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Klegg Mini celebrity endorsement with Paula Abdul
Ilse Jurriën : February 28th 2006 - 03:15 CET
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 Klegg Mini celebrity endorsement with Paula Abdul : President of Klegg Electronics, Dennis Gentles, needed to take his company's product, 'The Klegg Mini,' the world's smallest MP3 player - and one of the most affordable - to market. But, he had a problem. "I needed that celebrity endorsement, I wanted Paula Abdul because of her popularity and her brand identity in music, but we just didn't have the resources. So, I offered her a large chunk of the company. And it worked," says Gentles. Not only did Klegg stock soar with the news that Abdul had signed on, but Paula began a publicity campaign that had her pitching the Klegg Mini on: Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show, amongst others.
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 Klegg Mini - Paula Abdul
"Overnight, the name 'Klegg Mini' became synonymous with Paula Abdul. She put her heart and soul into the PR campaign and really pitched hard because she was a major stockholder," notes Joe Davis, Sr. VP of Clearvision, Inc., the marketing company that advised Klegg to sign Paula. "Here you've got a major celebrity," continues Davis, "She's on TV talking about her favorite gizmo and it's something 'Jane Doe' in Iowa can afford. It's a no-brainer. Consumers are going to buy and stock traders are going to invest. Using Paula to promote the product gives huge credibility to Klegg, they are seen as a serious contender, and at the same time, Paula instills confidence in consumers."
Klegg Mini - MP3 market
The new Klegg Mini is slated to dramatically expand the $40 billion MP3 market, one of the fastest growing electronics markets in the world. Sales of MP3 players topped 27 million units worldwide in 2004 with an expected growth rate of 30% annually over the next five years. "The portable music device category exploded this year, with interest in MP3 players up 9 percent over last year's survey..." reported Todd Board, leader of Ipsos Insight's Technology & Communications practice, on digitalmusicnews.com.
Klegg Mini world's smallest MP3 player - Price
The Klegg Mini is available for $79.95, and can be purchased online at the web site of Klegg. It is small enough to fit on a key chain, starts at under $80, and holds over 250 songs and 10,000 photos or hours of voice recordings. The Klegg is 1.8 inches long, 1.6 inches wide, and only 1/2 inches thick.
Celebrity endorsement - Major and Smaller companies
Major corporations have been utilizing the celebrity endorsement with success since the birth of advertising. Smaller companies have rarely had the resources to compete. In the past, celebrities usually received a hefty annual fee for spokesperson duties, which included all commercials (TV and radio), personal appearances and print advertising. However, in recent years, many of these famous endorsers have opted to be rewarded in the form of stock. Two notable celebrity product marriages from the recent past include: William Shatner and Priceline (netting him more income than from his entire performing career) and George Foreman and The George Forman Grill. According to Forman's Attorney Henry Holmes, "By having stock in the company...(George has) done very well."
Paula Abdul and The Klegg Mini - Celebrity endorsement
This latest celebrity product marriage, between Paula Abdul and The Klegg Mini, hope to fair as well. "If the continued strength of the stock and the on-going success in consumer sales are any indication, let's just say, we're very, very happy. This is a happy marriage," beams Gentles.
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