Shaquille O’Neal’s business acumen has been widely hailed in NBA circles for a long time now. His Inside the NBA colleague Kenny Smith called him the “most astute businessman” he had ever seen. In fact, in 2011, Shaq used his hilarious retirement announcement to make a pitch to the major sporting networks to hire him.
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At the same time, he announced his decision to say goodbye to his NBA career on a social media platform called Tout. The Diesel’s 15-second farewell message helped push this unknown social media entity into the public consciousness. It was also a successful attempt at directly connecting with fans. The other upside was that Shaq was also getting a management position in the platform.
His 2011 autobiography Shaq Uncut: My Story, co-authored by Jackie Macmullan, touches upon how his retirement announcement video helped Tout garner a lot of attention. “We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much, that’s why. I’m telling you first, I’m about to retire. Love you, talk to you soon,” declared Shaq on Tout(or touted).
The big fella agreed to break this news on Tout “in return for a spot on their advisory board and a small equity stake in the company.” Because of his decorated career and huge fanbase, the video captured around half a million views in merely three hours. Two years after the retirement, as an equity holder and a member of the advisory board, Shaq went on a mission to promote the platform.
In 2013, in an interview with Forbes’ Randall Lane, the big fella laid out his methodology to connect with his fans. Shaq compared Tout’s 15-second videos(known as touts) to a 140-character Tweet. The keen businessman pointed out that since visual appeal is popular among people, these videos can create a much more authentic impression instead of a Tweet, where a person doesn’t even know if the account holder is the one originally writing it down.
He then went into how he uses social media as a platform. Shaq revealed that instead of bragging about his opulence, he uses a formula that makes him feel more authentic.
“My format has always been 60% to make you laugh, 30% to inspire you, and 10% to sell a product,” Shaq told Forbes.
The Lakers legend was passionately looking to promote this social media entity. His authenticity played a vital role for the developers to open up a new wave of engagement.
Shaquille O’Neal went all in on Tout
As an ambitious entrepreneur, during SXSW Interactive 2013, Shaq introduced a program called “Pitch Shaq!” Under this plan, the four-time NBA Champion encouraged tech startups to send him a 15-second “elevator pitch” in Tout. After reviewing all the pitches, the keen businessman would then select a start-up where he would be willing to invest. His goal was to boost engagement on the platform while also hunting new investment opportunities.
During the event, Shaq announced, “I’m looking for something that will be bigger than Facebook, bigger than Twitter.” He was looking to be a pioneer in the social media world, knowing fully well its potential. While Tout dissolved in 2019, its plan to focus on video messages exclusively was a novel idea. TikTok, which adopted this format but didn’t keep a 15-second lid on videos, reaped the fruits of this approach.
At any rate, this story proves Shaq’s belief in technology. As an athlete, he didn’t shy away from exploring fresh avenues like Tout. He trusted that such a format would catch up to the large section of people considering its massive visual appeal. O’Neal remains a great example of someone willing to transition from traditional modes and invest in trail blazing ideas. These ideas may fail, but if no one is willing to take the next step, the scope of innovation is restricted.
