Our team helps brands, their agencies and nonprofit organizations by assessing the business value of celebrities, negotiating smart partnerships and activating each program. We provide fast and accurate information and recommend talent based on many factors including their relevance, points of differentiation and cost. The results of our work are seen as television commercials, webisodes, publicity programs, YouTube posts, celebrity seeding, social media » Read More
We had the chance to chat with actress and mom Melissa Joan Hart recently. Here's what this former Dancing with the Stars contestant had to say about her career, partnering with brands, Twitter - and of course, ABC's hit show.
Q: What have you been up to and what’s next?
MJH: We are still recording Melissa and Joey. We’ve been finishing up 18 new episodes that will start airing on June 29 and the first 12 episodes of the first season will come out on DVD on May 24. My mother and I have a production company called Heartbreak Films (we produced Sabrina and Melissa and Joey), and we have a couple of things in the works, from feature films to animated shows. We also have a fun little internet show that I hope to be doing with my siblings – kind of Kardashians meet Chelsea Lately.
Melissa Joan Hart and Kellogg's Celebrate National Breakfast Day
Q: You’ve worked with several brands in the past, most recently Kellogg’s. What is important to you when you look to partner with a brand?
MJH: I like to find a brand that I can relate to. Something that I use, enjoy and most importantly something my family gets some benefit out of. With Kellogg’s, my kids love Fruit Loops, and it’s something that I grew up with. I think it’s a part of every family’s morning start. I also worked with Pull-Ups, and at that time I had two kids in diapers. So, I really like products that I tend to use.
Q: We have done a lot of projects with several participants on Dancing with the Stars. What has Dancing with the Stars done for you in terms of your own platform?
MJH: Well, one of the biggest things that the show did for me was that it helped my fan base. Audiences always have thought of me as the “Teenage Witch” and Dancing with the Stars was a way for the audience to see me in a more current realm. I am now more recognized as myself, not the characters I play. People would come up to be as “Sabrina”, but now people are coming up to me as Melissa John Hart!
Q: You are almost at 100,000 Twitter followers! How has Social Media changed the way you interact with fans?
MJH: I can now speak directly to the fans. Social Media has such instant results. It’s really nice to when I write something, like a trivia question, and see that I receive 200 responses within the first 3 minutes. But, I also have to be more cautious – that stupid comment I wrote at 2AM can be splattered everywhere.
Be sure to tune in to ABC Family when Melissa & Joey returns on June 19 at 8 p.m. ET.
The Account Manager will support the First Call business unit by managing existing account relationships and assisting in the development and execution of new marketing programs.
Responsibilities and Duties:
Required Qualifications:
The position is located in our headquarters' office in McLean, VA. For consideration please submit your résumé and cover letter via e-mail, with "Account Manager - MC" in the subject line to: hr.usa@octagon.com.
We recently spoke about the "Disney Star Machine" with Meghan Casserly of Forbes. As we've said before, the Disney Channel churns out some of the most popular and marketable tween/teen stars year after year. From the old days of Christina and Britney to current Disney Princesses Demi and Selena, they know how to market and leverage their stars.
Check out an excerpt below and be sure to read the article in it's entirity at Forbes.
David Schwab, vice president of Octagon First Call, a celebrity acquisition and activation firm, says that television is ground zero for all marketing to the Disney demographic. "While TV time is decreasing for older audiences with the rise of the internet, for Disney's core young audience, it's central to their media habits," he says. "It's where they get their biggest exposure."
As an illustration, Schwab points out that Camp Rock Two, released September 3, has been watched "three times in its entirety" by his three children, all under seven years old. "They're not into radio at a young age, and their Internet time is restricted or monitored by parents," he says. "So for the five to 12-year- olds, television delivers the most lopsided percentage of their media messages." And for Disney, it works, even after their stars-and audiences-grow up.
"The shows and the stars see continued success even after the series stop producing new episodes-or even when their audience outgrows it," says Schwab. Every few years, new children (largely little girls) come into the Disney sweet-spot age group, and the company capitalizes by syndicating their old series. "The audience then increases in two ways for Disney and the star: young kids catch reruns for the first time and become fans, and the stars themselves move on to develop new properties and take their aging audience with them," he says. Case in point: Miley Cyrus's Hannah Montana may be in its final season, but her edgy line of clothing for Wal-Mart, Miley Cyrus & Max Azria, is selling alongside Disney-branded Hannah Montana merchandise in the mass retailer.
Account / Marketing Coordinator
Octagon's First Call division is currently looking for a motivated and creative Account/Marketing Coordinator to join our team. First Call is a business that advises corporations, non-profit organizations and their marketing agencies by assessing the value of a celebrity, negotiating partnerships and activating the program (including public relations, social media, seeding etc). For more information, please go to www.celebrityacquisition.com.
