Oprah's and Dove Soap's Internet Monetization and Branding Strategy

Oprah is one of the smartest entrepreneurs in the world and has one of the most recognizable brands and her team works hard to protect and grow her brand. As a Baltimore native, I would like to think that it was the water that Oprah imbibed during her long stint working in Baltimore that prepared her for success. Right after she left Baltimore for Chicago she became a world wide superstar. Some other former Baltimoreans who became successful after leaving Baltimore include: Babe Ruth, Barry Levinson, John Waters, and Nancy Pelosi so I hope my water theory is true because it gives hope to all former Baltimoreans (myself included).

My two year old son is very musically inclined and enjoys watching and singing and dancing to various music videos that we watch together on Youtube. A couple of weeks ago, my wife started watching with our son a clip from a recent Oprah show that included the cast from Glee singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin". For about a week they went to Youtube to watch the clip.

All of sudden the clip they were watching disappeared and a message appeared stating that the clip was removed due to copyright infringement. My wife then went to Oprah.com and found the clip. However, on Oprah.com, there was a 30 second Dove commercial that had to be watched before the cast of Glee's rendition of Don't Stop Believin was played. The web page that contained the Glee clip was fully branded by Dove. In addition, Dove was a sponsor of the actual episode that aired the performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show and is a sponsor on Fox.com's Glee home page.

Even though it appears that Oprah and Dove fully branded the entire user experience they both missed out on creating a Social Media 360 Deal. This was an internet brand campaign and not a social media brand campaign. To learn how to fully monetize your social media assets you may contact me at www.shearlaw.com.

Copyright 2010 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.

Entertainment and Sports Social Media 360 Deals

Entertainment 360 deals have slowly become more prevalent in the entertainment industry during the past several years. A 360 deal is one where a record label or entertainment company signs talent to a contract that entitles the company to derive revenue not only from traditional revenue streams such as record sales, but also from all other monetizeable areas. These other revenue streams may include: endorsements, merchandise sales, publishing, and songwriting. The revenue splits vary depending upon an artist's leverage in the industry.

Michael Jackson's estate recently signed an agreement that appears to be what I call an "Entertainment Estate 360 Deal." The full details of the contract have not been disclosed as of this writing, but, it sounds as though this agreement may break new ground in the manner in which entertainment contracts slice and dice intellectual property rights. According to the New York Times, the agreement "allows Sony and the estate [of Michael Jackson] to collaborate on a wide range of lucrative licensing arrangements, like the use of Jackson music for films, television and stage shows and lines of memorabilia that will be limited only by the imagination of the estate and the demand of a hungry worldwide market." This groundbreaking agreement appears to fully monetize Michael Jackson's estate in a manner that will benefit the estate's heirs. Unfortunately, Michael Jackson may have been worth more dead than alive.

Generally, in the world of U.S. professional sports 360 deals do not exist. NFL players have an incentive to quickly monetize their social media assets because on average their playing careers last approximately 3.4 years. In order to properly leverage an athlete's social media potential, a player needs to be both talented on the field and have a unique and engaging personality. Chad Ochocinco has this rare combination and this has enabled his twitter account to attract sponsors due to his ability to acquire almost 800,000 followers.

As an attorney who practices entertainment, sports, and social media law, I am always looking for creative methods to increase my client's revenue streams. In my February 5, 2010 post, I discussed "Social Media Engagement Product Placement Contracts." To elaborate further on this topic, I want to discuss what I call "Social Media 360 Deals." In a "Social Media 360 Deal," a celebrity or professional athlete's social media assets are utilized to create synergy for both the client and the sponsor(s). Due to the constantly changing technology of social media, an attorney must be well versed in not only contract law and intellectual property, but must also fully understand the technology and capabilities of the social media platforms involved. To learn more about these issues you may contact me at www.shearlaw.com.

Copyright 2010 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.