Octagon First Call

This post comes to you straight from Smashbox Studios in West Hollywood, where Jewel is in the middle of a photo shoot for Karastan carpet. She follows in the footsteps of Kelly Preston, Mariska Harigitay, Evangeline Lilly and Andie McDowell as stylish spokesmodels for the luxury carpet brand.

An industry leader in flooring, Karastan has assembled an all-star creative team for this photo shoot including creative director Dino Maniaci, photographer James White and celebrity stylist Jessica Paster. This “glam squad” (and their often hefty budgets) is a common afterthought when planning an advertising campaign - Karastan has done a great job to make sure the high quality of their creative team is a priority. Their combined efforts have complimented Jewel’s terrific work ethic today, powering through a number of different shots in a very short period of time, Jewel is a total pro.

Be on the look out in home décor and lifestyle magazines starting February of next year for these beautiful advertisements. In the meantime, if you are interested to see the previous ads, be sure to check them out here.

The Country Music Awards (CMA’s) were televised last night and while the winners were pure country - George Strait, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley; the show stars we’re, let’s just say, “adopted” country. Take a look at Ken Barnes USA Today LIFE cover story today, of the nine photos selected, two were American Idol alums (Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler), one from Dancing with the Stars (Julianne Hough), two A-list actresses (Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman) and even Hannah Montana (i.e., Miley Cyrus). I’ll grant you that Miley’s dad is Billy Ray and Nicole’s hubby is Keith Urban. It is just another indication of how Hollywood and music (and sports typically) have collided into one world.

Carrie Underwood wins female vocalist of the year.

And while we are talking country, singer-songwriter Jewel along with Mary Kay cosmetics and the Country Music Association, unveiled the second annual “A Kiss for Country” promotion on Tuesday morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. The charitable campaign helps raise money for the prevention and awareness of domestic violence around the country. More than 60 artists, including Jewel, Reba McEntire, George Strait and LeAnn Rimes, kissed, signed and wrote inspirational messages on special Mary Kay prints that are now available for auction.

Also, Barbara Walters named today six of her top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for her TV special and two of them were Olympics 14-time gold medalist Michael Phelps and Sarah Palin-twin Tina Fey. The last four months have been very good for both of these stars.

From the early days of his campaign, President-elect Barack Obama has won the support of Hollywood.  While it is typical for celebrities to support their candidate of choice through financial means, Obama’s celebrity supporters have gone above and beyond the standard monetary donations.  Much can be learned from Obama’s extremely successful Presidential campaign.  He was able to use the strengths of each key influencer to reach a broad spectrum of the voting public.

For instance, the pro-Obama music video “Yes We Can” featured the talents of will.i.am (of the Black Eyed Peas), John Legend, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Cannon, Kate Walsh and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar among others. The video’s skillful production and songwriting as well as the broad appeal of the celebrities quickly caused the video to become a YouTube sensation. Through the video’s viral campaign, Obama was able to reach the “youth” voters that proved to be crucial for his campaign.  

Oprah Winfrey, on the other hand, was able to target large audiences who regularly look to her for advice. Thus, by endorsing Obama through various media platforms that she controls (TV, radio, magazine, etc.), she was able to reach her trusting fans with Obama’s message.

And many more celebrities have helped the Obama campaign in a low-key fashion. Ed Norton placed phone calls to California voters on behalf of Obama. Scarlett Johansson knocked on voters’ doors in Minnesota. Ashley Judd spoke to a group of University of North Carolina students about early voting. And the list goes on. Each celebrity volunteered their time and unique talents to help Obama en route to the White House.

Much like Obama’s Presidential campaign, it is essential for a brand to recognize an influencer’s unique strengths. Successful campaigns will use tactics to capitalize on these strengths and effectively reach their target audience.

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.

With a hit TV show, humorous advertisement and arguably the funniest impression of a political figure to date, Tina Fey is one busy woman.

