Paris Hilton

[Point Point]

To the marketing geniuses here on the 2+2 business forum. Please explain how a totally talentless person like Paris Hilton has been able to brand herself the way she has. The use of controversy to brand and gain publicity during the television era was probably started by Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali. Then Madonna and Michael Jackson took it to a whole new level in the past two decades. But all of these people had talent. Paris can't sing, dance, act, do interviews, do tv reporting, etc. Yet she can steal the headlines from the Iraq War.

How deliberate do you think she and her people are in successfully branding her? How much of it is luck? Okay, she looks pretty and has a name that has built in name recognition but so do a lot of people. What strategies do you think she and her people are using?

Okay, here are complementary pictures for those who might say "this post is useless without pics".Remember that this is a marketing strategy post not an OOT type post.

[fightingcoward]

two words: sex tape

[kimchi]

[ QUOTE ]
Please explain how a totally talentless person like Paris Hilton has been able to brand herself the way she has

[/ QUOTE ]

I niether know nor care.

[nineinchal]

She gives good brains, head, keppy, etc.

Personally, I would like to see more of this, although I don't expect it to happen to me.

[Mr. Now]

PH is a fascinating study in media and PR promotion. A careful study of PH shows her very specific use of many innovative techniques to create buzz and force coverage. The media demands junk news; PH provides the product. The OP makes the excellent point that from a PR point of view, there is quite alot to learn here.

The lastest technique to get coverage involves manipulation of media via misinformation. She (indirectly) leaks that the TODAY show plans to pay 1MM for an interview. Other media has to print it (NY DAILY NEWS front page); TODAY show has to issue a denial. Now all media must pile in and cover also.

Result: Prime time, live interview on Larry King Live. This is PR brilliance. Media outlets post quotes from the "event" online, almost instantly.

To compute the PR value, simply take the cost per minute for advertising on LarryKing and multiply by the number of minutes in the interview. Add 20% because the show content always has more credibility than any ad.

PH is the product. The real genius publicist is Elliot Mintz. His life is a fascinating story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Mintz

[Point Point]

Thanks for the analysis and the link. Her talent to publicity ratio is probably of historic proportions. Warhol, Ali, Madonna, Rodman and Jackson had insane free publicity but they had immense talent to match. Paris probably isn't even a world class fashion model, much less, a singer, actress, or writer.

There are definitely strong reasons to seriously study her from a PR, branding, and marketing perspective. She was already famous before a Simple Life and the sex tapes, so you can't really give credit to these. When I watched her on Larry King she looked like she was hiding a joke the whole time.

[DcifrThs]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the analysis and the link. Her talent to publicity ratio is probably of historic proportions.

[/ QUOTE ]

our current president may have that ratio at an all time low.

[ QUOTE ]
Warhol, Ali, Madonna, Rodman and Jackson had insane free publicity but they had immense talent to match. Paris probably isn't even a world class fashion model, much less, a singer, actress, or writer.

[/ QUOTE ]

but she is hot, rich (famous name), and unashamed/unafraid (or even in a constant state of craving) of publicity.

[ QUOTE ]
There are definitely strong reasons to seriously study her from a PR, branding, and marketing perspective. She was already famous before a Simple Life and the sex tapes, so you can't really give credit to these.

[/ QUOTE ]

i highly doubt you'd learn much that was generalizable. she got where she is via a few strokes of luck, genetics, and the way americans are, imo.

Barron

[ahnuld]

El D I moved this from finance to your forum because I think this convo is better suited to the types of discussions held here. Plus its an intelligent OP so it cant be that bad. You can move it back if you disagree.

[IggyWH]

[ QUOTE ]
Please explain how a totally talentless person like Paris Hilton has been able to brand herself the way she has.

[/ QUOTE ]

Personal taste aside, I think you gravely underestimate PH when you label her talentless and actually add fuel to the fire by branding her that.

[El Diablo]

PP,

Excellent post.

"How deliberate do you think she and her people are in successfully branding her? "

Very, very deliberate. I'll write a longer post on this topic later.

In the meantime, check out this article on Steve Jobs and the iPhone. A lot of parallels between that and Paris Hilton.

http://blogs.business2.com/apple/200...s-one-the.html