????在有線電視巨頭探索傳播（Discovery Communications），信仰一種品牌理想——并在這種理想上面重金押寶——已經(jīng)幫助這家公司的股價增長了三倍。

????這是吉姆?斯登格為《財富》撰寫的系列文章的第4部分，他曾經(jīng)擔(dān)任寶潔公司（P&G）全球首席營銷官，并著有《增長力：如何打造世界頂級品牌》（Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies）一書。在今天以及接下來兩個周五的另外兩篇客座文章中，斯登格深入挖掘那些最佳理想驅(qū)動型企業(yè)的最好做法，探討它們從競爭中脫穎而出的秘密。

????“我是一個有信仰的人?！碧剿鱾鞑ナ紫瘓?zhí)行官大衛(wèi)?扎斯拉夫說。

????扎斯拉夫公開宣稱，他信仰自己公司的理想（或宗旨）以及核心理念：創(chuàng)造能夠滿足好奇心的高質(zhì)量內(nèi)容。而他正將這種理想轉(zhuǎn)化為公司的健康增長。

????2007年，扎斯拉夫從國家廣播環(huán)球公司（NBC Universal）跳槽到探索傳播。自那以后，探索傳播這家有線電視公司旗下的電視網(wǎng)絡(luò)數(shù)量翻了一番。人們最熟悉的包括：探索頻道（Discovery Channel），旅游生活頻道（TLC），動物星球（Animal Planet），奧普拉?溫弗瑞電視網(wǎng)（OWN），以及The Hub。不過，探索傳播號稱“全球第一非虛構(gòu)內(nèi)容媒體公司”，傳播網(wǎng)絡(luò)不斷擴(kuò)張，全球訂戶數(shù)量已經(jīng)達(dá)到了22億人。與此同時，探索傳播的股價已經(jīng)翻了兩番多。

????扎斯拉夫表示，自己的工作就是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)一個由公司創(chuàng)始人約翰?亨德里克斯創(chuàng)造的“信仰體系”。信仰什么？“能夠起到教育和啟發(fā)作用的內(nèi)容?！眾W普拉?溫弗瑞電視網(wǎng)絡(luò)的《奧普拉人生課堂》（Oprah's Lifeclass）就反映了這一點。這個電視網(wǎng)絡(luò)是奧普拉?溫弗瑞跟探索傳播創(chuàng)辦的合資企業(yè)。她的《人生課堂》2011年在OWN電視網(wǎng)絡(luò)進(jìn)行首播時，“收視率幾乎為零?！痹估蚧貞浾f：“但市面上沒有這樣的節(jié)目播出，我們站在了它的一邊?，F(xiàn)在，《人生課堂》和《超級靈魂星期天》（Super Soul Sunday）是奧普拉?溫弗瑞電視網(wǎng)最成功的兩檔節(jié)目。因為從價值的角度來看，關(guān)鍵并不在于短期盈利。我們信仰?！?/p>

????探索傳播向奧普拉?溫弗瑞電視網(wǎng)投資近5億美元之后，后者在去年實現(xiàn)了正向現(xiàn)金流，同時開始為扎斯拉夫的公司帶來收益。

????當(dāng)然，創(chuàng)意大躍進(jìn)也有可能導(dǎo)致失誤——探索傳播也曾有這樣的經(jīng)歷。但全力投入品牌理想也讓探索傳播獲得了成功，比如《行星地球》（Planet Earth）、動物星球的《鯨魚保衛(wèi)戰(zhàn)》（Whale Wars）、新的周游美國頻道（Destination America）以及大受歡迎的調(diào)查探索頻道（Investigation Discovery）。

