Octagon First Call

Driving into work this morning, I heard New York Giants star running back Brandon Jacobs on ESPN’s Mike & Mike radio show. Typically during the NFL season, you can hear football players on the radio on Tuesday’s. Why? It’s their day off so it’s the one day a week when they perform their “media days” for their corporate partners.

Today was no different. Jacobs was on the air on behalf of XBOX and there to promote the game console’s new partnership with NetFlix, where XBOX 360 owners can now download more than 12,000 NetFlix movies straight from their XBOX machine. And as part of the promotion, one lucky fan will win a “movie night” with Brandon and his wife (where the Giants player and wife will actually come to a fan’s house for the evening).

Host Mike Greenberg threw out a softball to Brandon. “So Brandon, this is a clever concept between XBOX and NetFlix, what does one have to do to participate in the promotion?”

His response, “I don’t know what to do.”

It doesn’t matter how bookable a celebrity is if they can’t deliver your message. Please spend the appropriate time on messaging so there are at least a few sound bites that can be rattled off in each interview. And at the very least, make sure they know the website so they can simply drive people there to learn more.

I assume the interview was one of many for Brandon this morning. I hope for XBOX and NetFlix, the rest went better.

Oprah has done it again-this time with Amazon’s electronic reader, Kindle.  While Amazon released the Kindle one year ago, it has just received a solid boost in ratings due to Oprah Winfrey’s recent approval.

On October 24^th, Winfrey sang praises for the Kindle on her popular talk show. The ultimate influencer put her personal stamp of approval on the product, saying: “I’m telling you, it’s absolutely my new favorite thing in the world.” With the astounding popularity of Oprah’s Book Club, it comes as no surprise that the Kindle’s numbers have increased almost immediately. Search traffic for “kindle” has increased by 479% since the day Oprah unofficially endorsed the product. 80% of the blog posts (since October 24) involving the Kindle mentioned Winfrey’s support of the product.

Oprah is one of the best illustrations of a celebrity influencer. Her large, fiercely loyal fan base trusts her opinion on everything from food to personal care to books and more. She proves time and time again that her support for a product can lead to a large jump in interest and buzz surrounding a product or brand.

Now more than ever, tweens are reshaping the celebrity landscape.  With High School Musical 3 hitting theaters at the end of this month, the use of tweens in advertising and marketing campaigns is hitting a fever pitch. Several brands are looking to capitalize on the buzz surrounding the newest installment in the HSM series.

Honda recently signed on as the exclusive automotive sponsor of High School Musical 3: Senior Year. The co-branded campaign features members from the teen cast in TV and radio spots, print and online ads, and a microsite. The campaign also offers a sweepstakes with winners receiving autographed pieces from the HSM3 set as well as a 2009 Honda Odyssey. The cast can also be seen promoting Sara Lee’s Soft &Smooth brand in TV ads, point-of-sale-materials, PR, a HSM microsite, movie theater events and a consumer sweepstakes contest.

Tweens have now broken into the Broadway scene as the new musical “13″ opened on Sunday. The show speaks directly to its tween target demo with an entire cast and onstage band of teenagers. Look for these performers to start appearing in more mainstream tween entities.

And, these young stars are savvy about their images, many of them already linked to a cause or charity. Just this past weekend, many of the biggest tween stars attended ‘Target Presents Variety’s Power of Youth’ event supporting St. Jude Children’s Hospital.  Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Selena Gomez, Taylor Lautner, Miranda Cosgrove, Victoria Justice, Mitchel Musso, Brenda Song and Moises Arias (among others) were all in attendance.

Publicist Kristian Laliberte nailed it when she stated that “they’re the new influencers”. Today’s youth are hit with an overwhelming amount of media from all angles-TV, internet, cell phones, video games, blogs and more. Moreover, they have relatively large dispensable incomes and they’re looking to people they can relate to (ie: tween stars) for ideas on where to spend.  It is tweens’ media savvy combined with their purchasing power that enables them to influence marketing campaigns of popular products and brands.

Microsoft’s new $300 million ad push has received much attention recently. The company reportedly signed a $10 million contract with well-known comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld stars with the company’s founder, Bill Gates, in two buzzed about (albeit somewhat confusing) commercials that broke a few weeks ago. Then, just one week ago, the company released their new “I’m a PC” ad campaign featuring a variety of celebrities (including Tony Parker, Eva Longoria, Pharrell Williams, Deepak Chopra and Bill Gates), employees and Average Joe PC users. The spot mimics Apple’s long-running “Mac vs. PC” ads featuring John Hodgman and Justin Long.

While Microsoft’s new celebrity-filled ads have certainly generated buzz around the brand, not all of it has been good. Unfortunately, the brand committed a costly mistake that has led to a considerable public outcry from bloggers and Apple enthusiasts.

Before engaging their celebrity spokespeople, the company failed to perform proper due diligence. A number of the celebrity endorsers featured in the ads have been seen using or written positively about Apple products. While the celebrities may still be PC enthusiasts (as the spot claims), consumers are weary to trust their authenticity. 

Studies repeatedly suggest that ads featuring celebrities have the ability to draw high levels of attention to the associated product or brand. Yet, in order for celebrities to be valuable, the audience must view the endorser as genuine. Thus, past endorsement deals, relationships with competitors in the space and personal connections to the brand/cause must be considered when evaluating who to engage. Otherwise, a celebrity’s conflicting image may cause your campaign to appear disingenuous.

