Jermaine Dupri Presents... "Living The Life" THE INCREDIBLE SESSION

I was so honored to be in the studio around GREATNESS last night. Jermaine Dupri, Pharrell Williams/Chad/Shay better known as N.E.R.D, DJ Greg Street, Chaka Zulu, Da Brat, Bryan Michael Cox and more. All captured by Bryan Barber.

You can see my white sleeve as the put the camera on Chaka Zulu....lol.

VISION OF VISIONARIES WITH N.E.R.D

VISIONS OF VISIONARIES WITH PHARRELL & SHAY OF N.E.R.D from MADE Blog on Vimeo.

Courtesy of www.made-blog.com

N.E.R.D LIVE FROM THE "CUERVO GAMES" :: ATLANTA, GEORGIA

                               

Jose Cuervo Challenges Consumers Nationwide to Rise to the Occasion at CuervoGames

Atlanta, GA – (August 14, 2010) – Set in the historic Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, 5,000+ kids came out to see the leader of all hipsters PHARRELL WILLIAMS as he appeared in very relaxed attire but mounds of energy along with his N.E.R.D counterparts. While standing stage right along with Celebrity Stylist Renaldo Nehemiah, Star Trek affiliate Teyana Taylor, A-Town Princess Ciara, DJ DRAMA (who partnered with Pharrell for the "In My Mind" Gangsta Grillz mixtape) and Chaka Zulu Co-Ceo of Disturbing Tha Peace Records and manager of Ludacris. We had the best seats in the house as N.E.R.D ripped through crowd engaging classics as "Rock Star", "Lap Dance", "Hot N Fun" and one of my favorites " Everyone Nose" and many more. A lot of crowd surfers and multiple mosh pits were formed as they paid full attention to the direction of Skate Board P. With over 2hrs of great music and even greater energy, no one was phased by the small technical difficulties including a black out on stage which was soon recovered and a few speakers that went out. THE SHOW HAD TO GO ON or those kids would have been very upset..lol.

CuervoGames is a series of live, interactive experiences designed to challenge adults of legal drinking age who think they have the clout to carve their own story into Cuervo history. Each of these trials—the Waterfall Climb, the Agave Air Walk, the Tumbler, the Barrel Roll and cocktail mix-off — will highlight the brand’s rich Mexican heritage.

“With Vancouver now behind us, athletes around the country are refocusing their attention from the Winter Games to CuervoGames,” said Julia Mancuso, three-time U.S. Olympic medalist skier. While I finish my ski season, adults across the country now have the opportunity to be part of Cuervo history.”

“Jose Cuervo is an iconic brand built on more than two centuries of tequila-making,” said Ami-Lynn Bakshi, Vice President, Tequila Marketing, Diageo. “We’re excited to invite consumers to not only be a part of our story, but to create their own. CuervoGames is the ultimate opportunity to battle for their place in Cuervo history—it will gauge their guts, their wits and their skills.”

The inaugural CuervoGames will kick off in Tempe, AZ on April 3 and travel to 20 cities in all throughout 2010 including: Dallas, San Diego, Denver, Minneapolis and Chicago, culminating in an epic finale in Las Vegas. In select markets, participants will also have the opportunity to compete against a ‘Cuervo Contender,’ a well-known local celebrity or former professional athlete who will form his or her own team with local residents.

To participate in the CuervoGames, teams of four can register immediately on Facebook (www.facebook.com/cuervo) and increase their chances of selection by gathering votes from friends. The three teams on Facebook that have accumulated the highest number of votes will progress to the regional finals. Teams may also register as walk-ons throughout the day of the event at the CuervoGames location. All team members must be present to register and only the first 20 teams will be eligible. Walk-on teams will participate in a preliminary round with the top-scoring team progressing to the regional finals that evening.

CuervoGames will live on-line on the Facebook page as well as Jose Cuervo’s website (www.josecuervo.com). Each city’s finals event will be streamed live on Justin.TV, where hundreds of thousands of viewers will be able to interact with the on-site crowd through innovative technologies.

Whether enjoying the spirit or offerings of Jose Cuervo please remember to do so responsibly.

About Jose Cuervo

Jose Cuervo is the largest producer of tequila throughout Mexico and around the world. The Jose Cuervo portfolio of tequilas includes Jose Cuervo Especial Gold, the number one tequila worldwide, Jose Cuervo Especial Silver, Jose Cuervo Black Medallion, Jose Cuervo Tradicional, Jose Cuervo Platino, Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia, Jose Cuervo Golden Margaritas, Authentic Jose Cuervo Margaritas and Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix. For more information, visit http://www.josecuervo.com/.

