All I can say is “wow”. We hosted a grand opening event last night for Just Cavalli, which splashed into Fashion Valley with a fundraiser for local charity Mama’s Kitchen — and it was a media circus! Now, I know we are damn good at what we do, and our job was to get the media to this party with the hope that they would cover it. But it was a bonanza, and it left me scratching my head as to why. As I maneuvered through the well-dressed and beautiful crowd, it was hard to miss the camera flashes, the reporters doing interviews, and the TV crews filming the scene. We brought 20 press kits to hand to working media, and WE RAN OUT. (Usually we find ourselves packing a few back to the office at the end of the evening).

What was it about this event that drew the attention? Why did we have such a fantastic turn-out of our friends from the media joining our friends from the community? Why this party?As I looked around, I realized something really cool. Our friends from the media WERE the party. Sure, there were spectacular fashions designed by the gifted Roberto Cavalli. The gorgeous models strutted their stuff and made the clothes seem effortless and attainable. The folks from Mama’s Kitchen were gracious and appreciative for the donation. And the Just Cavalli store owners were the epitome of host and hostess. But the media brought the excitement, and better yet, they were some of the best dressed and most glamorous guests there.How cool that our city has reached such a great point where our media are better dressed and hipper than many PR people. If that’s what makes a good party, I know who’s on my next invitation list!

Did anyone catch Ryan Seacrest’s AT&T/iPhone plug on American Idol last night? It just proves again that companies are having to incorporate their advertising into the actual television show that you are enjoying at home. Since American Idol already has its celebrity judges sip their favorite cocktail (you know Paula is) from a very large, bright-red Coka-Cola cup, why not have their other huge sponsor, AT&T, get in on the action? We’ve had this discussion at our office before. With the popularity of DVR (honestly, I love it - it has changed my life), and the ability to “FF” through all of the 30 second commercials, how are companies going to get our attention?I was told recently that Americans are bombarded with 2,000 ads a day. I had to absorb this information for a moment when I heard it, because I honestly have become so numb to it.Anyway, with all the changes advertising is going through (and pr) we must take this into consideration. How will it be measured? It is too invasive? Will the future of entertainment revolve around its advertising sponsors?I suppose the 32 million people that continue to watch American Idol don’t mind too much. We keep tuning in every week  - even after being subjected to those cheesy contestant montages highlighting the newest edition of Ford Motors…or is it Chevy? 

ChaChing! At least if you’re Disney it does. My son recently joined Club Penguin, Disney’s online social network where your avatar is a penguin, you can have puffles (pets), your own igloo, earn money and spend it on various items such as decorating your igloo or purchasing items to adorn your penguin or puffle.

Don’t have a kid? It’s still worth checking out. Here’s why…Club Penguin is Disney’s giant leap into social networking and I believe it will shape and influence the experience of kids aged 6-12 in the online world forever. Wherever we go we meet kids who are into Club Penguin - I mean wherever we go. There are 12 million registered users of the site. It’s been around for barely two years, you have to pay a membership fee to take advantage of all the entertainment and fun, secret aspects of it and kids want in. And get this, Disney has relied only on its website and word of mouth. Disney has figured out how to make money from social networking and is already working on its next iteration for girls called DisneyFairies.com.

Let’s see how many social networks, in an effort to monetize start looking at Disney and figuring out ways to create opportunities that people will be willing to pay for within its community.

My job would be so much easier if I didn’t have to battle marketing regulations. You know, silly things like rules against branding public property, poster-free light poles, rights protecting personal property, ethical codes prohibiting blogging positively about my clients under an assumed identity.

But during my month-long honeymoon in Thailand (insert huge props to Jonathan Bailey and Indra Gardiner for the time off), I experienced firsthand the benefits of the regulations. On a scenic car drive through Bangkok, I rounded a large curve on the freeway ready to check out the beautiful views of the city only to have them obstructed by a billboard longer than our coastlines.

Massive.

It was so massive that it became difficult to read because the letters were so large. And then I realized, perhaps limited supply of marketing spaces isn’t such a bad thing.

Are You Branded? Well, are you? I’m not. Not yet at least. I’m reading this book written by T.D. Jakes, called Reposition Yourself, in which T.D asks the very real and in some ways uncomfortable question of  “What is your brand?” I thought that since we’re in the business of branding and re-branding business, this passage seems pertinent to us all. So here’s where I stop writing, and begin sharing T.D. Jakes’ words of wisdom: 

Identity (who you are and what you’re all about) +

Expectations (what others associate with your presence and gifting) =

Your Personal Brand (what you consistently contribute by your presence and gifting)

 “You advertise yourself every day to those around you in how you present, carry, and conduct yourself. Whether you’re aware of it and own it or not, you are already forming a brand in the eyes of others because the more time they’re around, the more they come to form certain expectations about what you bring. The more you get to know someone, the more consistent their personality seems to become in most all arenas of life. How would you describe your brand? You should be able to identify three key attributes that your offer in any meeting with colleagues and friends, or any virtues that you bring to a relationship or to a social encounter. I like to call these as ‘deliverables’. Deliverables are not aspects of our personality that we have to contrive or work at producing. No, in most high achievers, they are natural characteristics and produce the outcome of who they are and what they are about. You arrive at the answer to the question ‘What is your brand?’ by answering other questions: What do you want to be about? What is your vision, your purpose, your mission? Are you demonstrating or rather delivering who you really are and what you really care about? Are you trapped in circumstances? When we grow into ourselves, learning from our mistakes, becoming a student of our deliverables, then we relax and enjoy a level of confident authenticity that naturally sheds limitations and embraces positions in which we prosper, not just financially but holistically, as whole persons at peace with ourselves, content to be who we really are. Once you articulate your mission statement and develop your brand, don’t waver. Commit to it and don’t settle for a standard that is less. If you are truly going to know peace and fulfillment, you must honor your brand.”  - T.D. Jakes

What is the deal with these public officials getting caught with their pants down? Literally. Do these politicians honestly think that no one will find out that they are laundering money, paying for sex, or any other array of other criminal activities? I’m referring to the Eliot Spitzer fiasco we’ve all been bombarded with the past two days.  He is just a pr nightmare and I don’t know if he can be saved. I just read an article discussing his team’s communications plan, and how they made a serious mistake by letting too much time lapse between the scheduled press conference time, and the time he actually appeared to make his “apology.” Did Spitzer make a serious mistake by showing up late? Did it allow the press too much time to come to their own conclusions? I’m not sure how many scenarios the press could have created in that time, but in my book, if you show up 45 minutes late to your own press conference, it doesn’t look good.Now, was it a good pr move to have his wife standing by his side? Was he trying to send the message that “my wife is forgiving me, so you (the public), should forgive me too?”  I honestly feel terrible for this woman. She is probably in such shock and pain it won’t even hit her until later in the week. Honestly, this guy should have turned to his wife, looked her in the eye, admitted to all that he did, and begged for her forgiveness on national tv. Maybe then would he have gotten a bit more empathy from me.