Hopefully Microsoft has learned this lesson and will be more careful when selecting future celebrity spokespeople.

Most women hear the name Madden and instantly reach for their credit card, ready to splurge on that next pair of Steve Madden shoes; but with the growing popularity across an assortment of markets, John Madden has transcended into a household name. In the midst of men engrossed by him on TV and children (okay men too!) pleading for the latest and greatest version of his game, Madden is a name women can’t seem to overlook.  Talk about a marketing powerhouse!  His undeniable style has made him a standout from typical sports broadcasters in the game and his personal tag lines like “Boom!” and “Bam!” practically write the advertising reel themselves.

Acclaimed NFL coach and commentator, Madden is most assuredly a marketing force to be reckoned with.  He has made several promotional appearances in every field of retail from the “helpful hardware guy” with Ace, to the many Madden Miles traveled with Outback Steakhouse and the Madden Cruiser; and who can forget “Fast-Actin’” Tinactin?!  This guy really knows how to appeal to consumers of all ages, boys & girls, men & women alike.

As if a being a Pro Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl title holder isn’t accomplishment enough, Madden can now add author and video game extraordinaire to his repertoire.  The popularity of his video game, Madden NFL, first launched in 1988, has hit an all-time high. With his likeliness attached to what Game Critics have named Best Sports Game of E3, Madden NFL 09’ and EA Sports have scored a touchdown with this marketing combo.

Much of the game’s success is due in part to Madden’s realistic understanding and familiarity with his consumer.  He knows what the players want in a video game and won’t stop until just that is delivered. Coming into their 20^th anniversary, EA Sports has big plans to play up their marketing powerhouse, Madden, through a series of events at this year’s Maddenpalooza.  This music festival features bands from past and current Madden NFL soundtracks like Good Charlotte, Busta Rhymes, and Rev Theory. With a genre so widespread, gamer or not, music fans are sure to fill the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for this show. Proving once again that EA Sports and team Madden really can reach every demographic.  The next time you find yourself looking for a celebrity or influencer remember what you’re mother told you when you were young, “beauty is only skin deep, it’s what’s inside that counts”…personality goes a long way and is a very marketable attribute.

By: Liz Baker

With opening ceremonies only 32 days away, the excitement surrounding the Olympic Games is in full swing. While athletes are breaking world records, some artists have been recording tracks for records. AT&T announced today that several popular musicians have agreed to record exclusive tracks for the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack. The songs will only be available for download in August during the Olympic Games on AT&T MEdia Net (for wireless phones) and online at http://www.att.net. The music can also be accessed at NBCOlympics.com. The proceeds from the sales will benefit Team USA. 

AT&T is an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team and will also serve as the official telecommunications services partner of the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. This is a unique and interesting way to leverage their sponsorship for several reasons. AT&T is capitalizing on the astounding popularity of mobile media with the exclusive music downloads from some of today’s top artists. Moreover, they are driving people to their website and increasing traffic. They also found a way to connect their brand to the ever popular Olympic Games and athletes. And, they even added an aspect of goodwill, with proceeds going toward Team USA.  

With quotes from the decorated Olympian Michael Phelps and pop star Sheryl Crow, AT&T’s campaign is bound to receive great publicity. With the IOC’s tight stipulations on using the Olympic name, imagery and athletes, look for more creative campaigns linking non TOP sponsors to the Olympics in the future month.

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.

Right now, the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland A’s are in the bottom of the ninth inning on ESPN2 (9:05am). Oh, you thought the season started next week. Well it does for all the other teams but the Sox and A’s are starting early playing in Japan.

 What’s interesting are the logos on the sleeves and hats of the teams. You can visibly read Pepsi on the A’s sleeves and EMC on the Sox. Both teams have Ricoh patches on their hats.

Brandweek’s Barry Janoff announced these deals back in late January and so we have been waiting to see what they look like on the uniform before writing about them.

 We like the logos. They are classy and do not detract from the look of the ballplayer. It’s a good, safe test for MLB and something I would expect to see more of in the future — during Spring Training, All-Star games and eventually the regular season.

It’s a much better idea than in 2004 when the Spiderman logo was to appear on all the bases during games.

Here are a few blogs talking about the Ricoh Japan MLB series too — Over the Monster and Sports Marketing and PR Roundup.

Ashton Kutcher is sneaking up to the top of the most marketable men in Hollywood.

He is best known for the television series That ’70s Show. He was the creator, executive producer, and host of the MTV celebrity prank show Punk’d and now Pop Fiction And now he is the executive producer for a new ABC sitcom Miss Guided.

USA Today’s Laura Petrecca yesterday talked about his latest endorsement project in which he becomes the new face for Nikon’s Coolpix digital camera (replacing Kate Moss). TV ads start today. Nikon even has a Ashton specific website address “AshtonsCoolPix.com” taking everyone to their home page.

Also, Baume & Mercier announced in a press release that Kutcher and Teri Hatcher will become new brand ambassadors the watch company. Past ambassadors included Meg Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Basinger and Gary Sinise.

And before acting and serving as a pitchman, he was an aspiring model. Born in Iowa, he moved to New York and within months he was walking the runway in Milan and Paris, for Versace, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger.

And oh yeah, he is married to Demi Moore.