ProHipHop: Hip Hop Marketing & Business News

Soulja Boy's One-Hit Wonder Label: Does It Matter?

At the end of the day, people believe whatever the heck they want to believe.  That's why we're all basically committed to a path of world destruction.

For Soulja Boy the stakes aren't quite that high but, despite Souljaboytellem.com going gold, Soulja Boy is stuck with the one-hit wonder label attached to his brand until he has another big hit.

Of course, many musicians have trials and tribulations around their sophomore release and all pop stars have to get a second hit to keep going.  When that progress falters, rising stars may see their fanbase dwindle as they suddenly become one hit wonders on the real.  Once so labeled, the drive for new fans becomes seriously hindered as antibuzz agents accumulate.

But it may well be that all the labels and criticism won't hinder and might even help Soulja Boy due to the stark polarization of Soulja Boy lovers and haters that is often marked by a generational divide.

Some of this has been obvious but it wasn't until the Jay-Z & basketball stars press event that I realized that we're not just talking about fans and foes, we're talking about demographics that exist in entirely different worlds.

Obviously there's plenty of crossover between Jay-Z fans and Soulja Boy fans, whether folks want to acknowledge that or not, but it seems pretty clear that Soulja Boy's youthful following has emerged in a world in which Jay-Z is an old man that is respected by old people.  They might dig him in the way they might dig other aging world class stars but he's not one of them and has no relationship to their lives in the way that so many 20-somethings still seem to feel.

Unless you're on a kneejerk mission through life, you know what I'm talking about.

Jay-Z can't touch Soulja Boy because Soulja Boy's core fans don't care about Jay-Z.  And that's why there won't be a real beef or real battle no matter what Soulja Boy says about these guys cause he's the future and they're the past, at least within the youthful world in which he's embedded.

Unless he doesn't get another big hit.  With the bar so high, given that Souljaboytellem.com went gold and the single, Crank That (Soulja Boy), spent 12 weeks in the top 10 in '07 with a brief return in '08, Soulja Boy has quite a challenge ahead.

Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Soulja Boy Drops She Gotta Donk Video
iDance: Soulja Boy's First Single off iSouljaBoy

Three 6 Mafia f/DJ UNK - I'd Rather (Red Light Remix)

One man's career self-destruction is a whole other crew's marketing opp.

Farewell Eliot Spitzer.  You painted yourself into a corner on that one.

Miss Info Pages Client 9:
What? Me, cynical?

Update:
Just saw a note from ThinkTank Marketing informing me that Three 6 Mafia is doing a strip club promotional tour for I'd Rather.

Davie Brown Celebrity Index: Obama > Clinton or McCain

The Davie Brown Celebrity Index [or DBI or whatever it's called, there's an unclear naming strategy happening with this product] has chosen a fun way to market itself by comparing Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

It turns out that Barack Obama is the winner because Americans view him as "more appealing, trustworthy, and influential than other presidential candidates."

That's good news since George W. won because he was the guy Americans would most enjoy sitting down with and having a beer.

Gotta love Americans.  We truly get the government we deserve.  But maybe this time it will work in our favor.

Speaking of nutty nonsense, Ralph Nader's running for President.  I guess this is the "Three Strikes and Your Brand's Out" campaign.

I don't understand Nader's insistence on totally destroying the brand that he spent so many years building.  One more half-assed run should reduce it to nothing.

A sad ending to what should have been a great legacy.

American Society of Plastic Surgeons Protect Brand in Wake of Donda West's Death

From a press release titled Plastic Surgery Complications and Deaths are Rare, Despite Highly Publicized Death of Donda West:

Following the tragic death of Donda West, mother of hip-hop star Kanye West, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) reminds consumers that plastic surgery is real surgery and outlines several important recommendations when considering plastic surgery.

"The death of a patient is always tragic and devastating for all involved, particularly the patient's family and the medical team," said Richard D'Amico, MD, ASPS president. "However, we don't want to unnecessarily frighten the public. While this situation is rare, the decision to have a plastic surgery procedure is serious. No-risk surgery doesn't exist."

