We put products with celebrities to create the buzz behind celebrity culture. With 25,000 celebrity photos we are the world's leading product placement company.
WWW.SOCIALHILL.COM | @SOCIALHILL ON TWITTER

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Hollywood Awards Season has Hundreds of Companies Wasting Money on Gift Suites

Social Hill, the nations' leading direct product placement company, has made radical changes to the celebrity gift suite industry after extensive research into the fundamentals that have been failing brand managers for years.
Hundreds of brand managers and publicists will participate in gift suites over the coming months, only to find them to be a complete waste of time and money. The very fundamentals of gift suites fail the results-oriented brand manager. Social Hill has researched and rebuilt the process from a brand manager’s perspective with brand building as the primary focus.


Hollywood gift suites have become nearly as famous as the events they surround. The 2012 Awards season starts in January with the Golden Globes, and is followed by the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Grammys and finally at the end of February, the Oscars. Dozens of meeting rooms in local hotels will be rented out to hold exclusive gift suites for the stars. 

The promise of the gift suite seems to make sense: Hundreds of celebrities will come and meet with dozens of companies and get free products. Expectations of Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry coming to get the latest and greatest products is irresistible to brand managers. The companies will benefit from the “unofficial endorsement” of the celebrity as the mass media (or social media) distribute images of the celebrity with the new brands. This is called “Celebrity Association”. In mathematics it is called “The transitive property of equality” which means If A=B and B=C then A=C. With celebrity association it is more like; If people like a celebrity, and a celebrity likes your brand, then people will like your brand. This is powerful marketing and that is why hundreds of companies participate in gift suites each year.

It is too bad that over 90% of them will never participate in a gift suite after trying it once. Of the remaining 10% who will give it another try only 3% will move on to a third gift suite. Bob Olejar of Social Hill has been evaluating this business for the past decade and states “We have looked at the product lists from all the major suites over the past few years and called the brand managers for feedback after the events. The comments we get range from disappointment, frustration and many accusations of fraud.”

Gift suites fail for brand managers on all levels. They fail the basic requirements for celebrity association. Hollywood gift suites fail at their fundamental structure. Here are the shocking quick facts:
  •     Although 200 guests attend an typical gift suite only 2 of them will be celebrities

  •     Pictures of celebrities at a tradeshow style booth have no PR value

  •     Pictures of celebrities on a red carpet with dozens of logos behind them have no PR value
Social Hill has taken this research very seriously and has completely redesigned the gifting business from the perspective of a brand manager. “Direct Product Placement with a celebrity is the goal of a brand manager, not gifting” says Olejar. We still have a red carpet photo, but our press walls only have the logo of one brand. One celebrity in a photo with one brand creates celebrity association. We also don’t take any tradeshow style photos. We have an interior designed photo studio for celebrities to take organic photographs with their favorite products. Organic photos create celebrity association.
The gifting business is dying due to the emergence of results-oriented brand managers and publicists. Direct celebrity product placement is the future for the industry and it is the current business model for Social Hill.

Celebrities and Social Hill keeping animals warm this winter

Social Hill, Hollywood’s most exclusive celebrity product lounge is pleased to announce the sponsorship of the animal charity, Operation Blankets of Love for the month of December. Bob Olejar, CEO of Social Hill states, “Social Hill supports a different charity every month and we are thrilled to be able to do something to help shelter animals for the month of December.”

Social Hill’s celebrity lounge is focusing on the plight of stray animals this holiday season by working with Operation Blankets of love and the Los Angeles celebrity community. Social Hill and celebrity animal lovers are teaming up to change the lives of thousands of shelter animals this holiday season. Operation Blankets of Love is featured in conjunction with this year’s holiday pet portrait lounge at the Social Hill show room for the month of December.

When animals are displaced and end up in shelters with cold empty cages they become withdrawn and depressed. Operation Blankets of Love donates blankets, toys, and other supplies to animal shelters across California in an effort to drastically improve the animals’ conditions. With shelters overcrowding and an increasing number of animals being euthanized, it is important to increase animal adoption. The comfort a simple blanket and toy brings to an animal in an empty concrete cage, lifts its spirit, mood and health, making it a desirable and adoptable pet. 

