Ok, OK Disclaimer! I SELL CELEBRITIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS FOR A LIVING! Who gives a shit. I have no conflict of interest anymore than a cardiologist does in promoting a low fat, low sugar, low sodium meal plan! Everyone has to stop with the bullshit about spending more time on motive and less time on what is being said! Here is what I know and can prove: I have spent 22+ years working with small businesses, emerging companies and now crowdfunded start-ups that are looking to differentiate and excel at revenue generation. Having a spokesperson who is a celebrityREAD MORE
Cost & Benefits of Hiring a Celebrity Spokesperson CelebExperts was founded almost 8 years ago essentially to answer two simple questions. How to hire a celebrity spokesperson and determine the costs of each. Now the business has exploded to include celebrity PR campaigns, speaking engagements, licensing, personal appearances and the creation of celebrity signature lines of apparel, apps and other consumer desired products. While the questions at hand are very simplistic, the answers are not always as easy as you might think. We employ some of the most savvy and experienced celebrity booking agents. They work tirelessly assisting clients all overREAD MORE
Ho Ho Ho, Oh No! Yep, its that time again! You or your client or you outside agency is scouring the earth for the perfect fit, the most authentic, the model of consistency, the highest likeability score to your core demographic, yep a celebrity or social media influencer to represent your brand and/or company. Are you prepared? What is your budget? How are you going to leverage your new spokesperson? Is this a long-term relationship? Are you addressing your needs? This is without question, the biggest challenge! What the hell are we expending the capital and time for? What areREAD MORE
CelebExperts Celebrates 4th Year in Business Incredible when you take an idea and turn it into a passion. I conceptualized CelebExperts at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, China. I was waiting for a cab in a rainstorm and no one would pick me up. It pissed me off that I was soaked and cabs kept rolling by me. At that point 75+ percent of my business was representing talent. Mostly current and former Olympic athletes. I started thinking to myself that recruiting 16 year old gymnasts at 40 years old when I was now older than their parents standingREAD MORE
Other than several athletes who did not do themselves any favors, should your company consider utilizing one of the Olympic athletes from Rio for your next event or campaign? Well the answer is yes with some conditions. If you were to book Simone Biles today, her fee would be absolutely at the highest peak you could acquire the Rio Olympic Gold Medalist in 4 events. That doesn't mean you shouldn't, but someone like a Gabby Douglas 2012's All Around Champion might fit your budget better? So if price is no issue, Simone is your person. If you are a bitREAD MORE
How To Utilize Social Media Stars in the New Digital Age We get 3-5 new account leads every day. Usually from emerging companies contacting us to help execute a social media influencer campaign with social media stars. They are looking for someone with a large follower base in a certain demographic. Their goal is to influence their follower base to be consumers of the contract company’s product or services. The vast array of products range from supplements to skincare, from inflatable swans to haircare, from jewelry to healthy home delivered meal choices, from activewear to energy bars and on and onREAD MORE
It’s easy to say utilizing social media stars to affect your company and/or brand’s fortunes have become so challenging because the flood of influencers and the seeming endless lack of real data anyone of them can provide. But the truth is it is far more basic than that! Social media platforms have decided it’s time to make money. See, I told you this would be easy. But very, very complex. What does this mean exactly? Truth be told it means many things but mostly when a social media star takes on an engagement from a brand in the past, theREAD MORE
The Summer is usually so slow for most talent acquisition agencies. Just not this Summer. Between the Olympics, social media stars gone wild and every beauty and health brand dying for a new face, this Summer has been insane... And I love it. In the last 30 days we have done almost $1 million USD in deals. Now that is what I call a HOT Summer. Why are so many brands leveraging celebrity to energize their campaigns? Its because it works! It seriously works. I tell my corporate clients all the time whether you are a direct marketer or sellingREAD MORE
Let's start off by telling the truth. Muhammad Ali was neither a savior or a saint. His flaws as most people, were obvious but maybe just more public by being the most famous man on the planet. He was very much a product of his times yet way ahead of his generation. It could be said that Ali was the 1st rapper for the way he spit lyrics. Ali was a bully in many ways. All you need to do is to look at how he spoke about and to Smokin' Joe Frazier calling him a "gorilla". I am quiteREAD MORE
As I prepare to attend the Inpex Inventors Show in Pittsburgh, PA next week I was thinking about how inventors have changed over a very short period of time. Historically you would think of Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Nikola Tesla, Henry Ford, the Wright Bros., and many others iconic inventors. Inventors like the Wright Bros below were visionaries who had a steadfast passion for solving problems and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. And thank goodness for these lions of innovation. Today the landscape is so much different for inventors on many different levels. There are just a sheerREAD MORE
Don't believe me that golf is in the tank? Want proof to chew on while you are practicing your back swing! Early this month sporting goods giant Adidas Group said it planned to divest its TaylorMade unit, one of the largest makers of golf clubs, to focus on its stronger shoe and apparel lines. Um, can anyone say "jumping ship"? The U.S. golf equipment market last year totaled $2.55 billion, a 3% drop from $2.62 billion three years earlier, according to the research firm Golf Datatech. Why is the business of golf doing a nose dive? OK, so Tiger WoodREAD MORE
I spend 5 hours a day on Linkedin! OK, I said it and I am not afraid of what others think. LinkedIn has become the best co-worker I have ever employed. LinkedIn is never late, never talks back, is full of useful ideas and ultimately, I make money with Linkedin all the time. Many people suffer through LinkedIn and the numerous requests that come along with it. Some people utilize LinkedIn just for hiring interns and employees. While others utilize Linkedin to stay connected to former colleagues and college friends. The following are 5 Tips on how I utilize LinkedinREAD MORE
Top business podcast reveals tips for hiring dedicated employees and NuStep Sales & Marketing VP Steve Sarns talks transforming a family business into big business. CEO Powercast co-hosts Charlie Fusco and Evan Morgenstein cut loose in the latest episode of their new business podcast, CEO Powercast, available via http://www.ceopowercast.podbean.com and iTunes. This week, they give away tips for hiring dedicated employees and argue the impact of Puma’s latest hire in celebrity spokespeople Rihanna and Kylie Jenner. The duo also shares which songs they use to motivate employees around the office! NuStep Sales and Marketing Vice President Steve Sarns was interviewed forREAD MORE
I have worked with Olympic athletes since 1997. That is 19 years of some of the best memories of my life. Yes, I have worked or met with all types of sports icons including Richard Petty, Chris Evert, Venus Williams, Cal Ripken, Bruce Smith, Tom Seaver, Walt Frazier, Magic Johnson, Jack Nicklaus and many others. And all of them are incredible athletes and people in their own rights. But I will tell you what, for the shear dedication of a lifetime to an event that might just last one day, I will take an Olympic athlete every day of theREAD MORE
I am not sure when was the first time I actually downloaded a podcast but I assure you, it wasn't all that long ago. I found myself intrigued by the self creation of many podcasters' downloadable brands. When you go to the iTunes store or podbean.com, you find some really well produced shows podcasting on every aspect of the human condition. My company put out a press release about utilizing celebrities and small business several weeks ago. I was contacted by the founder of Monday Morning Radio about being on his podcast. I have been interviewed by the NY Times, Sports Illustrated,READ MORE