That sounds like a standard disclaimer and there's more standard advice that also lends itself to additional readings:

"It's one thing to have training, but it's another to have your competency tested. This is why board-certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) is so crucial," said Dr. D'Amico. "As a patient, you should ask yourself, 'Why wouldn't this surgeon be board-certified in plastic surgery?'"

This statement immediately made me wonder if the ASPS was leveraging the possibility that Dr. Jan Adams, the guy folks think performed the operation that preceded Donda West's death, was not board certified.  So I took a look to see if I could find some kind of publicly verifiable certification.

Couldn't find anything at his official website.

A personal search of resources provided to the general public by American Board of Medical Specialties and by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons revealed no certifications though one cannot assume that Dr. Adams is not certified based on this information.

So I went and got caught up on more Dr. Adams news and it turns out that he has been sued for allegedly lying about his credentials.

Sounds like a timely pr move by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in more ways than one.

On a Related Note:
While conducting a Google search for dr. jan adams I found this text ad from a radio station seeking to capitalize on her death at the top of the search results:

Kanye's Tragedy: Mom Dies
www.Power1051fm.com
Dr. Donda West passed suddenly. Get story + leave condolences here

I can't really criticize since all media outlets reporting on this story and running ads with it are benefitting whether they advertise on other sites or not.  It just feels a little weird.

Update:
AP: Dr. Jan Adams Admits Surgery on Donda West

Free Touches Gyant's Tool, Brand Destruction Ensues

Free pulls a Clay Aiken but that doesn't make SOHH Gyant Kelly Ripa.  Nope.  He's just another media artist whose tools you should not touch without invitation!

Seriously, if you don't like an interview, walk away.  It can lead to blog-based brand destruction as Gyant's post reveals.

On a related tip, folks are feeling the Internets Celebrities and of course it's fun to watch them sneak out of the pressroom and grab great live footage but bumrushing other journalist's interviews in a tightly scheduled, high stress setting is not a good look.

A Systematic Guide to Building Your Personal Brand Online

A new group of manifestos is available from Change This including Build Your Brand in Bits and Bytes about building your personal brand online.

William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson present a systemic approach to evaluating and improving your online brand presence.  It's nicely organized with the possibility of going analytical or simply browsing the sections for new ideas.

I think this would be a useful document for anyone considering issues related to online brands and it might be just the thing for folks looking at the Internet in relationship to their personal brand and feeling totally overwhelmed.  If that's where you're at, this looks like a good place to start.

Though geared to individuals, folks considering larger brands will also find it relevant.

William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson are the founders of Reach Branding Club.

Lupe Fiasco Chooses Brand Self Destruction

Looks like Lupe Fiasco is choosing the "dig hole deeper, faster" approach to crisis management in the wake of Fiascogate.

Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Lupe Fiasco to Sue Vibe for Fiascogate Article

Complete List: Business Week's 100 Best Global Brands

BusinessWeek/Interbrand Annual Ranking of The 100 Best Global Brands

Inside Branded Entertainment: Connecting Brands & Artists

Inside Branded Entertainment has some interesting articles on connecting brands and artists from various VNU media properties.

MAKING THE BRAND: PARTNERS IN RHYME
Thoughts from the "I'm With The Brand" panel at last month's Billboard Dance Music Summit, including this from Armani Exchange VP of brand imaging Patrick Doddy:

One of the biggest challenges Doddy faces is getting the artists he works with to see the bigger picture—the opportunities beyond the physical CD. "Whenever we start a relationship, the DJ/artist is always asking, 'What can you do for me?' They rarely see the many ways we can grow together." Still, Doddy calls it "a learning process" for all participants.

Integrating Brands Into Pop Culture
Interview with Laura Caraccioli-Davis on linking brands and pop culture and the "inner workings of creating successful branded entertainment campaigns".

EXPANDING YOUR BRAND
"The Music Upfront gives U.S. labels a forum as they plan their campaigns for the coming season to stage 'upfront' showcases of key artists and repertoire to ad agency creatives and brand marketers."

Branding A Key Topic At Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Conference

Interesting piece by Michael Paoletta in Inside Branded Entertainment from Billboard Biz on some of the panels at the recent Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Conference & Awards in Atlanta.