Celebrities such as Gabourey Sidibe, Pamela Anderson, Cody Simpson and Vernon Davis all participated in raising money and awareness for this cause.
Social Hill works with a different charity every month to raise awareness in the celebrity community, in turn, raising awareness within the public. For information on charity sponsorship, visit http://www.socialhill.com. For additional information, drop off locations or to donate directly to Operation Blankets of Love, visit http://www.operationblanketsoflove.com.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

The 5 Golden Rules of Facebook Branding

Similarly to corporate web pages fifteen years ago, social networking is that business device that everyone knows they need to use, but not sure how to use.  Unfortunately, there is a very low barrier to entry with social networking, so most companies find the one person in-house that knows just a little more than everyone else, and counts on that person to launch a proper social networking campaign.  We see it over and over, so we have put together a short list of the Golden Rules that we feel are essential for effective Facebook Branding:


  1. Learn from the best brands and before you start, get all aspects of your Facebook page ready to roll. Generally, a business will fill out the info, add some photos, post up a square logo and off they go.  But take a look at how great brands do it, and give yourself a full checklist by comparing your Facebook Page to theirs--  Why don't we have a long, beautiful profile image? How did they get their 5 images at the top of the page to merge so well with the overall layout and brand image? They have their other related businesses as their Featured Likes, should we do that? What sections should we have under our logo... Reviews? YouTube? Questions? Polls? Custom sections? How do we do that?  In short, know all the parts of a Facebook page and get yours maximized and ready for business before you start.
  2. Engage, be Transparent, and Interact.  Your fans are your gateway to more fans, so treat them well.  With social networking sales/marketing/customer service are all bundled into one area, and you can master them well by interacting often with fans.  It won't cost you anything but time-- use polls, ask questions, run contests, and reply to when a fan has an issue.  Transparency is one of the new buzzwords in the business world and companies that are succeeding are the ones staying on top of and in front of issues.  And remember that you grow your Facebook fan base by keeping your fans engaged, and thus hopefully getting more fans through them... let them be a part of the page to keep them interested in your brand, and your Facebook page will grow.
  3. Give back to fans.  Reward them, and this can be in many different ways.  Musicians can give early releases, Fan only printable coupons, updates to exclusive events, whatever it is, give your fans something in return for the loyalty they have shown for becoming a part of your site.  This can cost you nothing, or you can have a grand promotion, or something in between.  Whatever your approach, it is important to give back to your fans... it is through them that you will grow your Facebook page, so it is good to keep them happy.
  4. Let 'em see behind the curtain!  To be honest, most Facebook brand pages are just extensions of already existing business websites, but that just creates a redundant marketing tool that causes confusion.  The difference between your Facebook page and your business website is your network of fans, and they are an active feature of your page.  A website has value as an unbound source of company info, but your Facebook page is special in that your audience is built right into your content.  Let them be a part of your brand.  Here is an example... let's say you are a fashion company, and you have a very slick website with some professionally made promotional videos.  Yes, it is fine to also bring those over, probably in the format of a YouTube app that just gets all of your videos automatically.  However, your fans will be far more engaged if you make them feel more a part of the business... do some "behind the scenes" videos recorded off of staff mobile devices, and perhaps let them see some of the ins and outs of the business.  Again, no cost, and you fully engage the fans and are providing real value in being a part of your Facebook page.
  5. Sell and/or Advertise on Facebook.  If you have worked hard to build up a loyal and ever-expanding fan base, you would be missing a huge opportunity not to sell you products and/or advertise on Facebook.  Building a store on Facebook has huge advantages--- word of mouth can be instant among your fans that buy products on your Facebook page and they in turn will become like a mini-sales team utilizing the greatest tool of social networking-- transitive trust.  Facebook ads are "hyper-targeted" so you can hit exactly the type of potential customers that you deem worthy, and are beyond compare to traditional spray and pray sales and marketing campaigns.
Facebook is where the customers are at, and utilizing the power of the network of fans and friends is what will separate business over the next decade.  Businesses that understand how to use their Facebook page and other social networking tools will be the ones standing in all of the tremendously saturated markets that exist in each business environment, and using these 5 rules will go a long way in building an efficient social networking plan.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Brand Acceptance: Bearpaw gains traction

Something magical happens to a brand when they become accepted into the celebrity culture of America…they become a topic of conversation for the entire culture of America.  For the last 130 years our western culture has experienced mass media through magazines, radio, movies, television and now the Internet.

The goal of every brand is to gain acceptance by the American consumer.  To gain acceptance, brands need to first get their attention. Brands need to be a topic of conversation. If you get people talking, they will take a look at your product. Building the buzz on a product is the goal, and there is no better way to get people talking than associating a brand with celebrities.

Bearpaw is the perfect example of how a great brand does everything right.

Social Hill has worked with Bearpaw for the past 2 years. We have a simple goal: We introduce celebrities to the Bearpaw product line and get them to try on a pair or two.  It is not complicated, educate them first and let them try it for themselves. It is a simple strategy that works when the product is good enough to meet the standards of celebrities who have access to any product they desire. Once they try on a pair of Bearpaw boots they want them and then the buzz begins.

