Octagon First Call

Think Pink Continued…
Talk show hosts aren’t the only people raising breast cancer awareness this month.  Breast cancer survivor Sheryl Crow is raising money through the sales of her Bootheel Trading Co. clothing line.  10% of the proceeds will go to the Revlon/ UCLA Breast Center and the Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program.  Crow also partnered with Yoplait for their Save Lids to Save Lives program, by hosting a private concert in Los Angeles.  For every pink lid donated at the concert, the brand gave $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure and for every lid mailed to Yoplait through December 31st, the brand will donate $.10 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  Sales of Amy Grant’s new single, She Colors My Day, will go to the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund.  Mariah Carey will be celebrating the launch of her new fragrance by issuing a challenge for her fans to design a luscious pink dress for her.  The three winning dress designs will be produced — one for Mariah to wear, one for the winner and one to be auctioned off for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  Breast cancer survivor Melissa Etheridge is joining Hard Rock International to launch Pinktober, Hard Rock’s 9th annual breast cancer awareness campaign.  Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls is teaming up with the Jell-O, Cool Whip and Philadelphia brands to design limited edition t-shirts with proceeds benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  To learn more, visit http://www.kraftbrands.com/poseforthecure/.  With an extremely original tactic, Katy Perry will have a mold of her breasts created to be auctioned off for the Keep a Breast Foundation.

Boundless Energy
OutKast rapper Big Boi has signed on to be the new face of Coca-Cola’s Full Throttle Fury energy drink.  The drink is the official sponsor of both the record release parties and promotional tour for his new solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty, on shelves today.  Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens will be endorsing Dr. Pepper Snapple Group’s (DPSG) Venom energy drink.  Owens will be part of the brand’s marketing and promotional campaign, which includes attendance at sponsored events and presence on in-store merchandising materials.  DPSG will also donate money to Owens’ Catch a Dream foundation for every bottle of Venom energy drink sold through March 2009.  The always energetic Richard Simmons is appearing in Yoplait yogurt commercials to promote their low calorie flavors such as Key Lime Pie, Boston Cream Pie and Strawberry Shortcake.  Check out the spot here http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/yoplait_richard_simmons.   Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is the spokeswoman for a nationwide casting call to find five young ambassadors who will deliver gifts to patients in children’s hospitals this holiday season  as a part of Duracell’s “Power A Smile” promotion. 

Lap of Luxury
At the age of 72, Sean Connery is appearing in print advertisements for fashion house Louis Vuitton, set to launch before the November release of the latest Bond installment, Quantum of Solace.  Fashion icon Jean Paul Gaultier has teamed up with Evian to make two exclusive creations for the company in 2009, the Evain Pret-a-Porter Bottle and the Evian Haute Couture Bottle.  Only seven of the Haute Couture Bottles will be released worldwide, and a few will be exhibited at select locations around the globe.  Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has signed a global development partnership deal with Dubai’s UAE Leisurecorp, which will see him design kitchens in homes and open his first two restaurants in the Middle East, both in the Water neighborhood of Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Time and time again, celebrity spokespeople have proven to be an effective tactic for marketing/advertising/PR campaigns. Benefits of using celebrities include increased awareness, product differentiation, brand preference and a goodwill association. While you may think, “the bigger the name, the better the spokesperson” it is not always true.

Many factors affect the success of a celebrity spokesperson. Brand fit, campaign goals and target demographics must all be considered when choosing a celeb. Moreover, you must consider the celebrity’s image and also assets that they can potentially bring to the table.

For instance, Gwyneth Paltrow recently launched a new lifestyle website, GOOP. The site offers advice on how to Make, Go, Get, Do, Be and See like her. More importantly, fans sign up to receive a weekly newsletter of tips and ideas from Gwyneth. If a brand engages Paltrow in a campaign, the newsletter and database would serve as a great platform to reach out to Gwyneth’s trusted fans. It’s a perfect move to focus on a targeted demographic as well as reach potential new customers. Coupled with the fact that Paltrow is also relevant due to her role on the new PBS 13-part series Spain… on the Road Again (where she joins Mario Batali on a journey to sample food around Spain), Paltrow could be a home run for the correct campaign.