About DIAGEO

Jose Cuervo Tequilas are imported and marketed in the United States by Diageo North America, a subsidiary of Diageo plc. Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and

Sterling Vineyards wines. Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands and performance, visit us at http://www.diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

When enjoying its products, Diageo reminds its adult consumers to drink responsibly. As the world's largest spirits, wine and beer company, Diageo is committed to social responsibility and the responsible marketing of its brands. The Diageo Marketing Code is one of the most stringent in the industry. Diageo is a founding member and major supporter of The Century Council, a not-for-profit organization whose programs are designed to combat drunk driving and underage drinking.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere, responsibly.

THE FOUR PHASES OF CELEBRITY BRAND INTEGRATION :: PHARRELL + MICROSOFT = "I'M A PC"

Pharrell Williams is always a great example of brand innovation. His deal with Microsoft continues to prove that. As apart of the 300 million dollar campaign effort which featured celebrities Pharrell, Eva Longoria, and Deepak Chopra. In return for signing Pharrell, Microsoft dropped comedian Jerry Seinfeld who was positioned in their television ads which only lasted for a few weeks. The ads were pulled because of a luke warm response.

For Microsoft, by implementing Pharrel into it's "I'm A PC" campaign, they were able to estasblish a new foundation in the midst of Apple's dominace is the technology world. Let's see the Zune is not even worth mentioning in the same breath as any of the iPod devices. But I am with Pharrell influence on fashion, technology and other consumer brands that Microsoft was able to gain sufficient ground with their #1 competitor. As I like to say if a product, brand name or entertainer has the hearts of the consumer than it's an easy sell, and Apple has the hearts. Let's just see if Microsoft can continue to get us to look in it's direction. If we buy Apple products now, chances are we will be just as committed to buying them in the future. Microsoft needs to continue to evolve their core products (PC's) to make them more appealing to the creative individual (Graphic Artist, Fashion Designers/Stylist, Musicians, and Young Business Professionals).

Hip-Hop has been at the forefront of strategic corporate branding and advertising for the past decade and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon with the continued development of social media, sports, and music. Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Wal-Mart, General Motors and American Express analyze everything (trust me I know from my days at Coca-Cola) in their marketing campaigns because they pump so much money into them, and they have so much riding on them. Sigining celebrity assests like Pharrell, Beyonce, LeBron, Jay-Z, and Lady GaGa is not an over night decision, but a calculated attempt to connect with the youth of america and fans of pop culture. Companies like Microsoft have realized the importance of gaining youth consumers and know that if they don't take part in Pop Culture Celebrity Branding that they will eventually lose the battle to it's competition willing to do so.

Below are the 3 phases of celebrating brand integration:

1.) Behind the scenes: Companies capture behind the scenes footage using the celebrity assest as the official brand ambassador which will first draw in the targeted audience and secondly educated the potential consumer about the product, how they use the product and why you should purchase the product.

2.) Television/Print Ad: By utilizing traditional media outlets i.e. Television, Online, Print; The consumer will get the chance to view the product as well as interact via online to engage further with the product.

3.) Brand Integration: Placing the product in the hands of it's celebrity assest will develop an emotional connection with the consumer by seeing their favorite celebrity paired with a new cool product. The will get to see first hand how to utilize the product and how it can also be beneficial in their everyday lives.

4.) Experiental: This is a concept that integrates elements of emotions, logic, and general thought process. The goal of experiential marketing is to establish the connection in such a way that the consumer responds to a product based on both emotional and rational response levels. In order to engage in experiential marketing, it's necessary to engage as many of the senses as possible. Striking interactive displays with powerful visual elements (websites and visual media) that conjure up sensations that are enjoyable to the individual. When used to create customer experiences of this nature, a sense of rapport between product and consumer is established that helps to make the product more desirable. This strategy is ideal for contemporary marketing campaigns. Shortened attention spans demand that ad campaigns make a quick impactful impression, or the opportunity to engage the consumer will dissolve. While traditional 30 sec TV and Radio ads once created a  great impact, many people now use modern technology including Laptops, iPhones and social media to avoid the outdated model. 

So online ads have become interactive microsites, traditional outdoor billboards have become digital billboards, and print media leaves us with a link that diverts us right back to it's social media properties. Experiential marketing holds the key to making this happen. By appealing to all the senses, and making the connection quickly and seamlessly, this approach to marketing ensures that businesses can still attract and satisfy the needs and desires of consumers.