The actress/writer/producer recently won three Emmy Awards last month (Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series) for her work on the popular comedy 30 Rock. She can also be seen in AmEx’s comical new commercial, featuring a rambling Martin Scorsese pitching her a timeshare in an airport lounge.

Yet, she has gained the most attention for her flawless impression of the Vice Presidential candidate, Governor Sarah Palin.  Her entertaining impression of Palin has been credited for the 23 percent boost in Saturday Night Live’s ratings. The popular sketch has gone viral since the show aired, with over half of the viewers watching on the internet.

All of this media attention has turned Fey into a literary goldmine. Last week, the New York Post reported that publishers were in a bidding war for the rights to Fey’s book of humorous essays, with Little, Brown & Co. winning the business.  They were able to capitalize on Fey’s recent popularity in hopes that it will guarantee big sales of her book. With another month until the election and the third season of 30 Rock also just around the corner, Fey’s popularity isn’t likely to dwindle in the near future.

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.

First Call understands the value of a celebrity. As celebrity consultants, we work to integrate celebrities into campaigns with various objectives. An increase in the publicity surrounding a campaign is one of the many benefits of incorporating a celebrity into the mix.

The current issue of PR Week features an article with First Call’s David Schwab. In “Putting the campaign’s best face forward”  Schwab shares practical advice on how to best use a celebrity in a PR campaign. An interview in which Schwab gives three pieces of advice to keep in mind when choosing a celebrity for a cause-related campaign can also be viewed on PR Week’s homepage.

Below is the second half of this month’s Talent Email. Be sure to also check out our feature in PR Week.

Dancing in September
Reality television’s reigning dance queen and rising country singer Julianne Hough is partnering with Wrigley, one of the world’s leading makers of chewing gum. Hough joins R&B music sensations Chris Brown and Ne-Yo to deliver their fresh new takes on Wrigley’s Doublemint, Juicy Fruit and Big Red commercial jingles. Hough’s DWTS partner, comedic radio personality Adam Corolla, is trading in his dancing shoes for tacos and burritos. Corolla is teaming up with Taco Bell to promote their all-new Big Bell Box Meal, which is said to satisfy all hunger needs at a low price. Taco Bell is also continuing its music promotion program called “Feed the Beat,” where the chain rewards successful indie rock bands such as Myriad with meals after their late night concerts.  All My Children actress and upcoming DWTS competitor Susan Lucci is starring in an infomercial for Malibu Pilates, a Pilates machine made by Gunthy Renker.  

Blue Jean Baby
William Rast, a denim brand created by Justin Timberlake and business partner Trace Ayala, is using scripted trailers as a unique way to promote the brand, starring none other than Timberlake himself.  The video can be found on http://www.williamrast.com/williamrast/index.html.  Olympic gold medal winner Nastia Liukin is starring in a series of print ads for Vanilla Star’s “Smart Girls Rock” campaign.  The ads for the jean brand will appear in national magazines, buses, kiosks and billboards in NYC and Los Angeles.  Levi’s has enlisted a list of celebs to promote their “Unbuttoned” campaign, including next-generation artists Estelle, Nikka Costa  and Wale.  Each artist has their own subsite, where users can download free content.  BMX rider Jamie Bestwick and celebrity blogger Perez Hilton are also participating in the promotion.  Levi’s will continue to unbutton new artists over the next year.  

Model Behavior
Clothier Hurley International has chosen model Bar Refaeli to star in an advertising campaign for their Young Contemporary collection.  She will be modeling next spring’s lineup of sporting bikinis, sheer T’s and denim shorts.  Yaya DaCosta, runner-up in Season 3 of America’s Next Top Model, is featured in a television commercial table dancing her way into a pair of high heels lined with Dr. Scholl’s massaging gel insoles.  No stranger to the beauty industry, model Gisele Bundchen will be the next spokesperson for Max Factor cosmetics, just in time to celebrate its 100th birthday.  Former model turned actress Brooke Shields has teamed up with VW in advertisements for the upcoming Routan minivan, the “only minivan in America with German engineering.”

