Most may view Nicki Minaj as just another rapper/singer/performer; but the multi-faceted entertainer is much more than that, she’s a bankable brand that’s only just begun to blossom. In a few short years, Nicki has influenced trends through her music and unmistakable fashion sense, and her involvement in cosmetics, television, hair and even the floral industry (Nicki has exclusive pink collection bouquets available on flowers.com for Valentine’s Day) has helped spike sales and visibility for a number of ancillary brands. Whether her detractors like it or not, Ms. Minaj is a one-woman marketing guru. BlackEnterprise.com takes a look at some of the brands the young starlet has—directly or indirectly—helped bolster by association.
With the imminent launch of Belvedere’s Pink Grapefruit flavor, the vodka purveyor is set to open a 6,000-square-foot pop-up shop across the street from Matthew Williamson’s Meatpacking District boutique. The temporary space is slated to house a series of promotional events for the launch, including a partnership with Williamson on a $1,540 limited-edition kaftan, which will be unveiled when the store opens on on May 12th. The designer claims that the piece was inspired “by the vitality of sultry high-summer evenings,” a description that could also apply to any number of the his Ibiza-themed wares from past seasons. Given the proliferation of branded partnerships these days—of which Williamson and Belvedere’s is but one of many—”fashion” has now become fit for consumption off the rack, on the screen and in the bottle.
Like Belvedere, SKYY vodka has gotten in on the game in a high profile way, enlisting Sex and The City 2 costume designer Pat Field to create a movie-themed bottle. Whereas Williamson has paired with model/DJ Leigh Lezark to promote the current collaboration (Belvedere did likewise with designer Jonathan Kelsey and Estelle last year), SKYY has four ready-made muses. Anyone familiar with SJP’s cosmo-swilling penchants might consider this a savvy bit of marketing, especially given the fact that consumers who purchase the limited edition bottle will also receive a discount on tickets to the movie sequel. From a fiscal standpoint too, investing in a bottle of booze is infinitely less expensive than dropping serious money on a pair of Louboutins, which, even as the economy improves, still isn’t the purview of most moviegoers.
While film’s influence on fashion has arguably waned, the medium still holds tremendous appeal when it comes to product placement and promotional tie-ins. 2002’s Die Another Day—also dubbed Buy Another Day—is widely regarded as having kickstarted the film-as-infomercial trend with cameos from Bollinger, Omega, Samsonite and BMW. For its part, SATC 2 promises brand star-turns from Lipton Tea, Moët & Chandon, Swarovski and Hewlett-Packard, among others. Anyone surprised by Carrie’s decision to ditch Apple for a PC this go-round will be less taken aback by the Halston dress she dons in the film’s posters. Parker is, after all, Halston Heritage’s new designer, and an equity stake holder in the company.
Disney, meanwhile, invested big money earlier this year in partnerships with labels such as Stella McCartney, Furla, Tom Binns and Sue Wong to promote Alice in Wonderland. The goods understandably received a great deal of editorial attention, so, provided grown-ups still want a pricey piece of the fairy tale, we can expect similar branding trends to continue. On the flipside, Avatar reportedly inspired Jean Paul Gaultier and Donatella Versace for fall—albeit more subtly than Marc Jacobs’ Marie Antoinette-edged runway flourishes in 2007.
The same cannot be said for television and video, where many believe fashion’s influence will ultimately be most readily felt, primarily via in-your-face product placement (see Gossip Girl, 30 Rock and most notably, Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” video). Heavily branded, female-centric films like SATC 2 may prove this theory wrong, but many consumers are also now infinitely more discerning when it comes to pulling out their credit cards—something we know Carrie never worried about on HBO.
This is my last Remix TUESDAY in December of 2009. On Tuesday, November 10 The MEGA World of Lil Mogul discussed Brands more than ever need Face-to-Face connection with customers.
