Every day this week, I walked one block south of our offices to the tents at Bryant Park. Out on the street in front of the Fashion Week tents, lights were flashing and people were gawking. But while some were there for the fashion, I was there to people watch. As a marketer, I’m always inspired by the creative street theater and guerrilla marketing events saturating the Bryant Park sidewalk during Fashion Week. People watching allows me to see trends and make observations first hand. Reading a media report is a far cry from the palpable excitement on the street.

This morning, for instance, I encountered a few cross dressers promoting the Janice Dickinson show swarmed by photographers and a crowd of people. It’s a great example of a low cost, high impact way to capture influencers.

While I won’t reveal here the many successful stunts 5WPR executed for Fashion Week, I can say that street theater and guerrilla marketing are amazing ways for brands to capture mind share and media share at huge events, without incurring huge costs.

If you’re open to big ideas and have a entrepreneurial mindset, you can always find a way to incorporate your brand into the mecca of huge events, without having to pay the multimillion dollar price tag. Whether Fashion Week, The Superbowl or Sundance, 5W PR always finds creative ideas and angles to enter the media landscape, permeate the discussion and penetrate the tastemakers who attend. Brands need to seek creative, winning concepts… and winning sometimes means being outside rather than inside the box. Those who take the biggest risks with their brand often reap the biggest rewards. And by far the most attention.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Yesterday’s arrest of Kanye West at LAX was surprising to me primarily because it doesn’t happen more often.  West was arrested for suspicion of vandalism after confronting paparazzi media and allegedly smashing their  cameras.  The struggle between celebrities and the paparazzi is an issue that high profile people must deal with on a day-to-day basis, and it is extremely trying on both physical and emotional levels. It is incredible that today, even after the death of Princess Di, celebrities still have very little protective barriers between them and an intrusive swarm of prying media. Yes, people in the public-eye lose their right to complete privacy when they perform, appear in movies, or get rich by possessing rare athletic ability, but does that mean that there should be no boundaries whatsoever?  Should their children be endlessly subjected to flashing lights? Should they not be allowed to lead somewhat normal lives?

5W has worked with countless celebrities.  I vividly remember walking out of court with Lil’ Kim after she was sentenced in her perjury trial a few years ago. We were managing her crisis communications, and as we walked out the front door, we (Lil’ Kim, one security escort, two attorneys, two of her family friends and I) encountered at least 100 members of the media all jockeying for a shot or a comment.  It was a wall of reporters and photographers, flashbulbs blinking in her face. To say it was a mob scene is an understatement.  After the paparazzi got their pictures, they still wouldn’t move.  There was no choice but to push forward for the two blocks we were required to walk.  It was a very dangerous situation, and in LA, this happens every single day.

Managing the media for corporate clients is far different than managing celebrity-driven paparazzi media.  Every type of public relations, whether crisis-based or paparazzi, consumer or technology, requires different skills and a completely different set of “rules.” I don’t believe for a second that today’s incident between Kanye West and a swarm of paparazzi is an isolated occurrence, nor will it be the last time we read about a celebrity fighting for his privacy with paparazzi.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Reporters surrounded Lil Kim

At the epicenter of today’s branded consumer entertainment culture are consumer/corporate brands hiring (partnering with?) celebrities to represent their products. Whenever a brand hires a celebrity, instant brand associations abound, with tremendous potential upsides and downsides. In my career, I have encountered extremes in this endeavor among CEOs and CMOs of clients. I can remember a major consumer CEO saying, “We will never ever hire a celebrity. Ever. I have worked too hard to allow some DWI-prone star or idiot drug-addict celebrity to affect my business,” and regardless of countless opportunities that CEO had, he always said no. He was too concerned about the potential risks. On the flipside, we at 5W have worked with many brands that did hire celebrities for brand campaigns — large and small — and some of those have been extremely successful.

I write this in reference to David Duchovny being instantly fired as the face and celebrity endorser of shoe company Johnston & Murphy due to his “sex addiction.” Duchovny, who plays a sex-obsessed character on TV apparently has the same issues in his personal life. Interestingly, just last month the brand issued a statement saying: “David embodies success and confidence, along with a great sense of style, communicating the ideal image for the Johnston & Murphy brand.”

