinness World Records (GWR), as the brand is now known, is a case study in how diversification can help a business not only survive, but thrive.
One might have thought that with the global downturn in the physical publishing industries, that GWR’s days as a market leader were numbered. These fears proved both premature and unfounded however, with the establishment of its brand consultancy arm in the late 2000s, largely responsible for its ability to remain both relevant and profitable as it nears its 70th birthday.
“We wanted to remain viable as a company”
When Marco Frigatti, currently senior vice-president of the GWR consultancy, first joined the business in 2004, the media landscape was on the cusp of one of the biggest upheavals in its history, with the dawn of the digital age rocking the industry to its foundations.
As a publishing-orientated business at the time, deriving the vast majority of its income from physical sales of its flagship product, GWR soon realised that different ways of operating would be key to its survival – and the resultant consultancy business soon became a resounding success story.
“This was the main reason we diversified – we wanted to remain viable as a company,” Frigatti says. “Presently, from being close to 100% of our revenue stream, the book now accounts for just 50%. The consultancy business has become the other half of our revenue.”
“Initially, the plan was to compensate for the loss of revenue coming from publishing, but the impact wasn’t as bad as we’d feared and our overall revenue has increased,” he adds.
“It was thanks to the consultancy business that we could open five offices around the world and then dig deeper, reach out and find so many more records that we didn’t have the resources to at the beginning. So it has had a positive effect as well, in terms of bringing our brand closer to people.”
Although GWR’s traditional business model was severely challenged by these cultural changes, fears of ruin proved to be unfounded as the book’s tangible value has enabled it to become a mainstay of the gifting economy. Now, well into the 2020s, the brand is healthier than ever – and Frigatti enthusiastically points to the consultancy’s vital role in this.
“It has not only helped us to diversify our products, but has also helped us as a vehicle to bring our brand to new consumers and users all across the world, which is in itself a success because it gives us more relevance.”
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“It’s all about integrity”
In many ways, the GWR consultancy operates much like a creative agency, albeit with a very unique remit. The monopoly the business holds over record authentication makes it an indispensable part of any brand seriously considering a record attempt.
The GWR assumes this role wholeheartedly – offering a bespoke package from inception to completion – although Frigatti is careful to point out that they do not in any way manipulate the outcome of a record attempt.
“Our role is solely to provide record ideas and record solutions to our clients, we don’t help them to break records, per se. What we deliver to them is twofold. First of all, we’re a brand that has great resonance with lots of family audiences across the world. Secondly, we do verify facts – it’s not a gimmick!”
While GWR helps businesses in the creative part of the campaign, including choosing the record itself, it’s down to the companies themselves to do all the project management, operation and production. The finer details of this operational procedure are strikingly similar to more orthodox creative processes seen day-in-day out at any other agency.
“Brands will come to us with a brief, they might have a product launch, or a particular event that they want to punctuate with an activity to better engage with their consumers,” he begins.
The twist however, comes here – this agency’s USP isn’t an advertising campaign, but a global record attempt that has the potential to spread like viral wildfire.
“Our record research experts tell us whether a record can even be done. It’s all about integrity. It has to be measurable scientifically. We then trigger a creative process before giving the brand a series of ideas that we believe could match the brief’s ambition – something tangible, but special.”
“Anything new takes a while to be appreciated”
Speaking with Frigatti gives a clear sense of the magnitude of these projects, with the GWR acting as a bona-fide dream factory for major international brands such as Caterpillar, Mastercard and Porsche as well as governmental organisations in Mexico and the US.
“Mastercard wanted to do something unbelievable that nobody had done before,so we came up with the idea of doing a football match at zero gravity during the recent World Cup,” Frigatti recalls.
“It was quite fun because the video is hilarious, they even had Luis Figo and other famous football players participating. The match was played on a parabolic flight at 20,000 feet or more in zero gravity, which made it a great story and content video.”
Although these fantastic spectacles drive GWR’s brand engagement and revenue the world over, the organisation has come under considerable criticism over the last decade for the changes in its business model.
Has GWR become too far removed from its original spirit of ordinary people doing extraordinary things and instead simply become a brand vehicle for multinationals and celebrities?
Frigatti says not; pointing out that without well-endowed benefactors, these mind-bending feats would be impossible to set up.
“In our minds it’s still about empowering people and brands have the potential to help break records. It often goes unnoticed to the consumer’s eye, that in order to make the parabolic flight, they worked for months to get it all set up, there’s a lot of technology, there’s a lot of science behind it.
“Brands help us to create great content that people want to see, they’re essentially sponsors. They benefit from it, of course, because they find new ways of engaging with their clients and consumers by creating amazing content.
Concluding, he says: “Of course, anything new takes a while to be appreciated and to be understood, and I think we’re on this journey.
In any case, GWR’s diversification journey has only just begun – with a burgeoning media empire extending its tendrils across brand activations, TV programming via GWR Studios and even live events. While the brand hasn’t entirely turned its back on its original ethos, it has undeniably taken bold, but necessary steps to survive in a rapidly-changing landscape – and looks well set to remain a global media player well into the 21st century.
