Michelin Stars And Your Coworking Brand — A Masterclass In Content Marketing

• The origin story of the Michelin Star is a valuable lesson for coworking space operators and community builders to get outside the usual thinking to find ways to truly help customers.
• The Michelin brothers pivoted when their original idea for a driving guide didn’t take off. They included something that more deeply resonated with their market and was a more valuable tool for customers.
• What would it look like if coworking operators shifted the focus of brand positioning from workspace and meeting rooms to becoming a one-of-a-kind resource for your local community of entrepreneurs, remote workers, small businesses, freelancers?

I’m assuming you’ve heard of the Michelin Star — an honor awarded to restaurants offering outstanding cooking.

But did you know that the Michelin part of those stars is the same Michelin company that makes tires? And that the origin story of the Michelin Star is a masterclass in content marketing?

It’s all true. And there’s a valuable lesson here for coworking space operators and community builders to get outside of your usual thinking and find ways to truly help your customers.

Here’s the story:

Way back in 1900, when the automobile industry was in its infancy, two French brothers named Édouard and André Michelin — founders of the Michelin Tire company — created the Michelin Guide, a resource with maps, listings of mechanics and instructions on how to change a tire.

The thinking was that the more people drive, the more tires they will need, and the more comfortable they are with traveling in their car the more driving they will do.

The brothers printed 35,000 copies and distributed them around the country. But the guide didn’t gain much traction. As one story goes, the brothers witnessed a shop using a copy of the guide to prop up a workbench.

But, like all good ideas, the guide had potential. So the brothers tweaked the contents of the guide to include a section on restaurants across France. The restaurant section quickly became the most popular section of the guide, and a star was born.

Almost.

The first Michelin Star was given in 1926, with more soon to follow. Restaurants were given a single star in the guide if they were deemed a “fine dining establishment.” In 1931, the Michelin Star system expanded into the three-star rating we have today.

The content marketing brilliance of the Michelin Guide and Michelin Star has several dimensions: 

1. The Michelin brothers created something that their customers would like and find useful, the byproduct of which was more tire sales and strong brand positioning. This backdoor marketing is the best kind of marketing.
2. The brothers pivoted when their original idea for the guide didn’t take off. They included something that more deeply resonated with their market and was a more valuable tool for customers.
3. Michelin ran with the good idea and let it expand organically into what is now the status symbol for restaurants around the world. They didn’t limit themselves to just selling tires, and banging customers over the head about the fact that they sell tires. In doing so, they became a world-leading brand.

There’s a lesson here for any company, large or small. But since I’m me and I live and breathe coworking, let’s look at the Michelin Guide and Star through the lens of coworking.

We know you sell workspace, offices, fast wifi, meeting rooms, event space. And you probably have a stream of leads looking for these things. But what if you shifted the focus of your brand positioning from workspace and meeting rooms to a one-of-a-kind resource for your local community of entrepreneurs, remote workers, small businesses, freelancers?

What would that look like?

What could you create that would have the incredible market alignment that the restaurant version of the Michelin Guide had? What could you do that would generate so much brand awareness, trust and loyalty that filling your space with members became a byproduct?

It doesn’t have to be a map and restaurant list. But it does have to be unique to you and be in the sweet spot between what your customers need and how you, as a brand, can help them.

This is where the rubber hits the road.

Drop me a DM on LinkedIn and let me know what you come up with.