Tag Heuer, one of the world’s premiere time piece and watch manufacturers has added a pretty special piece to their brand ambassador program by signing the all-time great NFL quarterback, Tom Brady. Brady embodies a cool swagger of excellence and success. There is no question that Brady resembles the core consumer of Tag Heuer. More importantly, he expands their marketing presence in the U.S. where competitors such as Citizen are signing up athlete spokespeople to represent their brand including Nascar’s Matt Kenseth, NFL’s Eli Manning, Country music star Kelly Clarkson and global tennis star Victoria Azarenka. Brady joins Tag Heuer’sREAD MORE
This isn't a scientific analysis, just what is on my office white board. The type of celebrities being requested continues to be all over the place because each company has it's own corporate culture and brand identification. Although the world of hiring celebrity spokespeople tends over time to be one of copy-catting, there are still unique factors that each company and their agency weighs when deciding who can best represent the brand to a core of consumers with a predisposition to buy their products. The following are the top 5 industry categories in ascending order who are in search for a celebrityREAD MORE
Booking celebrities has been part of my business for over 20 years. Big names and small. We have booked Hilary Swank, Pele, Martha Stewart, Mario Lopez, Bethenny Frankel, Jen Selter, Venus Williams, Danny Glover, Arnold Palmer and Sir Richard Branson to name a few. As Donald Trump said, there is an "art of the deal". It starts with the 5 tips for hiring celebrities you should always consider! Tip #1: Be honest about your budget! Everyone wants the biggest, best, most famous star with the biggest social media, but that comes with a price tag. Don't be so cock sure that just becauseREAD MORE
I was reading an article this morning about actress Eva Longoria smacking the Sydney Morning Herald upside it's head for a reporters shotty journalism. The back story is that Longoria just signed a significant deal to be the #celebrity spokesperson for an eyewear chain called SpecSavers. As part of the scope of work, Longoria would share her story about needing glasses to read via social + traditional media. What transpired next is exactly why all the good journalist are dead. Unlike days past where journalistic integrity mattered and in the world of the 24/7 news cycle, if you print it or blog itREAD MORE
I find myself again at the crux of making another decision on asset allocation and the growth of my businesses. It is never an easy decision and depending on who you speak with, it comes down to the two (2) titans of new business creation: Pay per click (PPC) vs. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Now, I can no longer claim to be a novice. I have employed social media strategists, experts, analytics freaks and people who mine the internet for choice keywords and back-links. So, I can hold my own in a conversation of geeks discussing the future Google and/orREAD MORE
I find myself again at the crux of making another decision on asset allocation and the growth of my businesses. It is never an easy decision and depending on who you speak with, it comes down to the two (2) titans of new business creation: Pay per click (PPC) vs. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Now, I can no longer claim to be a novice. I have employed social media strategists, experts, analytics freaks and people who mine the internet for choice keywords and back-links. So, I can hold my own in a conversation of geeks discussing the future Google and/orREAD MORE
Such an interesting question. If you are a brand manager looking for an ambassador to lead your charge against the competition, gain market-share and profits, you in many cases will affix your fortunes to a celebrity. This celebrity must have a large fan base usually articulated via their social media numbers. When you review a celebrity's social media demographics for Twitter, Vine, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, SnapChat, Periscope and others, you need to dig deeper and analyze if the celebrities you are reviewing are overexposed. Seems like an oxymoron in some regards. You want a celebrity with enormous pull from anREAD MORE
It is easy to focus on corporate entertainment events in the nation's largest cities such as New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas or Denver, but what if you are looking for a small city that will have all of the amenities, hotel space, intangibles and airport to support your corporate event? How do you define a small city? Under 2.5 million residents? Under 1 million residents? Under 500,000 residents? Or is your search for a city that has a feel more so than a number of residents? Tough questions for event planners, logistic experts and corporate communications specialist.READ MORE
Bethenny Frankel. When you hear her name, what do you think of? What is your impression of her? How do you view her portrayal on TV, in the media, on social media? If it is negative, candidly she probably doesn’t care. And rightfully so. Bethenny is building an empire and if you want to come along for the ride, get in line because SkinnyGirl products are blowing up! Yes, yes everyone knows of the SkinnyGirl line of alcoholic drinks that stormed the market and led to a massive acquisition rumor by Beam Global Spirits and Wine for what has been reportedREAD MORE
The NFL’s top celebrity athlete spokesperson adds another notch to his belt by signing a 5 year deal with the Columbus, Ohio based insurance company that is continuing to expand its investment in sports marketing significantly. Already the title sponsor of the Nationwide series in NASCAR, the company leverages its endorsement with racing’s biggest star and one of the top 5 spokespeople in all of American sports, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Nationwide has a history of investing in multi-platform activations of its celebrity pitchmen including a full run of TV ads, print and digital assets utilized to take advantage of theREAD MORE
This is one of the most perplexing questions being discussed by companies and their agencies on a daily basis regarding utilization of celebrity social media stars. Should you focus on a celebrity influencer on Vine? Twitter? Instagram? Periscope? Facebook? Snap Chat? YouTube? And who should your celebrity social media influencer be? Tough questions that need to be broken down into several categories: 1. What is your overall objective? Brand? Sell product? Create Impressions? 2. What is your data telling you about your consumer buying habits? 3. Where is your core consumer absorbing new content via social media? 4. Where areREAD MORE
Being a serial Entrepreneur is both a blessing and a curse in so many ways. You are creative, passionate, solving a problem for someone. BUT, you also are your sales team, your corporate cheerleader, your publicist, your brand steward. How the hell do you handle them all and effectively take your egg and hatch it into a multi-million dollar entity that you either continue to foster and build or follow the exist strategy that you, your partner and/or your board have created? These are monumental questions that are at the core of everything you think and do on a dayREAD MORE
Being a serial Entrepreneur is both a blessing and a curse in so many ways. You are creative, passionate, solving a problem for someone. BUT, you also are your sales team, your corporate cheerleader, your publicist, your brand steward. How the hell do you handle them all and effectively take your egg and hatch it into a multi-million dollar entity that you either continue to foster and build or follow the exist strategy that you, your partner and/or your board have created? These are monumental questions that are at the core of everything you think and do on a dayREAD MORE
In a bold move, iconic talk show host and social advocate Ellen DeGeneres has announced her plans to launch a new line of children's clothes through her lifestyle brand, ED. DeGeneres has joined Gap, the San Francisco based apparel retailing giant, to create the Gap Kids x ED signature line hitting stores in August. Started in 1969, Gap and it’s Gap Kids and Baby Gap branches have become extremely middle of America, selling a complete assortment of clothes, accessories and like-minded products to parents and kids. Ms. DeGeneres is a mainstream icon to women and moms for her bold stance on socialREAD MORE
As the most influential music act worldwide, Taylor Swift has become a marketing machine! Her Tour has global and regional corporate sponsors including a new deal announced today by Keds who continues to re-define itself and become a fashion forward footwear brand for women and girls. The shoe brand has been around for almost one hundred years and has become the favorite for both everyday “girls next door” and fashion icons like Ms. Swift alike. The RED Tour has seen over 1.5 million fans and is on its way to Asia. Also serving as corporate sponsor of Swift's tour is Cornetto;READ MORE