Will the Paris Hilton brand survive?

"I'm a brand," declared Paris Hilton recently. "Barbie's a brand and I knew I could be like that too – an American princess."
Paris Hilton became famous by partying in the right clubs and being photographed with the right people. Page Six of the New York Post made her the darling of the fast crowd, which resulted in a cameo in the forgettable flick Wonderland. She became the most photographed celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic by being young, blond, rich and flaunting a hedonist lifestyle that has not been seen since Nero burned down Rome.
She quickly cashed in on her name-fame by starring in FOX’s reality show “The Simple Life”. She continued her cinematic career with National Lampoon’s “Pledge This” and with her recent appearance in “House of Wax”. She also launched a pop album “Paris Is Burning”.
In 2004 Hilton released an autobiography called “Confessions of an Heiress” in which she offers advise to would-be socialites. She also launched her own range of jewelry, her own fashion label Heiress Clothing, a fragrance, and a line of handbags.
All these activities are consistent with her Paris Hilton image. She brands herself by constantly being photographed in a certain pose, schlepping around a pint-size designer clothed dog called Tinkerbell, wearing Barbie-like designer clothes and by trademarking her signature catchphrase "that's hot!" and her logo (a tiara emblazoned with the letter "P").
Her next activities are riskier – the opening of the first of a chain of nightclubs called "Club Paris" in Orlando, FL. Las Vegas, New York, Miami, London and Paris are planned to follow.
The nightclub business is tough – several chains that were opened, operated and endorsed by celebrities have crashed or are struggling (Planet Hollywood, Fashion Café).
She is also planning to follow in Conrad’s footsteps and expand into the hotel business.
Since the Hilton hotel brandname represent a specific image, this might not only be doomed to fail but could also harm the existing Hilton hotel brand.
Another factor that might work against her is her upcoming marriage to Greek tycoon heir Paris Latsis, especially if it will be followed by a pregnancy.
The Paris Hilton brand stands for mindless fun and decadence – just see how pop princess Britney Spears completely disappeared from the radar once she became married and pregnant.
Up till now, it is not clear if Paris Hilton is an airhead who just had some major windfalls or if she is a clever marketer herself (or clever enough to hire one).
One way or the other, Paris should be careful how she will use her brand and in what areas she wants to branch out.
The taste of her target audience is fickle. If she doesn't constantly and consistently reinforces her existing brand, she will loose her audience and market.
As they say in broadcasting – stay tuned.

The Ebbinghaus Effect

Ever heard of the Ebbinghaus Effect? Quite likely not. However, Ebbinghaus Curve of Forgetting is an essential tool whenever you are developing integrated marketing strategies or want to create messages with impact.
In order to know how effective your strategy or message will be, you need to understand the implications of the Ebbinghaus Curve of Forgetting.
This 120-year-old law deals with the basic challenge that all marketers face: how can I guarantee that my publications, e-mails, direct mail, and website havethe impact they deserve? The answer is simple: your audience forgets most of what you tell them, sometimes in as little as an hour.
Once you grasp this, you understand why strategic repetition is the key to success.
Integrated marketing communications must constantly reinforce your messages in various media.
Hermann Ebbinghaus received his doctor of philosophy degree in Germany in 1873 at the age of 23. While teaching at the University of Berlin, he pioneered research about human memory. In 1885, he published "Ebbinghaus' Curve of Forgetting" showing that a given piece of learning is forgotten by more than half its audience in one hour. The share of the audience that retains the message is reduced to 33.7 percent after one day, to 27.8 percent after two days, and to 21.1 percent after 31 days. http://www.cpcc.cc.nc.us/academic_learning/images/sskills/Ebbinghaus.doc
Percentages apart, this fundamental research is the basis for two concepts that make marketing communications more focused, efficient and effective.
The first concept is reach and frequency.
In order to create awareness of a brand, you need a combination of reach (who is our target audience) and frequency (how often does your target audience need to be exposed to the same message).
The higher the frequency, the higher the chance that your target audience remembers.
Advertising in the traditional media (radio, television, newspapers, magazines) uses this concept non-stop. To avoid boredom (resulting in tuning out) of the target audience by repeating the exact same message over and over again, marketers opt for a strategic mix of media, all delivering the same message at the same time. A good example is the launch of the Harry Potter movies. http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/main/homepage/home.html
The movies are supported by a clever mix of books, music, games and all kinds of merchandize, reaching the target audience no matter where.
There are two major restraining factors though: time and budget.
It takes a few weeks (for a known product) or months (for a new product) to stay on the radar of the target audience. Supporting a strategic mix of media requires a substantial budget with no ironclad guarantee of success.

The second concept is integrated messaging.
Once you opt for mix of media (and not for one medium such as magazines), you must make sure that all publications have the same look and feel and send the same message to the target audience. If the publications are perceived as different, the memory stores it as new messages of different products or brands each time. As a result, the marketer starts from scratch which each medium. The most effective campaigns have been the one that “tell a story”, in other words, each publication builds on the recollection of the previous one with some added flavor. The (seasonal) campaigns of Coca-Cola and Budweiser are good examples.