We’ll see if any brand capitalizes on the opportunity…

Not only has Dubai shocked the rest of the world with its indoor skiing resort and manmade islands with housing developments, but now it has turned to a new outlet to become the biggest and the best: celebrities.  The newest and most intriguing development on the Dubai scene is the recently formed partnership between Leisurecorp and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.  This culinary partnership marks the most extensive partnership deal between a real estate developer and a chef.  The deal includes home kitchens designed by Oliver for the first time ever, the opening of two restaurants by Oliver in the Water neighborhood, and the Middle East’s first “Kitchen Library”. 

The kitchens, which Jamie has partnered with luxury brand Poggenpohl to create, will feature top of the line appliances by Miele as well as chef necessary features.  Oliver’s restaurants will be the first international location of his signature Italian restaurant, Jamie’s Italian, and a new BBQ restaurant concept that has yet to be named.  In this same Water development, residents will also enjoy other celebrity ventures such as the championship golf course designed by Vijay Singh and The Chris Evert Tennis Centre.  Dubai, with its futuristic concepts and previously unfathomable designs, has a made a name for itself as the new playground for the rich and the famous.  Offering tax-free earnings and year-round sunshine, Dubai’s main focus has been based on tourism and attracting foreigners to move to the emirate.  Celebrities have been snatching up real estate on the man-made island developments of The World and The Palm Islands with recent reports of real estate purchases by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, David and Victoria Beckham, and Hillary Swank.

Within the past year, A-list stars such as Tiger Woods, Brad Pitt, Boris Becker, Giorgio Armani, and Hillary Swank have all contributed to the development of Dubai.  Tiger Woods has created The Tiger Woods Dubai, a private residential community and resort that will feature the world’s first golf course designed by Tiger Woods.  Brad Pitt has partnered up with an L.A. based architecture firm to design a five-star, environmentally-friendly, hotel complex in Dubai.  Boris Becker has partnered with ACI to launch the Boris Becker Business Tower, while Giorgio Armani has decided to launch a line of Armani Hotels, with the first one being opened in what will be the tallest commercial and residential building in the world, the Burj Dubai.  Hillary Swank has signed on as the face to launch Aquiatainia, one of the most exclusive projects in Dubai to date, located in the archipelago cluster called “The World”.  Dubai has linked themselves to not only the top developers and brands, but has now succeeded in linking themselves to the top celebrities.

It’s no surprise that celebrities have been endorsing political candidates throughout this election year. But Sara Lee is putting a new spin on celebrity presidential endorsements.  The deli company has recently teamed up with Chef Louis Eguaras, the former White House Chef and current owner of Presidential Culinary Services to create campaign-inspired sandwiches.

The Chef has developed special campaign recipes (available at Sara Lee’s website), gives ‘Presidential Tips’ for sandwich making and lends a credible voice on happenings inside the White House. The campaign celebrates National Sandwich Day - which just happens to be November 3^rd (the eve of the 2008 presidential election).  

A great move by Sara Lee to capitalize on the election year excitement with a credible, relevant spokesperson and without becoming involved in all of the current mudslinging.

First Call was in NY yesterday to assist the George Foreman division of Applica Consumer Products, Inc. by procuring tennis legend and Dancing with the Stars veteran Monica Seles for a “Knock out the Fat” cook-off challenge at the U.S. Open.

The company has created a web-based reality show “Knock Out the Fat”, and yesterday’s taping was done in front of a live audience on the grounds of tennis’ U.S. Open. You can find the webisode here.

The Foreman brand has done an unbelievable job of branding itself. When you think of the George Foreman grill/brand, you first think of quality and speed, not George himself.

Well done George Foreman brand!

With the proliferation of blogging, YouTube and reality TV, instant celebrities have been popping up all over the place. People have become famous for just about everything—from the traditional (singing and dancing) to the bizarre (stomping grapes). Even media mogul Oprah Winfrey has jumped on the YouTube bandwagon. She recently featured a “YouTube’s Greatest Hits with the Billionaire Founders” show and has her own YouTube channel showing behind the scenes footage from her show.

The YouTube revolution has transformed the way Americans are entertained, connect with others and get information—including their recipes. Now, they’re not only looking to Paula Deen and Rachel Ray for cooking advice, Americans are turning to the unknowns of YouTube for tonight’s pasta primavera. As an article in USA Today details, cooking shows are gaining popularity on the ‘Broadcast Yourself’network. Two stay at home moms, Hetal Jannu and Anuja Balasuramian, are among the many aspiring chefs on YouTube. However, they have broken through the clutter with their innovative Show Me the Curry cooking clips that get more than 15,000 views a day. Unlike other YouTubers, they have also been able to obtain sponsors for their show and website, making it a profitable endeavor.

