[quote style=”boxed”]I think everyone should have at least one labor intensive job that gives them a baseline as to what hard work really is.[/quote]
Scott Krantz is the CEO and co-founder of On Campus Media. Launched in 2012, On Campus Media gives national brands direct marketing and promotional access to the college student population through more than 1,000 large LCD screens at more than 400 Barnes & Noble campus bookstores across the country. On Campus Media’s creative approach and engaging messaging has proven to be a tremendous asset to advertisers as they struggle to reach an ever growing, increasingly mobile audience.
On Campus Media is the newest brainchild from Krantz, a serial entrepreneur and visionary with more than 15 years in advertising and marketing. In addition to being the largest national television network to serve college campuses, On Campus also helps financially challenged K-12 school districts across the country by bringing unrestricted funds through corporate sponsorship, putting an emphasis on educational and positive messaging.
Krantz is a longtime proponent of in-your-face, attention-grabbing advertising. Prior to founding On Campus Media, Krantz founded Mediacom Inc., an advertising company that specialized in advertising kiosks, transit shelter illuminated curbside displays, large skyscraper wall scapes and guerilla marketing campaigns.
Scott enjoys traveling with his family. He is a big wave surfer, frequently looking for the next ocean challenge.
What are you working on right now?
We’re working on expanding our college network, both in terms of number of campuses where our television network can be seen and the content we are offering our viewers. We have a really high engagement rate and we are focused on making sure our programming continues to capture their attention. We are also launching our K-12 platform.
Where did the idea for On Campus Media come from?
I’m always looking for solutions to problems because within every problem lies an opportunity. I saw how the public school system is financially struggling and I realized that I can not only help them financially, but build a sound business model around it. Coincidently, while I was piecing together this project, the Barnes and Noble college campus opportunity presented itself. We were already working on settling up the foundation for K-12, it made total sense to expand that to college.
How do you make money?
We sell advertising on our college campus based networks and brand sponsored, age appropriate content on our k-12 network.
What does your typical day look like?
It’s non-stop action. There really is never a dull moment when you’re a growing television network. Our team is creating original content, working on deals for new content, expanding our network, building our brand, selling ads, conversing on social media. There are weekly trips to schools and campuses around the country. There is never a dull moment.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I’ve surrounded myself with a top-notch team of people that are creative and smarter than I am. I am continually impressed with their ability to execute and deliver. I am a huge believer that collaboration yields bigs success. One person can have a great idea, but the final product comes out better with input from everyone involved in the process.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The digital advertising medium is still relatively new in the U.S. It dominates the landscape in Europe and Asia. You can’t go anywhere without seeing screens. In the U.S., the growth potential, along with technology advances, in our field is massive.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
Washing dishes. Getting a paycheck made it okay. And thought I may sound cliché, it really did teach me the value of hard work. I think everyone should have at least one labor intensive job that gives them a baseline as to what hard work really is.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
Nothing and everything. Without my life and business experiences I would not be where I’m at today and yet it’s always nice to dream that I could have gotten to this point without the challenges of being an entrepreneur. There are a lot of ups and downs when you are building businesses from the ground up, but if you believe in yourself and stick with it, the ups are always much higher than the downs.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Evolve. My businesses have changed numerous times over the years. You have to grab the opportunity when it’s presented, even if it doesn’t fit perfectly into your wheelhouse. Tenacity wins every time. Don’t be afraid to adapt and evolve.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I’ve had businesses that I was sure were going to be massive successes that turned out to fall way short. And businesses that I didn’t think had a prayer of being anything special that turned into platforms for multi-million dollar endeavors. When something fails, you just have to continue pushing, continue working. You can’t give up. If you believe something can be successful and you are willing to put the effort behind it, I believe you will find success.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?
This seems to be a better question for Miss Universe than for me.
Tell us something about you that very few people know?
I am a big wave surfer. I started surfing when I was very young. And I would challenge myself to ride bigger and bigger waves. It became my own game of how far can I push myself. Gradually the waves got bigger and now I travel to great locations to take on the biggest waves. I have surfed 20+ foot waves and am looking forward to conquering a 30-footer.
What are your three favorite online tools or resources and what do you love about them?
Can Google be all 3? I live on Google. I can’t begin to tell you how many searches I do a day. It’s an invaluable tool for finding out information about all of the college campuses we are on.
But if Google can’t be all 3, I’d say Google (you knew it was going to make the list), LinkedIn and hootsuite for our social media.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Steve Jobs book by Walter Isaacson. It’s about a man who had a vision and refused to bend to
conventional wisdom. He stared down doubters. He followed his dreams and his passion.
He believed in it. If you believe in something, you do it. Anyone who wants to see the success you can have when you have faith in yourself should pick it up. You won’t put it down until you’ve read the last page.
Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?
I’m not a big social media guy, but I do understand its value both for relating to our student audience and for interactions with our advertisers. @huffpostcollege has great news and information that we can use to connect with students, @adage for news and interesting campaigns from advertisers and @mashable for good news and info about tech and interesting stories.
When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?
Just this weekend. My wife. It was an inside joke, but she’s hysterically funny. That’s advice I would give to anyone: make sure your partner has a great sense of humor. It’ll make for a much happier life.
Who is your hero?
I really don’t have any heroes in the sense that I look up to them.That said, I’m impressed by intelligence and strategic thinkers. I read books by some of the bigger minds of our generation and come away with lots of things to think about.
Connect:
On Campus Media on Twitter: @on_campusmedia
On Campus Media on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OnCampusMedia
Scott Krantz on LinkedIn:
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.