During the I’m With the Brand panel, Chaka Zulu, co-co-CEO of Disturbing Tha Peace stated:
“Co-branding with other companies and products has helped create more branding outlets,” Zulu said. “You have to ask yourself the question, ‘How can I connect my brand -- my artist -- to the brands that already that a have relationship to consumers.”

Zulu illustrated this with a recent partnership between one of his artists, Ludacris, and Pontiac. For Zulu, the deal was a natural fit, because of Ludacris’ love of cars and because of timing. It was between albums, so the ad for the Pontiac Solstice would keep Ludacris in the public’s eye in a campaign with a media buy in the millions. Ludacris appeared in the TV spot, which also featured his song, “2 Miles an Hour.”

Since the track had no accompanying video, and Pontiac needed visuals for the commercial, the auto manufacturer agreed to pay for a video. This was music to the ears of Zulu and Ludacris.

"100 Best Global Brands" Ranked

I've posted the press release listing all 100 of the companies ranked in the BusinessWeek/Interbrand Annual Ranking of the 100 Best Global Brands over at Brand Destruction Research.

Update:
Business Week on The World's Best Brands

Post Jay-Z/Cristal: Brands Pledge Loyalty To Hip Hop

Rap happy companies rush to take their hip hop loyalty oaths in the wake of the Jay-Z/Cristal disaster:

Noel Hankin, vice president of multicultural initiatives at Moet Hennessy USA...which markets Hennessy, Dom Perignon and Belvedere, among other drinks, said his company welcomes the association. "We appreciate that business. We want it. It's critical to our business success," Hankin said. "We've never had any hesitation or reservation about embracing the hip-hop community."...

"Hip-hop is really a language of the younger generation and it's always great for a brand to be relevant with the younger or next generation of buyers," said Kass Dawson, who heads emerged markets at Mercedes-Benz. "We consider it a compliment of the highest order...It really speaks to what our brand stands for - the success, status, aspirations."

Cadillac spokesman Kevin Smith gave props to celebrities, including rappers, and their fondness for the Escalade for the company's resurgence.

Related: Jay-Z Puts a Cap on Cristal

Cristal Managing Director Disses Rap's Patronage

As soon as I try to take a break from this blog, including ignoring various newsfeeds, Eskay alerts me to an AllHipHop piece on a recent article in the Economist in which Frédéric Rouzaud, the managing director of Louis Roderer Cristal apparently describes rappers' brand boosting as "unwelcome attention".

Assuming that Cristal is produced in limited quantities with a luxury market readily available, it's possible that they view rap name checking as a detriment to their brand.  Hmmm, I'll give Paris Hilton a holler and see what she thinks since she represents a radically upscale consumer with a connection to hip hop, such at it is.

While I'm waiting on Paris to get back to me, I'm glad the article got out in a venue that a lot of hip hop artists and fans will read, even if it is full of those nasty pop-up ads in the text.  Yuck!

Uh oh, Eskay's calling for a boycott!  I guess I'm boycotting by class default but I'm looking forward to seeing where this one goes.

The Complete Account:
ProHipHop Coverage & Analysis of Jay-Z's Cristal Boycott

My Apologies to Seth Godin & Tim O'Reilly

Lately Rafi Kam's been schooling me in surprisingly effective ways with his comments here and elsewhere and I want to thank him for that.  He's confirming my growing recognition that I shouldn't write about things that I don't care enough about to look at deeply.

Also, I shouldn't post comments when I'm upset.  I just realized that both times I've opened myself up to Mr. Kam's critiques, it's been when I was upset or overreacted to specific comments and overrstated my case in some fashion.  Plus, I was buying into always being the one who's right.  Always a mistake, even for someone who's right as often as am I (lol).

The thing is, I don't really care what Seth Godin or Tim O'Reilly do.  I might get worked up in a passing way as I would during a barroom conversation but in terms of anything deeply meaningful, they don't matter to me.  I'm not a fan, follower or part of an imagined community, and that may be part of why I was so quick to dismiss them and their very real, personal and/or professional concerns.

None of the posts related to these guys really means that much to me personally*, but I am interested in seeing how fans and followers become antagonists.  For years people have said that if your customers or fans or followers turn against you they'll eventually undermine you.  And I can't think of a more visible mode in which that turn appears than in blogs or on discussion boards.