Anytime I read about issues like this, I wonder if these brands really did the proper vetting vis a vis celebrities. Did they do more than speak to the agent/manager of this celeb? Did they have essential relationships that enabled them to talk to nightclub owners, or find his wife’s best friend? Hire private detectives? Really ask around in the circle of people who knew the truth? These sorts of things (and others) are all necessities for any brand truly willing to “win” at celebrity endorsements/PR.

Steve Stoute, a master at marrying brands to celebs, is rightly quoted in this week’s Adweek discussing how celebrity sponsorship has forever changed. The most successful relationships, he says, come from brands and artists viewing themselves as true business partners.  Proper vetting and planning is required for celebrity endorsers. It’s much more than just taking someone’s picture holding your shoe in the year 2008 and beyond.

Ronn Torossian
5W PR

Admittedly, I haven’t watched much of the Olympics, but I have read a number of articles that I found interesting regarding unofficial sponsors of the Olympics. Athletes and sponsorships are big business, and it is often entrepreneurial brands that (attempt to) find less expensive ways to capture the public’s attention at high-profile events.

These two were some of the more unique instances:

* In an official team photo of the U.S. men’s basketball team, member Dwight Howard’s footwear was obscured, as he won’t wear Nikes. I think the picture that Nike released allowed Howard’s foot to be invisible in what was probably the easiest way possible.

* Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser of sunglass company Oakley attracted a ton of attention.

At the end of the day, sponsors pay athletes a lot of money and have to insist on pushing their athletes to do all they can do to protect the brands’ investments.

Ronn Torossian
5WPR

I am an immense fan of Mark Cuban for many, many reasons. Having interacted with him on a few occasions (admittedly on the basketball court), I find him to be brutally honest and the quintessential entrepreneur - smart, focused, fun, accessible and real.  For that reason, I often read his blog.  Recently, I found his brother’s blog post about Evander Holyfield’s bankruptcy to be especially interesting.

Over the years, we’ve worked with many high profile athletes and entrepreneurs, from Sean Combs to Pamela Anderson to Roy Jones.  In the process, I’ve learned the truth behind many misconceptions of celebrity wealth, so I don’t find Holyfield, Tyson or other bankruptcy examples surprising. I’ve met many celebrities who aren’t wealthy in the least, for many reasons:

* Stars usually have very short career spans, without proper financial planning for when they are no longer relevant and large checks no longer appear. 

* Becoming a celebrity creates basic lifestyle changes.  A sex symbol from a single movie may suddenly need constant security (which they pay for themselves), or a black car to chauffer them, since public transportation poses a threat or a nuisance.  As a star of a humongous HBO movie recently told me – “many changes.”     

* Celebs often lack the desire to really work. They pay a ton of lip service, but often refuse to show up on time, take advantage of interviews, and focus on important decisions that need to be made about their businesses, careers, etc.  

* Everyone wants to make a dime off them.  I can’t tell you how many cold calls my entertainment staff and I receive from pariahs who seek or want something from these folks.  The dozens of money managers who cold call me wanting to manage celebrity finances, or sell them something, is unreal.  I have on occasion asked them, “Why not chase my countless entrepreneurial CEO’s who have less people around them, are easier to sell and more likely to hire you?” 

Articles like this are one of the reasons why 5W has built a tremendously successful business of athlete-entrepreneurs who are smart, focused and realize that there is a life after professional sports.

There is a tremendous need for better managers and better advisors who will be straight with these folks.  Additionally, these stars need to realize that on-air, on-court antics are one thing, but the same behavior won’t fly when it comes to doing business with corporate America.  Many stars who are infamously difficult are in fact a charm when it comes to marketing or sponsorship deals.  At the same time, those regarded as charming are, in fact, sometimes dishonest. This is another reason why stars need calculating managers to help them make decisions and need brands off the court or off the screen.

We have worked very hard to build a niche in the arena of being “cool enough to work with the stars/athletes, but buttoned up enough to work alongside decision makers in corporate America.”  It’s a fine balancing act.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

I just returned to my office from my first day at the National Licensing Show, a 5W client.  As their Agency of Record, my firm has been all hands on deck ensuring the show is a complete success.  It was another very proud moment for me as a business owner and an entrepreneur.  One of my staffers, employed at 5W for nearly four years, said to me at the show, “Wow! How did we grow to get an account like this?”  It was a chance to stop and reflect.  This is a phenomenal show and a great client that is very exciting to work on.  What a moment it was for me and my staff.  Together, we have spent months preparing for the influx of press covering the Expo.

