Star Branding

StarBranding is RockandSock’em’s customized process of building brands into marketplace stars, and star personalities into high-profile marketplace brands.

For corporate and product brand clients, our StarBranding services include:

  • New product and service launches (across all trade and consumer and internal/external target audiences, target markets, target media)
  • Sports, entertainment and lifestyle marketing strategic and creative platform research, development, planning and execution
  • Content development, production and placement
  • Celebrity procurement, negotiation, and endorsement
  • PR campaign planning, creative development, strategic activation, key messages & Q&A, media training, celebrity spokesperson retention and training, media tours, trade and consumer media pitching, publicity, on-site event credentialing an media services
  • Digital and social media integration
  • Cause marketing and strategic philanthropy
  • Crisis and issues management and training
  • Measurability metrics

Corporate Client Work Examples

Western Union - Wyclef Jean

Worked with client Western Union to forge a strategic, multi-platform alliance with multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning international recording artist Wyclef Jean that resulted in an 18% seasonal increase in the company’s North American money transfer business (see case study). Activation included Wyclef-signature pre-paid Visa Cards, Times Square store PR launch event, event management of a free public concert at the Nokia Theater in Times Square, concert tour sponsorship integration, Mother’s Day U.S. Marines benefit concert, Wyclef’s Yele-Haiti Foundation donation and World Music Awards sponsorship.

Procter & Gamble / Old Spice – Will Ferrell

Negotiated and activated movie placement (“Semi-Pro”), brand endorsement, ad campaign deals and point of sale promotions with superstar actor and comedian Will Ferrell in support of P&G’s Old Spice Pro Strength brand.

Ford Motor Company

Negotiated, created strategic plans and led account team that activated Ford’s sponsorship of golf superstar Phil Mickelson and Ford’s Championship at Doral title sponsorship; Country music star recording artist Toby Keith for Ford Trucks; Actress and children’s book author Jamie Lee Curtis and partnership with “America’s Most Wanted” John Walsh and the National Center for Missing Children for the Ford Blue Oval Certified “Commitment to Kids” program; the James Bond “Die Another Day” movie placement of new Ford Thunderbird as part of global launch, and endorsement of stars Halle Berry and Pierce Brosnan and many other celebrity, branded entertainment and sports marketing platforms over six years.

Goodyear

Signed NHL Hall of Famer and all-time leading scorer Wayne Gretzky. Created the “Goodyear Ultra Grip Ultra Trip” campaign for the Goodyear Ultra Grip winter tire North American launch, trade show appearance, “Gripping Performers On Ice” promotion and national PR effort, which led to the sellout of the entire North American production run prior to tires appearing in stores or ad campaign support.

Negotiated and signed Goodyear-USA Swim Team sponsorship and gold medalists Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Lenny Krayzelburg. Created the Goodyear “Aquatred 3” tire launch campaign with national innertube race contest with each race participant donating $5 to USA Swimming and finalists winning trips and competing live on NBC network during USA Swimming Olympic time trials.

Celebrity Talent Services Include

  • Creating a personalized, strategic, and creative StarBranding plan
  • Marketing and PR plans to support it
  • Drafting and designing personal brand collateral materials
  • Determining your personal “brand attributes,” and identifying right fit brands for potential endorsements, personal appearances, strategic partnerships, licensing and merchandising opportunities, and other business opportunities that would further build your brand.
  • Identifying additional revenue streams and brand exposure opportunities
  • Foundation, cause marketing, and strategic philanthropy planning/execution

Starbranding celebrity personalities (partial list)

  • David Beckham (Herbalife deal offer)
  • Sidney Crosby (Gatorade endorsement)
  • John Legend (Lexus endorsement and TV spots)
  • John R. Wooden (John R. Wooden Classic. Working in support of Wooden Awards and John R. Wooden Classic Chairman and Founder, and current RockandSock’em strategic partner Randy Ryan, served as inaugural Event Manager, publicized event and managed on-site media relations and credentialing, wrote game program, procured Media Co-Sponsors and secured celebrity talent)
  • Oscar De La Hoya (Subway, Bally’s Total Fitness endorsements)
  • Mark McGwire (Represented Mark for all personal, off-field PR services and personal appearances during his historic, record-breaking 70-home run season. Announced Starbuck’s endorsement; helped establish and publicize Mark McGwire Foundation for Abused Children)
  • Michael Douglas (Mazda, Mazda Presents the Michael Douglas & Friends Celebrity Golf Classic)
  • Michael Jordan and John Daly (Wilson Sporting Goods, TV and print ads)
  • Eva Longoria (perfume licensing offer)
  • Enrique Iglesias (Dentyne and National Hispanic Heritage Month program endorsement)
  • Jerry West, Terry BradShaw, Woody Harrelson (Brown Forman – Southern Comfort: “Great Shooters Contest,” “Finger Flick Football” Contest, “National Bartenders Program” endorsers, national media spokesmen)
  • Earvin “Magic” Johnson (Brown-Forman – Southern Comfort; Pepsi; Pepsi UCLA “Magic Playrooms” for pediatric HIV-positive children)
  • E*trade baby (e*trade, motion picture deal offer and brand integration)
  • Dick Vitale (Fisher Nuts endorser, “Nuttiest Sports Nut” contest national media)