In a world thrive with competition, how can you ensure that your message stand out from the competitors in your audience’s mind?
You have to make sure that your integrated message is remembered as fresh or unique – sometimes even provocative or shocking. Strong stimuli are best remembered.
A company that excelled in that was Benetton, the inventor of “shockvertising”.
Between 1992 and 2000, Benetton shocked the world with billboard showing a dying Aids patient, a newborn baby, a bullet-riddled military uniform, a nun kissing a priest, convicts on death row. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/02/99/e-cyclopedia/611979.stm
A recent example is the advertisement of the burger chain Carl’s Jr. To reach its 25-36 year-old male target group, the company launched a provocative ad featuring a scantily dressed Paris Hilton rubbing against a car in a carwash eating a burger http://www.carlsjr.com/home

So how can marketers avoid the Ebbinghaus Effect?
By implementing an integrated marketing and communications campaign:
1) Define your target audience
2) Carefully formulate your message
3) Choose your media communications channel(s)
4) Communicate your message with sufficient frequency
5) Make sure that you integrate the look, feel and messaging of your communications
6) Work with the restrains of time and budget that are imposed on you
7) Use strong stimuli to support the recollection of your message
8) Check the short and long term recollection of your message

Done successfully, a company or brand can be in its audience’s memory for years, even generations. Levi’s and Coca-Cola are perfect examples.
As for Carl’s Jr. burger chain, it remains to be seen who will remember in another year or so…

Welcome to the world of podcasting

Podcasts are audio files that people can download from the Internet and listen to on iPods, cellphones or other digital devices. As with blogs (weblogs), the vast majority of the thousands of podcasts currently available over the Internet are recorded by amateurs talking about whatever comes to mind, ranging from fashion to trucking (http://www.podcast.net/).

And as in the case of blogs - companies, marketers and PR professionals are looking at podcasts as an advertising and promotion tool.
For now, podcasting is a new and unproven advertising medium that could develop into a great PR tool. Three global companies were the first to experiment with podcasts.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is leverage Paris Hilton’s worldwide appeal for the promotion of its thriller House of Wax, in which she plays a part.
Hilton will be recording a daily podcast that fans can download onto their digital music players. This is the studio's first experiment with podcasting. Warner Bros. is planning to follow up with a regular podcast during the filming of Superman Returns.
http://houseofwaxmovie.warnerbros.com/podcast.html

General Motors Corp. launched an audio version of its GM FastLane blog in February 2005. In the first podcast, Gary Cowger, GM North America President, introduced the Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne luxury sedans at the Chicago Auto Show. Listeners were invited to let the company know their opinion and if they would like to hear more GM podcasts in the future. It resulted in semi-regular podcasts including interviews with GM executives about cars in development.
http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives/2005/02/cadillac_buick_1.html

Heineken NV has also entered the world of podcasts by offering interviews with DJs on the brewer's branded music tour. Heineken Music organizes parties and festivals all over the world and needs therefore to communicate in the music scene. Communication consists of a constant stream of content such as interviews, music and live reporting. In audio format, podcasts are directly delivered to the target group. The Heineken Music podcasts have been included in all kinds of podcasting directories and have been written about in national and international podcast sites. http://www.heinekenmusic.com/

Mainstream radio stations are taking their traditional product to iPods.
De BBC was one of the first in Europe to start with podcasts by offering its history program Our Time in Mp3 format. Officially, it is still in the experimental stages. Virgin Radio has also started with podcasting. Highlights of the Breakfast Show can be downloaded as Mp3 files.
Even if the audience isn't there in great numbers yet, it still makes sense to join early on, as was done before with the Internet and cable television.

Podcasts are rapidly gaining in popularity and we can expect more and more companies to opt for this medium. It is an easy to implement and cost effective tool.
At the low end, a company can put audio ads on the Internet and call it podcasting.
A more creative approach is putting added value to the podcast.
For example, bookstores could sponsor a podcast about literature.
And companies with strong brands and Web presence can basically create and operate their own radio station.
It is too soon to tell how it will catch on as a marketing tool, but podcasting is definitely a phenomenon to watch!

Why so many logos are female

For all marketing and PR professionals, logos are important. They are not only the face of a company, but also reflect its character. A logo should give you a “good feeling”. But what makes a logo effective?

A good logo is one that people remember. There is a simple acid test to check how effective a logo is. Show it to somebody not related to the company or industry and ask that person one day later to describe or reproduce it from memory. Exactly, they will remember the shape and the color. What shapes do people remember most? Soft and fluent lines. The famous swoosh of Nike is a perfect example, but also the letters in the Coca Cola logo.
Why are these female shapes and contours so pleasant? Biological reasons. Men are attracted to female forms, hence there eternal love affaire with automobiles. The females of our species also prefer objects with round shapes – just check out cosmetics packaging, perfume bottles or the shape of fashion and jewelry. This general preference is also reflected in the use of animals in logos. Greyhound and Puma use sleek animals to promote their products, aimed at a wide demographic.
When companies use a (family) name or word as their logo, they opt for a “soft” script. Microsoft uses italics in its logo to make it more fluent. When Heineken started marketing its beer, it decided to tilt the “e” three times in the logo thus softening the “harsh” word image.
Of course there are companies that purposely and effectively use strong, angular shapes in their logos, such as Bobcat. In short, when choosing or developing a company logo, keep in mind, unless you want to project a purely masculine image, go “female”.