Celebrities are wearing these boots night and day. You might have thought that sheepskin shoes and boots would be a fashion faux pas in the summer months, but numerous celebrities are starting a new trend and sporting their Bearpaw footwear year-round. Country singer Gretchen Wilson, actresses Shannon Elizabeth and Jennifer Love Hewitt, and singers Jordin Sparks and Crystal Bowersox have all become fans of Bearpaw. Karina Smirnoff from Dancing with the Stars has even worked with the brand to design her own boot. Lacey Schwimmer, Chelsea Kane, Brandy, Debby Ryan, Tim Duncan, Taboo (Black Eyed Peas) and Romeo are wearing Bearpaw’s regularly.  

The press has also noticed. The brand is appearing in all the major celebrity magazines like People, OK, US Weekly and Star. They have been on multiple television shows like TMZ, Dancing with the Stars and even Jersey Shore. The pictures of celebrities in Bearpaw’s are all over Twitter and Facebook.  

Bearpaw is actively spreading the word about celebrities wearing its footwear. Social media is where the buzz of celebrity culture thrives. Consumers are talking about brands in social media and Bearpaw gives them plenty to talk about. Bearpaw is a topic of thousands of social media conversations and that translates to an explosion in sales.  As we talked about in an earlier post, the quality of the Bearpaw brand is building an exponentially spreading "trust" from consumer to potential new consumer, the basis of all social networking sales.

Start the buzz. Spread the word. Generate interest. Gain acceptance. Now your brand is a hit. Bearpaw is the perfect example.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Facebook Fan Pages vs. Websites

Facebook Fan Pages vs. Websites

The traditional web page may have peaked as to its level of importance with the recent explosion of social networking tools.  This is not to say that the company website has lost its purpose, but it rather has drifted into the grouping of traditional marketing tools that offer only an A to B knowledge transfer.  What is that?  Well, let's look at it in contrast to social networking tools.

First, we need to acknowledge that the overall trust in business and brands is very low.  This could very well be unfair, as many business and traditional advertisements are lumped in with current events such as Enron, ponzi schemes, government bailouts, recalls, etc.  Whether fair or not isn't important, it is just the reality.  Therefore, when businesses simply use this A to B method of "telling" customers to trust them and that their products have quality and that their business is valid, it has only a limited effect.

So why do social networking tools such as Facebook fan pages have more validity?  The answer lies in the concept of "transitive trust".  Transitive trust is simple and ancient- if I trust a person's opinion on a certain topic, and that person trusts a certain product, I therefore gain a certain level of trust for that product.

Facebook and other social networking sites work off of this premise.  A brand puts itself out there, and displays info, and gathers an initial base of "fans".  This could be current customers, friends, etc.  The idea is to build upon those fans' fans.  It's a slow exponential growth, but one that very much fits into free market concepts of survival of the fittest.  The brands that are most transparent, engage customers, deal with issues promptly and fairly, offer quality products and reasonable prices, and so on, will theoretically succeed because basically the word will spread within the network for that brand.

Saying all that, it is not a magic bullet solution.  Billboard type marketing materials such as websites still have a lot of value in that they can display rich data about the company and its brands.  Facebook is an excellent tool to build the brand, but other tools such as a microblog like Twitter is excellent for quickly getting exposure to many fans, and blogs such as Blogspot offer integration of more robust content.

Finally, it is important to understand that every brand is different.  When a company first engages in a social networking plan, they should determine what is the value proposition of their products.  For a fashion company this could be "how does it make me look?" and "what celebrities like this brand?".  Both of these can be answered on the highest layer of content with product images and celebrity images with the brand.  For a company that offers technical training, let's say, the value proposition is different in that the quality of the brand is not as superficial.  For this type of company testimonials from past clients, current customers, and some more detailed product info will be needed.  Each company is different and a plan should be made before moving forward.

At Social Hill, we first determine how social networking can benefit each customer and build a plan around those needs.  There are thousands of excellent Facebook apps, Twitter tools, blog configurations, and a set of the most appropriate is organized for each brand.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Maggie Lawson stops by JointMud

Here is a picture of Maggie Lawson, who plays Juliet on the greatly underappreciated "Psych" TV show, stopping by Joint Mud around the time of Dancing With The Stars, Season 12

Saturday, June 4, 2011

New Celebrity Image Video for Capezio Dance

Completed a Celebrity Image promotional video for Capezio Dance featuring celebs such as:


anna trebunskay, ayla kell, bella thorne, brandy, brittany curran, bruno tonioli, buzz aldrin,
chelsea kane, chelsie hightower, cheryl burke, chrishell stause, hines ward, karina smirnoff,
kelly preston, kendra wilkinson, krysten ritter, kyle massey, kym johnson, lacey schwimmer,
len goodman, lindsey shaw, louis van amstel, petra nemcova, ralph macchio, romeo,
sugar ray leonard, tinsel korey, topher grace, wendy williams







Is SEO The Most Ignored First Step To Social Networking?