The show kicked off with a Nickelodeon press conference featuring M Night Shyamalan, who spoke on his next projects and how he selects which ventures to undertake.  His anecdotes included some humorous dinner discussions with his children.  Shymalan was followed by senior Viacom executives, who were treated as quasi-rock stars by their licensees.  It was fascinating to listen to the discussions on the evolution of licensee products and the like.

Walking the floor of the show, you see everything from Dora the Explorer to Elvis Presley to Manchester United programs to household cleaning products.  The impact of licensed products on every aspect of our life and behavior is simply unbelievable.  Brands impact our ability to trust, our ability to think, and our ability to behave.  They have simply penetrated all aspects of culture.  It is fascinating to observe brands that never really made it, which I vaguely remember, alongside items like Dora the Explorer and the Ghostbusters, which I so vividly remember from childhood.  The Ghostbusters Mobile at the entrance was incredibly cool. 

A few other comments:

After seeing Batman at the Warner Brothers booth, I had a discussion about one of my most vivid childhood memories.  I grew up a huge fan of Batman and Robin.  I really loved the POW!, KABOOM! and other noise bubbles that came from the characters’ mouths when they punched or were punched.  One afternoon in 1981, I was home watching Batman and the show was interrupted by the shooting of Ronald Reagan.  I complained endlessly to my mother, asking why Batman was interrupted and when it would come back on the air.  While my mother valiantly tried to explain to me the historical importance of the shooting, all I wanted was Batman.
 
The Jacob Javits Center is a small country of its own.  I admittedly don’t go more than once or twice a year, but the immense size of the center makes you feel like you are in Las Vegas.  From the concession stands to the sheer size and organization, it’s a place I plan to visit much more in the year to come in order to visit executives and farm for new business.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Sunday’s NY Times piece about Sharon Stone’s recent comments on the earthquake that hit China made me remember a very high-powered, ultra-nervous CEO we worked with who vowed to never, ever under any circumstances use celebrities for fear of what their (mis)actions might do to his brand.

Sharon Stone, best known for her role in Basic Instinct (certainly sexy and risqué), has made some very controversial comments.  She reinforces the need for brands to be strategic and targeted when working with celebrities, as well as cognizant of the risks.

All too often, our firm will receive a call from a celebrity agent on behalf of an A-list celebrity who wants an endorsement deal from a client we represent because “he or she is looking to get into the space.” However, if we inquire about price, it’s the same as the usual going rate.  I always caution clients: don’t get excited when you get a similar call.  More often than not, it’s an agent making a cold call trying to get a check.

There’s plenty of upside in choosing the right celebrity endorser for consumer brands, but the decision needs to be strategic and focused –  not just after a star on Hollywood Boulevard.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

I woke up this morning curious if a marketing scheme was behind Disney’s latest “quintuple threat” Miley Cyrus’ PR “crisis.” Was it a scheme to expand the star’s audience and wallet just before she turns 16? A trick to make her just old enough to be marketed to adults? Maybe, just maybe the recent photo shoot for Vanity Fair magazine was a “coming of age” ritual designed by her and her team and not a mistake?

Generally, brand positioning for a mega brand like this is a machine of people (publicists, managers and marketing executives) planning every single move with the motivation dollars in mind. Like it or not, let’s face it, kids and tweens are more mature now than ever. They are exposed to body image, sexuality and violence every day, so a hot shot of their idol in a prestigious, classy publication such as Vanity Fair could be viewed by some as cool and independent.

Many will in fact be turned off, but the banning of Hannah Montana in households isn’t a reality, regardless of her changing image. Just last week I spoke with a friend/client who owns a very hip and trendy business, and he told me how upset he is that his 11-year-old imitates Cyrus by having a boyfriend. But she watches… and while Dad was insistent in trying to convince his daughter that he should be her only “boyfriend”… suffice it to say, he didn’t win that argument.