That's worth looking at without trying to trash people's reputations.

So I just want to apologize to Seth Godin and Tim O'Reilly and thank Rafi Kam for being part of my educational experience.

*Clarification: I should note that I meant everything I said and I do care about the underlying issues.  I just don't feel it was that useful a maneuver to attack Seth or Tim.

Brand Destruction Report: Seth Godin

If you follow famous marketing bloggers like Seth Godin, you may know that he's opposed to comments for reasons that sound rather neurotic and control freakish.  More importantly, his reasons seem to conflict with the values he professes as a marketer.  A marketer whose own business acumen beyond marketing his books and services is increasingly being called into question.

I was going to use those points to start a discussion of the building brand disaster around this decision but The Viral Garden's already on the job.

I'm also particularly fond of Publishing 2.0's response:
Hey Seth, Comment THIS!

When push comes to shove, a lot of the people brewing new forms of Web & Marketing 2.0 koolaid don't seem to be drinking it themselves.  Maybe they're just too busy monetizing it?

Update: My Apologies to Seth Godin & Tim O'Reilly

Alternate Possibilities for Debranding Neil Boorman

I was just reading Josh Spear's description of the Kwang Hua Market:
Pure insanity– words can almost not describe the hustle and bustle, streets packed with vendors, shoppers, animals, and what seemed like every possible thing in the world for sale at dirt cheap prices. Vendors sold fake everything, from Calvin Klein underwear for $2, suits, polo shirts, fake watches, cell phones, sneakers– jeans and t-shirts literally lined the sidewalks.

It struck me that Neil Boorman's project would be much more interesting if he did one of the following:
a) wore and used only bootlegged brands bought on the street,
b) removed all the brands like the brand-phobic character in Pattern Recognition.

Cayce, the lead character in Pattern Recognition, has issues with seeing brands and it makes for some interesting moments.  Best of all, she has all brand markers removed from her clothing and personal items.  I really like that idea and actually think it's a lot cooler than the "global anti-brand" brand of Blackspot Shoes, though I'm warming to that project, as well.

But Boorman's project is already getting interesting as the account of how a brand addict sees the world and what they will do to break that addiction:
I start therapy next week. I'll be attempting to understand how I have come to rely on brands for my self-esteem and personal identity. That's when the real tears begin to flow.

Good thing for him he's not into hip hop, though he's quite proud of his "original Run DMC glasses".

Cam'ron's Deteriorating Brand, Pt. 2

I wrote previously about Cam'ron's diss campaign against Jay-Z that seems to be accelerating the decline of Cam's career.  I also updated it with a link to a piece by Cedric Muhammed in which he claims that Jay-Z better watch out.  While CM's piece was logical and well written, it was entirely unconvincing.

SOHH NYC describes Cam's latest as "his wack, poor excuse for a diss record on a wack, poor excuse for a rapper's beat."

Ouch!  How's that for support from New York?

I haven't checked the latest Sound Scam chart info for the status of Killa Season, but I'm sure you recall that Cam's first week out was the worst debut of his recent albums.  And I've yet to hear anything good about his piss freak DVD (supposedly he takes a leak on someone, not sure if it was a trick or if it was an R. Kelly style freebie, but I'm sure it was all love).

Best of luck Cam.  You're going to need it!

Brand America Continues Its Death Spiral

Since I'm on the brand destruction theme:
U.S. troops kill pregnant woman in Iraq

U.S. forces killed two Iraqi women — one of them about to give birth — when the troops shot at a car that failed to stop at an observation post in a city north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials and relatives said Wednesday. Nabiha Nisaif Jassim, 35, was being raced to the maternity hospital in Samarra by her brother when the shooting occurred Tuesday.  Jassim, the mother of two children, and her 57-year-old cousin, Saliha Mohammed Hassan, were killed by the U.S. forces, according to police Capt. Laith Mohammed and witnesses. . .

Jassim's brother, who was wounded by broken glass, said he did not see any warnings as he sped his sister to the hospital. Her husband was waiting for her there.

"I was driving my car at full speed because I did not see any sign or warning from the Americans. It was not until they shot the two bullets that killed my sister and cousin that I stopped," he said. "God take revenge on the Americans and those who brought them here. They have no regard for our lives."