A smart business owner with a store front key to their prosperity wouldn't build an elaborate brick and mortar store in the middle of a desolate valley, so why do some many build their websites with no hope of anyone finding them on the web?  There seems to be some sort of "build it and they will come" sub-conscious concesnsus in the world of websites for business.  And furthering the issue is too many business get steamrolled by tunnel-visioned graphic designers setting them up with elaborate Flash front pages.  Problem is, Google just sees one big file and doesn't get any relevant info to share with potential customers doing searches for products and services that you are selling.

With the explosion of social networking as a viable and powerful marketing tool, most companies haven't solidified their primary source of information for potential new followers.  It is always easy to garner a small collective of followers via existing relationships, and a percentage of that will lead to a slight expanse in their social networks, but where is that primary hub of info-rich company home page magic that gets in the coveted "new customer"?  That is the goal of social networking, SEO, and any sort of marketing strategy.  This should be the first step- before going off the deep-end into social neworking every company should make sure their "house" is in order, and that corporate website is ready to fulfill its moniker of "homepage".  It's not rocket science, and here is a short checklist of what you should do:


  1. Start by making a list of keyords and short phrases that you would like to target for search engines.  Basically, what words, when people type into Google, would you like to target for your website to come in search results.  
  2. Get yourself a Gmail account and then set up a Google Webmaster account.
  3. Make an image map and robots.txt file- these are a part of the Google Webmaster account.
  4. Verify your site with Google
  5. Create keyword-rich <title>'s in your site, and make them unique for each page.  Same for meta tags for keywords for each page.
  6. Manually submit your site to Google and Bing.
  7. If you have Flash on your home page, make sure it is only part of your page, and include normal text along with it that includes descriptive content of your goods and services.
  8. Register your site with Alexa and DMOZ
  9. After you get your Twitter and Facebook accounts, use their tools and put links on your site to them, including a quick link for visitors to follow you on Twitter and to Like your Facebook page.
  10. Change content regularly.  A news or updates part of your site is a great way to constantly add new content to your site.  Remember, the mantra in the SEO world is "Content is King"
Now, obviously, you can take this to the next level and aggressively target keywords, but those are the basics.  Don't get dazzled by overly designed sites, and just make sure that the message of your company is getting out.  Leave the ridiculous Flash sites to new blockbuster movie sites, and keep your site clean and focused.  

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Indy Car Sponsors have a Different Take on Winning

Winning the Long Beach Grand Prix Branding Race

Brand managers view the world differently than the rest of us. For example, you would think the first car to cross the finish line at an IndyCar race would be the winner. WRONG. From a brand manager's point of view that is a nice bonus, but has little to do with winning. In many cases it is irrelevant.

Winning is about competing for a common goal. For a brand manager it is about building buzz for a brand and getting people talking.  The car which creates the biggest buzz wins. So winning by IndyCar rules is a nice bonus because it adds some buzz to the brand, otherwise it just doesn't matter.

I had the occasion to visit the Long Beach Grand Prix this year. It is a brand building mega-event. Logos everywhere. The fans were bombarded with thousands of product displays, posters, t-shirts and of course cars covered in logos. There was a competition going on, but the winner was clearly the brand who got the fans talking the most. 

Toyota was the clear leader at the start of the race. They had logos on the barrier walls, chain link fences and nearly everywhere else you could looked. Toyota had a clear head start on the rest of the racers as their brand was all over the track hours before the other brands took the first lap.  As I walked to my seat it looked like this race was over before it even had a chance to begin.

As the cars actually took to the track the tide had turned a little. GoDaddy started to get the crowd talking as it's driver Danica Patrick created an instant buzz.  Fans were looking for the GoDaddy car and talking about her as the race continued. The crowd was buzzing about GoDaddy and therefore GoDaddy was winning the for a good portion of the race. The fans became almost numb to Toyota and its buzz was pretty much out of the race at this point.