????探索傳播這種傳教士般的心態(tài)也催生出“藍(lán)?！眲?chuàng)新，也就是說，這家公司是在引領(lǐng)潮流，而不是跟隨對手。最近，探索傳播發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個新的機(jī)會領(lǐng)域，終身學(xué)習(xí)，于是推出了一個從網(wǎng)絡(luò)上聚合優(yōu)秀學(xué)習(xí)體驗的平臺Curiosity.com。探索傳播還對用于健腦的應(yīng)用程序Lumosity.com進(jìn)行了投資。在做出這樣的押注時，探索傳播管理層依賴公司的品牌理想——創(chuàng)造能夠滿足好奇心的高質(zhì)量內(nèi)容——作為一種戰(zhàn)略過濾器?！八悬c像我們投資時確定方向所參照的北極星?！碧剿鲊H電視網(wǎng)（Discovery Networks International）總裁J.B.培瑞特（J.B. Perrette）說道。

????7年前，探索傳播投資5億美元用于制作內(nèi)容。如今，它的這項花費已經(jīng)達(dá)到了原來的近三倍。“所以，當(dāng)我說我們信仰時，”扎斯拉夫指出?！拔覀兪钦f真的?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng)）

????譯者：王燦均

????

????At cable TV giant Discovery Communications, believing in a Brand Ideal -- and betting big money on it -- has helped quadruple the stock.

????This is Part 4 of a series for Fortune.com by Jim Stengel, former global CMO of Procter & Gamble and author of Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies. In today's Guest Post and in two more over the next two Fridays, Jim digs into the best practices of the best ideal-based companies and explores how they outgrow their competition.

????FORTUNE -- "I'm a believer," says David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications (DISCA).

????Zaslav professes deep faith in his company's ideal, or purpose, and its core concept: quality content that satisfies curiosity. And he's channeling that conviction into healthy growth.

????Since Zaslav joined the cable company from NBC Universal (CMCSA) in 2007, Discovery has doubled its number of TV networks. The channels you know best include Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, and The Hub. But branding itself "the world's No. 1 non-fiction media company," it reaches 2.2 billion subscribers worldwide through an ever-expanding portfolio. Meanwhile, Discovery's stock-market value has more than quadrupled.

????Zaslav's job, he says, is to lead a "a belief system" that was created by founder John Hendricks. The belief? "Content can educate and inspire." One reflection of that is Oprah's Lifeclass on OWN. Winfrey's network is a joint venture with Discovery, and when her Lifeclass premiered on OWN in 2011, "it got almost no rating," recalls Zaslav. "But there's nothing like that on the air, and we stood by it. Now, that and Super Soul Sunday are two of the most successful things on OWN because from a values perspective, it wasn't about near-term dollars. We believed."

????After Discovery invested close to $500 million in OWN, the network turned cash-flow positive last year and has started to pay off for Zaslav's company.

????Of course, creative leaps can result in misses -- and Discovery has had its share. But leaning into its Brand Ideal has led to hits like Planet Earth and Whale Wars on Animal Planet, and new channels like Destination America and the popular Investigation Discovery.

????The missionary mentality also gives rise to "blue ocean" innovation -- that is, leading a trend instead of following rivals. Discovery recently identified a new opportunity space, lifelong learning, and launched Curiosity.com, a platform that aggregates cool learning experiences from across the web. The company also made an investment in Lumosity.com, a brain fitness application. In placing these bets, management relied on Discovery's Brand Ideal -- quality content that satisfies curiosity -- as a strategic filter. "It's a sort of north star in our investment approach," says JB Perrette, president of Discovery Networks International.

????Seven years ago, Discovery invested $500 million on content. The company is spending almost three times that today. "So, when I say we believe," Zaslav notes, "I mean, we believe."

????For seven years until 2008, Jim Stengel was the chief global marketing officer at Procter & Gamble (PG), where he oversaw an $8 billion advertising budget and 7,000 employees. Now heading a consulting firm/think tank aptly called The Jim Stengel Company, he advises companies on how to grow globally by driving ideals. He's the author of Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies, which uses a 10-year study involving 50,000 brands to show how at the best companies, financial performance relates to an ability to connect with fundamental human emotions, values and greater purposes. Stengel, 58, is also an adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and on the board of directors of AOL (AOL). He's writing this series for Fortune.com with Chris Allen, the Arthur Beerman Professor of Marketing at the University of Cincinnati.