It remains to be seen, however, if more of these YouTube celebs can use their fame to successfully catapult a career for themselves as a spokesperson for a brand or as a springboard for their other business endeavors.

An interesting one today. We had the National Cattleman’s Beef Association (NCBA) and their spokesperson Steven Raichlen in my backyard filming grilling videos. The safety tips (cooking burgers to 160 degrees) will be used in online websiodes and upcoming public relations and media materials

The NCBA partnership is timed with Raichlen’s book release and tour (Raichlen has written more than 25 books). Raichlen will travel the country promoting the book and in doing so, share the Association’s beef safety message.

In addition to the Tour, the NCBA will be part of Raichlen’s annual BBQ University next June. And look for his new TV show on PBS.

Another example of an Association using an EXPERT and not just a celebrity face.

We’ll attach photos and video shortly.

Most wouldn’t know it, but Al Roker is slowly becoming a force in the entertainment world. His day job on NBC’s Today Show is just one small part of his business. He operates Al Roker Productions, Inc., producing several TV shows, documentaries and specials. His production company has more than 20 programs in development.

This week, he was named host of Celebrity Family Feud, a new primetime NBC show debuting this summer. As we have written about before, he is also a ambassador for the Friends of the Ronald McDonald House Charities program.

But why write about Al?

We think his future is incredibly bright (hard to imagine with all the success he has had). But he is different from most hosts, broadcasters and celebrities. He comes to the table with assets. Besides the six million+ people that watch him for three hours daily, his company can produce any work in which you want to use him (another revenue stream for him and seemless operation too). He has published multiple books and thus has an extensive database of people that are “interested in him”.

Roker will serve as Amtrak’s spokesperson for their National Train Day on May 10, 2008.

From his website: The company is currently in production on series and specials for: The NBC Station group, The Food Network, Court TV, Fine Living, A&E and The Discovery Networks. Other clients have included Lifetime and Oxygen. In addition, the company has forged programming partnerships with Carnival Cruise Lines, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Readers Digest Foundation.  

We are getting asked more and more by brands and their marketing agencies on ways to use celebrities online. In the past, ways included using their name, likeness and quotes on a Company’s home page or micro-site created for a project (see: RMHC celebrity page).

The next growth area transformed the static page into video. Testimonials, recipe/cooking segments and repurposing of advertising.

And that video effort has quickly changed into the latest — interactive websites that look like TV shows and digital shorts that spread throughout the internet like wild fires. They are great ways of capturing database information and getting immediate feedback from consumers on the look, success and content of the program.

In our opinion, Unilever is the leader in this space. 

Recently, Unilever and their product Dove introduced a “Fresh Takes” program. As their press release says, “Fresh Take uses entertainment and humor to give viewers a look at three 20-something girlfriends as they put their everyday pressures in a fresh perspective. Using the budding micro-series TV format, “Fresh Takes” will broadcast three-minute episodes nationwide during “The Hills“. Unilever has also done similar type efforts with Suave and Bertolli. They were just voted digital marketer of the year by Advertising Age magazine.

(We wrote about Hanes online effort with Sarah Chalke last week).

Before you enter the space, you need to know the Screen Actors Guild online rules, fees and you should check out You Tube’s terms and condition. While you’re at it, check out the rules of Funny or Die created by Will Ferrell.

The next growth area will be brands giving comedians and directors (like Andy Samberg) creative license to create and spread these digital shorts everywhere. Stay tuned…

As she states on her web site, Mary Beth Evans is known to millions of daytime TV fans as Kayla Brady Johnson, half of one of the most popular soap opera couples of all time. Steve “Patch” and Kayla on NBC’s Days of our Lives.

She also just launched a side career; baking apple pies.

After she aged past 40, she wanted a new challenge and decided to sell some of her pies (from a family recipe) to neighbors and friends. And within weeks, the business took off.

A few months ago, she appeared on QVC and sold 3,000 pies.

I would expect that Mary Beth will partner with some other companies in the near future — she is a mom, she a strong fan base, she now has a food connection and her price will be fair.