Then we came to lap 67 and everything changed. In the first turn there was a small accident. Ordinarily this is no big deal, but this time there was some added excitement as the Telemundo car driven by Oriol Servia had to swerve off the track to avoid a wreck. The Telemundo driver completed a dramatic 360 turn complete with smoking tires, dust and rocks flying everywhere as he threw his car back into the race.  It was a scene right out of a movie. The fans were on their feet. Clapping and talking about "the move" as the Telemundo buzz filled the grandstands. Immediately the dozen or so big screens around the venue replayed the dramatic 360 move from every angle. Each time fans saw the replay they applauded. It was definately the highlight of the race.

For the remaining 18 laps the buzz remained with Oriol Servia's Telemundo car. The fans in the grandstand couldn't stop talking about it. They kept looking for the Telemundo car.  As they waived the checkered flag everyone was still talking about the Telemundo car.  Even as the race ended and I walked back to my car the people around me were still talking about the incredible move from "The Telemundo Car". 

Of course by IndyCar standards Mike Conway's Firestone car won the race, and we owe him a congratulations. (But he was in the IndyCar race, not the brand building race so from my point-of-view Firestone didn't really win).

I have to say it over and over. Brand managers sponsor IndyCars to build a buzz for their brand. They do not sponsor cars to win races. The only real benefit to winning is it can increase the buzz (but only a little). 

From a sponsor's point-of-view here are the winners of the Long Beach Grand Prix:

Long Beach Grand Prix
1) Telemundo - Oriol Servia
2) GoDaddy - Danica Patrick
3) Firestone - Mike Conway

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Reference Power is Everything

If you read Ad Age, PR Week, or any of the other media outlets for brand managers you will find hundreds of theories on advertising strategies, public relations techniques and the occasional complex mathematical formula which will help you build your brand.  It is often informative, but almost always long winded.

There is only one common truth in all successful brand building strategies from the dawn of time until now: “Reference Power Builds Brands.”  When other people tell you a brand is good, you tend to believe it is good. How strong is the power of their reference? That depends completely upon how much you value the opinion of the person who is giving you the reference.  For example, imagine you are asking a professional basketball player to recommend a good shoe for playing basketball. You would probably value their opinion and their reference power would be very high. You could ask the same basketball player which mobile phone is the best, but you probably wouldn’t value their opinion and therefore not be influenced by their reference.

Let’s take a look at the use of a celebrity spokesperson in advertising. Advertisers know the power of reference. They could use an actor or an executive from the company, but they get better results from a celebrity spokesperson. Why? Because of reference power. If you recognize the celebrity spokesperson the advisement is off to a good start. If you like the celebrity spokesperson the advertisement is doing even better. If you feel the celebrity spokesperson has a valid connection with the product the advertisement is almost a success. For these reasons you have established some value for the opinion of the celebrity spokesperson and have given them some reference power even before they begin to speak about the product.  Prepare to be influenced.  But wait…..   Your brain is not that quick to give up too much reference power. Why? Because you know this is a paid endorsement and the celebrity spokesperson’s reference was highly influenced by money.  You still may value the sales pitch of the celebrity spokesperson, but you do so with caution.

People are often influenced by products they see on film and television. This again is all about the reference power. You may like the character or the celebrity on the show and feel influenced by the brands they wear. This has proven to be a very powerful way to build a brand. Again it is all about you observing a celebrity and forming opinions on brands based on the perceived like or dislike of the celebrity.  Reference power is again powerful, but again you may have some reservations. Like advertising there is a reason to hold back on giving too much reference power to what you see on TV and film. It is acting. The celebrity has been told what to do and say. In some cases you may hold back some of the value you give to this reference.

The pure reference power comes from a natural endorsement. If someone whose opinion you value is using a product, it is very powerful. For a brand manager there is nothing better than getting people to tell other people about their brand. The problem is getting this process started and keeping it going. The solution is to find a small group of people who can reach a large group of consumers. This problem is solved with celebrities, but we already discussed how celebrity spokespeople are only somewhat effective.  The solution is not in the paid endorsement, but rather the implied endorsement.  An implied endorsement is when a celebrity is photographed using a product. They have not said they officially like the product, but it is implied.  Implied endorsements are viewed as being more honest and therefore have more reference power than paid endorsements. 

Strategic brand managers will leverage implied endorsements to build any brand.  At Social Hill we have a very simple formula which is the core of our business. It is the law of celebrity association: “If people like a celebrity, and a celebrity likes your brand, then people will like your brand.” 
Check out Socialhill.com to learn more.  

Social Hill Website Launched

We have made our www.socialhill.com website now public.  A little bit about us:


Social Hill is the world's leading product placement company. Last year we generated over 25,000 photos of products with celebrities and had dozens of products on television shows and magazines all over the world. There are several product placement companies, but no other company delivers as much placement as Social Hill. No other company is even close.