Could it be that Miley’s marketing machine just canonized her as a “big kid,”?

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

Consumer brands, branded entertainment and technology are merging like never before. The days of getting something for nothing are over. Brands (including musicians) are demanding greater control over their destinies, and they are harnessing the power of technology to achieve it.

In the latest branding development, musicians have begun customizing social networking sites dedicated to their brand. Why? For a larger influence, a tailored message and a way to control the information their fans give them. And the added advertising revenue doesn’t hurt.

More and more acts, from Kylie Minogue to Ludacris to the Pussycat Dolls, are launching their own social networks, which are becoming a sort of next-generation version of artist Web sites.

“(Artists) think about MySpace and Facebook as funnels for their own social networks,” says Gina Bianchini, CEO of Ning, a company that provides social networking tools for Thisis50, Sara Bareilles and others. “They take and use services where they don’t know the users, don’t have access and don’t have full control, and funnel those fans to something they do control.”

- Billboard: Musicians Take Social Networking into Their Own Hands http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080329/en_nm/social_dc

The above article is a necessary read and one of many continued brand invigorations in today’s changing environment.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

I read this feature article in The Wall Street Journal last week (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119317864699068959-email.html) regarding Nike cultivating its relationship with lesser known influencers like tattoo artist Mister Cartoon and Brazilian graffiti artists Os Gemeos. As usual, brilliant…

For a brand that utilizes celebrity endorsers better than almost any other leveraging such talents as Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tiger Woods to devote an entire article to a brand’s association with lesser known influencers might seem strange. However, Nike wins and continues to win because of their ability to reach the mass market but also stay a step ahead of their competition by minding the niches and keeping the brand ahead of the curve.

The Nike brand ties into two previous blogs that I posted several months back—The first one is regarding the “faceless influencers”, individuals who might not be known to mainstream American society but help drive today (and tomorrow’s) pop culture trends (http://ronntorossian.blogspot.com/2007/03/faceless-influencers.html). Nike understands not only the value of celebrity association but reaching those individuals who celebrities watch. Nike has constantly managed to turn a mass market brand into something trendy and hip that individuals “in the know” want to be a part of. Their limited edition runs and collector’s editions allow the influencers to buy into the brand but do it with their own sense of style. I remember a few years back before Nike had broadly introduced their ID line to the mass marketplace. Around the city of New York, the brand reached key influencers: everyone from fashion editors at major lifestyle publications to fashionistas and hipsters. Giving them special invite only passes to have their custom sneakers designed gave Nike a relevancy to these faceless influencers that the brand otherwise would struggle to find.

The second post which I found relevant to this article http://ronntorossian.blogspot.com/2007/07/know-thy-market.html was a piece I had written regarding reaching and understanding the value of niche marketing. For a brand like Nike, tattoo artists and graffiti artists would appear to have little to no value to a brand’s bottom line. But Nike sees the broader appeal to these markets and how reaching today’s niche could turn out to be the next mass market hit. Take the skateboarding culture—twenty years ago this was a segment that was seen as slackers and certainly not a desirable demographic for marketers. While they weren’t the first to see the tide turning, ESPN and Activision saw the sport growing from niche to having serious mass market implications and have been amongst the best at monetizing what was once a niche market. ESPN created the X-Games as a way of giving major brands a central engine to reach this demographic and many brands are opting to throw sponsorship dollars behind reaching the “extreme” audience via the X-Games as opposed to the Olympics (and note how many of the “extreme” sports are quickly becoming events in the Olympics). Activision on the other hand saw skating personalities becoming mainstream sports figures and created the Tony Hawk video game franchise, one of the most successful video game series’ of the past decade. Mixed Martial Arts fighting (MMA) is becoming today’s skateboarding and thus another sporting niche is permeating the mass market.

Nike’s ability to constant assess and reassess not only where the brand stands today but where it can continue to grow is why it continues to win. While tastes change, brands that constantly reassess their value and relevancy to all consumer audiences is how today’s most successful brands remain tomorrow’s. The fact that Nike puts “influencer relations” as such a key brand initiative shows me their genius and why I have always admired standing as a mass market brand that speaks to consumers of such diverse tastes and styles.

Ronn Torossian

5W PR