If you would like to be added to our Talent Email distribution list please email caitlin.krembs@octagon.com.

Had another crazy weekend, this time in NYC.  Two non-profits, two days, two events, and a lot of celebs.

Saturday was a Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) fundraiser, hosted by the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island, at the Meadowbrook Polo Club. The honorary guest was ESPN commentator Trey Wingo, who led a Pretty Woman-worthy divot stomp during the break of the polo match (which supposedly counted John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted, among its competitors).  With almost 200 guests on their feet, Trey made sure to warn them “to not stomp on the steaming divots.”  After a few pictures with Ronald, RMHC Board Members and other McDonald’s executives, Trey was on his way.   He did a great job to increase the profile of the event, and kept the male guests pretty happy with frequent college football score updates.

One missed train and a few hours later, I’m riding through Central Park on a golf cart for the final walk-through for the Susan G. Komen New York City Race for the Cure.  With dozens of volunteers and almost 25,000 participants, the walk-through was crucial to ensuring that we could manage the event effectively the next morning.  I was most impressed by the on-site event management team (props to NYC-based LeadDog Marketing Group), who could only start setting up for the event after 9pm because of New York City Department of Parks & Recreation rules. 

Stephen Colbert tries to surprise Cynthia Nixon at the Start Line

I arrived at the Starting Line at 6:30am to find the Park abuzz with the CBS 2 news crew, volunteers and policemen standing ready.  We were expecting a slew of celebrities, including Cynthia Nixon (Official Grand Marshall of the Race), Deanna Favre, Emmy Rossum, Judy Sheindlin (a.k.a. Judge Judy), Petra Nemcova, Stephen Colbert and Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart.  I was Cynthia Nixon’s handler for the event and throughout the morning, she participated in the Survivor Ceremony, the Race, the Awards Ceremony and the Survivor Photo.  Each of these were located in different parts of the Park, and getting through thousands of people on six-seater golf carts (with people screaming “Miranda”) or running after it (I really should use my gym membership) was not an easy task.  Regardless of the Sex and the City references, Cynthia did a wonderful job connecting to the audience.  She spoke to survivors, sufferers, care givers, mothers, daughters, partners, fans and New Yorkers, inspiring them to care, be aware and have fun.  Some of my other favorite pics, including the Survivor Photo on the steps of the Bethesda Fountain, are below.

Cynthia poses among hundreds of survivors at the Bethesda Fountain

Deanna Favre gets ready to run the Race

Emmy Rossum and Cynthia Nixon stop for a quick pose

Celebrities were asked to be part of the events this weekend because they could help bring increased awareness, prestige and media coverage, which is needed to compete with everything else that NYC has to offer.  If done right, these three things can happen, but it is imperative that brands and event organizers recognize the amount of work involved and go the extra mile to carve out special roles for the celebrities in attendance. 

I also learned a few things this weekend, of which I will share.  Print out extra copies of contact lists, itineraries, scripts, etc.  Always have a mini-medicine cabinet and various office supplies with you.  The Long Island Railroad only runs once an hour on the weekends.  If you hire car service, have the driver’s cell phone number on speed dial.  Anticipate everyone being at least 15 minutes late, and plan ahead accordingly.  And last but not least, make friends with whoever has the microphone.

As promised, here are the results and analysis of our Celebrity Cause-Related Survey. 

Portions of the First Call survey were also featured in Brandweek Magazine: Brangelina Top Cause Marketing Stars.

In our analysis, you’ll find our comments about each question posed. And here are two of the new trends to consider;

1. Personal Connections Matter: When deciding to donate time, money or resources to a cause, 68.8% of respondents said that a celebrity’s personal connection to the cause is more important than the celebrity being a personal favorite. Moreover, the public is more likely to donate to the cause when they themselves have a personal connection.

2. Green Yourself: When asked what cause will get the most amount of media attention in 2009, Green was the overwhelmingly response (74.8%). It’s worth noting.