We live in the most hyper-connected time in the country's history; and yet we exist in a constant state of disconnection. While Apple, BlackBerry, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Match.com, Fresh Direct, and Amazon are well-designed, convenient and address specific needs and for the most part work well; they are also responsible for the undeniable in-personal interactions we used to take for granted during the course of a regular day.
I live in Harlem and I'm always amused by watching teens walking down the street with their friends while texting and talking on their cell phones rather than with each other! How is this younger demographic, armed to the teeth with all the technologically advanced connectivity tools, going to cope and interact as responsible adults? Poorly, I contend. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace? -- "Social" networks that do not require you to engage in any kind of human socialization. Apple? -- Creators of the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and iTouch. I do not think it too crazy to say that we are in the midst of a dreadful away of human interaction that could seriously impact people's ability to truly "connect" with one another.
We've already seen the emergence of dieting coaches, dating coaches, life coaches. Now, people will pay many thousands of dollars to attend "Unplugged Retreats." Eventually, the pendulum will swing the other way, back toward more personal/human connections. And the brands that get that will be winners. I believe the brands that do not emphasize ultra-modern design, trendy badge value or blow-your-mind technological innovation as their core vision -- but rather emphasize the value of person-to-person, real live human interaction -- are the ones that will ascend and maintain leadership positions in the long run.
This trend may already be happening. One company that is already starting to apply that thinking is Macy’s. Macy's "Come Together" cause-marketing campaign scores points for teaming up with Feed America to provide 10 million meals for local food banks. With the tagline "The Great American Dinner Party," the retailer is encouraging people across the country to participate by having some friends over for a dinner party/fundraiser -- and just simply enjoy each other's company.
Macy's will match the contributions raised by each party. Television commercials for the campaign feature celebs such as Martha Stewart, Usher, Jessica Simpson, Tommy Hilfiger, Donald Trump, and Queen Latifah enjoying their own dinner party after hours inside Macy's Herald Square.
Old School? Yes!!! But in this day and age, also kind of revolutionary.
After months in development, the new product is ready for worldwide launch. The product manager or (imagine, company owner or president) tells the creative team to use a picture of a globe. "But our brand is about what we do for people. Our brand guidelines specify images of humanity," the designer pleads. "I don't care. Use the globe," the product manager demands.
Unfortunately, there's always the need to balance business objectives with branding goals. "It's not that product managers ignore branding. They don't understand how to leverage it." There are good reasons why some product managers and company owners misunderstand branding and its value. Managers are trained to show quick results, manage expenses, think in the short term and owners too. The career timetable of many in middle management can be the opposite of the time required to build a corporate brand. The full equity of a brand takes years to realize; a middle manager and owners measures success in quarters.
Rather than be an obstacle to quarterly success, a carefully managed brand can be a long-term solution to short-term challenges. According to the VP of the database company, her solution is brand education. "Once they get it, they develop stronger value propositions and products because they are leveraging the full power of what the brand has built." A better understanding of how the brand translates to business can make a difference in behavior.
Brand training that goes beyond communications is key to helping middle managers and owners understanding the economic value of supporting their brand. A strong commitment to branding on the part of the company can often eliminate individual agendas. Believing in the brand, following the guidelines and understanding the brand's role as a tool to achieve business objectives can help break through the bottleneck.
Here's a few tips to make your brand work to get your products to market faster, on budget, and beat the competition.
See branding as an investment and marketing as an expense. Every dollar that's ever been spent on the brand adds leverageble equity to help launch new products, or associate brands with the parent company.
Follow brand standards to speed up success. Guidelines help keep the creative process on track, which eliminates wasted time pursuing ideas that aren't "on brand."
Build the brand, don't erode it. Launching a new brand without following corporate branding may solve immediate issues, but over time -even a short time- it can erode positive associations or create negative ones. Get the job done AND build the brand.
Celebrate the organization, not the individual. Like the bricklayer who can point to a completed skyscraper and tell his child he built the building, you are contributing to the overall success of the company when you stay on brand.
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