But at least the U.S. military is addressing their image problem:
"The loss of life is regrettable and coalition forces go to great lengths to prevent them," the military said.

I'm sure the people of Iraq, as well as all those paying attention to this disaster, will feel much better when they hear the military's response.

More Brand Self-Destruction: Cam'Ron Going Down

I don't have much to say about Cam'Ron but it is interesting to see how his diss campaign against Jay-Z is taking Cam down.

If you peep the comments at Nah Right in response to Cam's latest, you'll notice he doesn't really seem to be getting much support.  In fact, if you check earlier posts for Cam'Ron few seem to be feeling this diss campaign.

Anybody seeing people rallying behind Cam online?  I can't really stand to spend much more time looking at what people have to say about that fool but I'm curious about how it looks to other folks.

Update: Black Electorate's Cedric Muhammed thinks Jay-Z may be in danger!  He may lose the streets of New York to Cam!!  Whether or not you find that idea plausible, Muhammed has a long piece at Street and Industry (where he's a partner, who knew?) in which he suggests a strategy for Jay-Z's response.  Interesting but Cam seems to be destroying himself more quickly the less Jay-Z responds.

ProHipHop's prediction?  Before this thing is over, Cam will be hustling mixtapes on the streets of Harlem where, apparently, he's still quite popular.

Brands: O'Reilly Kills His, Boorman Pretends To

Famed creator of the term Web 2.0, Tim O'Reilly responds to the controversy over a service mark registration by partner CMP for the use of Web 2.0 in the title of conferences after they sent a Cease & Desist letter to an Irish conference organizer.  Lots of details that I just don't want to go into at the moment but they're mostly available via O'Reilly's post linked above.

Here's an excerpt from my response to O'Reilly's response that I left in his comments:

What a mess. You're turning your brand into garbage and, while this post will satisfy some, so many people who picked up the Web 2.0 ball and ran with it will never look to you for inspiration again.

To come up with a term like that, have it become a part of the daily language and be widely acknowledged for creating it is so much more valuable than being the only one able to use it in the U.S. in a conference title, especially a conference that is so well known.

O'Reilly's really squandering his social capital on this one.

In an odd reversal of the O'Reilly situation, Neil Boorman will burn all his branded goods:
I am burning all my own branded possessions, and I will be attempting to live my new life brand-free, but the book is really an experiment to see if it is actually possible to disconnect from branded consumerism.

That's right, he's destroying his branded possessions in a publicity stunt to build his own brand and sell his upcoming book.  I think the guy's gonna have a breakdown in the process based on some of his blog posts I've read to date.

Nevertheless, I'm sure Boorman will have great tales to tell of running naked through the forest, drinking water from the babbling brook and hunting game with a pointed stick.

Best of luck, fellas!

Update:  Great example at Brand Dialogue of the damage O'Reilly's doing to his brand.

Update: My Apologies to Seth Godin & Tim O'Reilly

Bad Branding Moves: AT&T to Dead Cingular

When I first saw the news that AT&T was dropping the Cingular brand and replacing it with AT&T Wireless, I had difficulty believing it. However, Jaffe was more disturbed than I:
The cover story of this week's Ad Age documents (in my opinion) inarguably the dumbest moment in branding history...and a continuation of the worst branding moves ever made by one of the worst companies to date . . . Cingular is one of the branding success stories of our time (right up there with the Targets of the world) and how a monolithic, staid, lethargic and bureaucratic company like AT&T could ignore Cingular's swooping courting of a younger and more progressive consumer base, is beyond me.

Advertising Age: AT&T Plans to Kill Cingular Brand
Karl Barnhart, managing director, CoreBrand, New York, a former AT&T agency, agreed that changing the Cingular name "doesn't make sense." Cingular's brand is "relevant for the younger audience; it's a fun, hip, interesting, dynamic -- everything you don't think about AT&T."

Mr. Barnhart estimates the changeover will cost "probably one-half billion per year for three to five years." And in the end, consumers still may not understand why they moved from writing a monthly check to AT&T to writing one to Cingular and then going back to AT&T, he said.