The Account/Marketing Coordinator will support and promote the First Call business and focus his/her efforts on serving clients in the culinary and consumer packaged goods industries. The successful candidate will manage existing account relationships and assist in the development and execution of new marketing programs.
Responsibilities and Duties:
Required Qualifications:
Ideally we would like the successful candidate to work out of our headquarters' office in McLean, VA. We are open though to consider applicants who are interested in working remotely, if you are able to at least spend the first 6 months of employment in Virginia. For consideration please submit your résumé and cover letter via e-mail, with "Marketing Coordinator" in the subject line to: hr.usa@octagon.com.
Octagon is an Equal Opportunity Employer. EEO/AA.M/F/D/V.
The article featured thoughts from First Call as well (below). Enjoy...
David Schwab, vice president and managing director of Octagon First Call, a celebrity-marketing arm of Interpublic, says that refusing major corporations a greater say in morals clauses "has become a deal breaker." He adds that the James deal is "good for the business."
Thank you to everyone who attended our SAG webcast yesterday and to James Sheridan of Trice Talent for sharing his knowledge with us. We hope that you learned a bit about Unions and how they can affect your PR/marketing campaigns. Here are our top 8 key takeaways from the webcast.
Remember, Unions can be very complicated and it's wise to consult an expert when your program includes Union work.
It's a process we at Octagon First Call live everyday - negotiating endorsement deals. If you've seen the HBO hit Entourage then you are familiar with the glamorized version of deal making in Hollywood: lots of shouting, four letter loaded rants and a lie/cheat/steal-do-anything-to-close-a-deal mentality. In La La Land duplicity may be perceived to be key, but leverage is truly king.
Leverage is the key to all types of dealmaking, whether it's the endorsement of an A-list actor or the purchase of a good used car. Getting a sweet price on a second hand ride may not be as glamorous as locking in Brad Pitt for a Heineken spot, but at its core there are some fantastic similarities in how leverage is applied in tactics and process.
Car buying/education site Edmunds.com has a great article outlining the process a professional car buyer goes through when sourcing a good deal for his client (much in the same way we objectively evaluate talent and negotiate endorsement deals for our clients). Check it out here.
A cool (and useful) article on the negotiation process and strategies.
Click here to get the PDF version of First Call's "Eight Celebrity Cause Marketing Tips."
Today I will be giving a presentation on "Celebrities, Causes and Campaigns" at the 2009 Cause Marketing Forum Conference. We'll take a look at how companies and non-profits can best utilize celebrities in their cause marketing campaigns as well as industry trends and common mistakes. I'll also share results of our cause marketing survey.
The conference has a great lineup of speakers from companies including UNICEF, Ford Motor Company, OfficeMax, Cone, Procter & Gamble, Macy's and Food Network. If you're in the Chicago area, be sure to attend the conference (at the Westin). If you can't make it, follow the live tweets at #CMF09 for some great insight into the world of cause marketing.
1. Be careful about falling in love:
Home buyers and brands have an edge. Both have the ability to choose from the universe of what is "for sale." So beware of falling in love with a celebrity or house, especially the first one you see. I say so for a few reasons: a) There may be a better one out there, b) You may extend an offer that is declined, and c) You are typically better prepared to present an offer after you understand the marketplace (and have thoroughly reviewed multiple homes and celebrities).
2. Price is often dictated by intangibles:
Neighborhood, the current home owner's urgency to get rid of the house, time of year and the type of people selling dictate the price of a home. I am sure you have seen homes geographically very close to one another with similar physical characteristics but different prices...causing you to scratch your head. The celebrity world is the same. Level of interest in the celebrity, the agent/manager who represents him/her, the category of the product you are asking the celebrity to promote and the turnaround time for getting a deal done all influence the price. It's OK to pay more than you would on another house/celebrity as long as what you're buying meets your needs, and the value outweighs the cost.
3. Evaluate the pros AND cons of each selection:
Write down everything that is good and bad about the home or celebrity. Choose five pros and five cons - and rank those according to what is most important to you. You may find that you can live with some cons, while others are deal-breakers. This exercise will also help you comparison shop.
4. Look for the hidden potential:
Be creative in your decision making. The trick in making "the home work" or the "program click" can be as simple as putting some paint on the front door or creating some cool, new message points for the celebrity. Think a few steps ahead when you're shopping.
5. Use References to Find an Expert to Help You With the Process:
Home buyers and marketers feel they can buy a celebrity and house themselves and some are right. But they are the minority. For the rest of the world, get references from friends and work colleagues about experts in the space to assist with the process (sometimes it is hard to differentiate people to hire; realtors or celebrity consultants - so ask people that have already done so in the past for positive recommendations). Find people that are smart and are willing to really help you. It's worth paying an expert a bit out of your budget to ensure you are getting what you want (or more) at the right price. We (they) live in this space 24/7 and will have real-time information/tips for you (disclosure...a little selfish plug for us 
).
Happy Shopping.
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