EA Podcast No 2: Perez Hilton
When I think of emergent branding, I think of Perez Hilton. Born Mario Lavandeira, the Miami native decided that, after a spell as an actor, he’d try to make some money doing something he was really nuts about: taking to the web with a one man show named in quasi-homage to Paris Hilton. If she could be famous for being famous, surely he, Perez Hilton, could be famous for doling out online scoops about the escapades of her and her fellow celebrities.
Lo and behold, Perez has gone and done it, building his one man online show into a brand of his own - it emerged from everything he did, no overpaid Madison Avenue ‘brand strategists’ necessary.
How strong is his brand? Strong enough to bring in even more readers than the weekly celebrity magazines. Strong enough to pay his rent in New York and LA. Strong enough to get him showered with free clothes from the likes of Ben Sherman, VIP trips to Sundance, Amsterdam, Hollywood awards parties, and all the hottest hangouts on both coasts. Strong enough that, as well as counting Paris and contemporaries like Lindsay Lohan as readers, Perez is now hanging out with them in ‘real life’. Strong enough to be regarded as a threat by PR flacks and other celeb bloggers who don’t like to be beaten at their own game by a shameless upstart. (Gawker threw the term ‘scum’ Perez’s way recently; surely nothing to do with the consistently higher traffic he is able to pull with far less investment and resource behind him than the Nick Denton-backed operation.)
The offline extension of the one man show has been something spectacular to behold; Perez may not like the word ‘blog’, but the network effect of the blogosphere has pushed the life of this self-proclaimed media whore and entrepreneur into lucrative overdrive.
I called Perez in LA yesterday, from my home in London, to ask him about his new reality TV show; the real reason he’s so harsh on Nicole Richie; the legal threats from Colin Ferrell, Britney Spears, and Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post, and the utter explosion of his self-made career as figurehead of “Hollywood’s most hated website”. To quote the man himself, “I’m glad I didn’t say anything I’ll regret!” You be the judge of that.
Engagement Alliance Podcast No 2: Perez Hilton - Download this podcast (size: 23MB, run time: 28:20)
Links to the people, blogs, companies, and articles mentioned in this podcast:
Nicole Richie’s red string habit
Nicole Richie’s friend tries to physically assault Perez at Privilege
Pepper Dennis, the TV show starring Rebecca Romijn whose writers are developing a part just for Perez
In: Blogging • EA Podcasts • Marketing • Emergent Branding •