Marketing 101

I firmly believe marketing and public relations rule the world especially the celebrity world. Sure there’s such a thing as talent, intellect and good looks but smart marketing can sell book to Paris Hilton. It can also help the average person navigate the tricky world of office politics and home life. I’ve often thought there should be a class or professionals who handle personal public relations/marketing. I’m not just saying that to branch off on a new profession but who knows this could be my $1 million idea. My post-its. My own My Space. My TiVo. You get my point.

Below are a list of celebrity marketing geniuses. These people know how to make lemonade out of lemons. All hail the Queens and Kings of Marketing.

Madonna

The mother of reinvention and pushing the boundaries. Madonna has raised marketing to another level. She’s a marginal singer and unconventional beauty. Yet, she is one of the most influential people in pop culture. I remember hearing Borderline on American Bandstand, they were rating the record, and asking my mom to go out and buy this record from a band called Madonna. Two things are really funny about this story. One, I watched American Bandstand every week and second, record were still the best way to hear music. Madonna’s constant morphing continues to make her relevant. It would have been sad to see a 40-something Madonna prancing around the stage with a dark roots perm and 1,000 black plastic bracelets on her wrist.

Hugh Hefner

You know I love me some Hef. I admire his innovative spirit in bringing legitimacy to a smut rag. That’s brilliant. Playboy epitomizes a much sought after lifestyle. It was one man’s vision and at 80 he’s still going strong. He still reviews every page of the magazine. He basically created his dream job, shattered taboo subjects and got plenty of ladies. How cool is that?

Howard Stern

This guy knew early on that he wasn’t going to make it on his looks. It’s always been about his imagination and his voice. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand Howard Stern. I find him inflammatory for the sake of being inflammatory. But I realize that he’s playing a character, a role that makes for entertaining radio. It concerns be that some of his listeners believe everything his says but that doesn’t take away from what he’s done for radio. He’s actually found a place for a strippers and drunk dwarfs to call home. Guerilla marketing.

Oprah Winfrey

As you know, I strive to be Oprah-esque. Here’s a woman that was born poor and black in the South. She struggled with sexual abuse and teenage promiscuity. She was able to turn all those factors around and become America’s authority on everything. Have you seen her groupies on the show? They adore her in that slightly wild-in-the-eye manner. She’s a marketing guru. Not only did her book club read Night by Elie Wiesel. She parlayed that into a scholarship essay contest for high school students. Then she took it further and had the students meet with the author. The icing on the cake was her one-on-one interview with Elie as they walked through the concentration camp he wrote about. Amazing.

Sean Combs

Puff Daddy. P Diddy. Diddy. Whatever the hell he’s calling himself these days. He may be a mediocre rap artists but this icon went from smart intern to hip hop producing mogul without missing a beat. His genius is in recognizing talents and cultivating trends. If he said kids should wear their underwear on their heads, they would. He yields that power. He doesn’t get enough credit for his business ventures. He sends a strong message to the hip hop community and youth that it’s not enough to be an artist and make money. You need to own your lyrics and bring up other artists. He’s truly a businessman who dabbles in everything and finds success through hard work and marketing savvy. Russell Simmons is brilliant at the same hustle.

Who do you think is a marketing genius?