- I'm Alex Berman
and you're watching Selling Breakdowns.
On the surface, Jimmy Buffett looks like
a highly renowned country western singer.
However, underneath lies a cunning businessman
who turned one hit wonders into one of the world's
most profitable franchises.
Maybe your lost shaker of salt is closer than you think.
I love that line.
They took the whole song, they cut it apart,
now it's advertising.
- [Narrator] Maybe your lost shaker of salt is closer
than you think.
Margaritaville, at Universal City Walk, Hollywood.
Join the celebration,
and enter for a chance to attend
the grand opening event, March 30th,
with a special performance by Jimmy Buffett.
- [Alex] And this is what I love about Jimmy Buffett.
Every single line could be turned into an ad
and he's transformed what could've been
a dead, burned out music career
in the late 70's and early 80's into this empire.
For many years, Buffett has taken advantage of his name
and the fan following of his music to launch
a bunch of different business ventures,
usually with a tropical theme.
He opened the Margaritaville Restaurant
in Key West, Florida in 1985.
He owns and licenses the Margaritaville Cafe
and Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant chains.
On top of that he was also part owner of 2 minor league
sports teams, the Fort Myers Miracle and
the Madison Black Wolf.
Buffett has also licensed Margaritaville tequila,
Margaritaville footwear, and Margaritaville foods,
including chips, salsa, guacamole, shrimp, and a ton more.
Between his businesses, albums sales, and tours
he was estimated by Forbes to earn, holy *,
50.5 million dollars in 2017, and to have a net worth
of 550 million.
Let's talk about the song.
To start, it was an instant hit and became popular
among a ton of people.
Which in any business is one of the most fundamental factors
to success.
He got attention.
("Margaritaville," Jimmy Buffett)
Second, the song was a marketing tool within itself,
it was a vibe, it was a world that he created in this song
that he was able to capitalize on.
So, let's learn more about Jimmy Buffett.
Hailing from Pasca, Pascagouli, (beep)
Hailing from Pascagoula, Mississippi, Buffett developed
a love for music from a young age.
Most of Jimmy Buffett's success in business
is driven by the loyalty of his fans.
He calls them Parrot Heads.
Without them, I highly doubt his businesses would
have been as successful, however, they also would
have never existed if it wasn't for songs like
Margaritaville, Cheeseburger in Paradise, and more recently
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere.
So let's break down some of his businesses and
try to go deep into how Jimmy Buffett
has monetized his brand.
In 2006, Buffett launched a cooperative project
with Anheuser Busch, one of the largest beer producers,
to produce beer under the Margaritaville brewing label,
called Landshark Lager.
Margaritaville Casino opened at the Resorts Casino Hotel
in Atlantic City, New Jersey in May 2013.
Latitude Margaritaville is a 1 billion dollar
retirement village planned in Daytona Beach, Florida.
This is epic, this is a lesson for everybody.
You can take any success and turn it into an empire.
None of us have any excuses.
Get with it, Pauly Shore.
Where's the weasel empire?
(mimicking Pauly Shore) Hey buddy.
Come check out my restaurant.
- [Alex] Margaritaville's now even being turned into
a Broadway show.
- [Jimmy Buffett] I've always been a fan of Broadway.
- [Alex] If you look at who Jimmy Buffett was
and who he is now, he's an entirely different person.
It used to be all about the music,
the drinks, the tans, the sponge cake, and the good times.
But, that Jimmy Buffet's been gone since he revamped
his image in the early 80's.
Compare this rare footage of the real Jimmy Buffett
seen here in the late 70's, early 80's.
- [Jimmy Buffett] I think it's been about,
well to play, this is uh, been about 2 years
since we've been there.
Um, to me, it's always been,
I'm always comin' through to see my folks.
- [Alex] To his much more engaging persona.
(upbeat island)
- [Alex] And he uses that today to engage his Parrot Heads.
- [Jimmy Buffett] In order for him to see his destination,
he needs some guidance.
- [Alex] I hope he keeps going, I really do.
I wanna see where Margaritaville can go,
the more that he's able to do from that one hit
the more it seems possible for everybody else.
Jimmy Buffett's a a business trendsetter.
Thanks for watching the video, I would love if you would
share this, if you found it valuable,
and subscribe for more content like this.
I'm Alex Berman, thanks.
("Five O'Clock Somewhere," Jimmy Buffett)