« Naming Cardiac Stents | Main | Super Secret Naming Companies for Beginners »
February 23, 2007
Branding: Does Hip Hop Rule Madison & Vine?
Are hip-hop moguls the most innovative co-branders in the entertainment industry?
I am consistently impressed by the aggressive branding efforts by stars from the hip-hop scene. The crossover branding is pretty good, whether you are talking about Sean Combs or Jay-Z.
A very nice recent case in point is the way rapper DMX has gone from launching a DMX Authentic Line, to a line of canine clothes, to the forthcoming Earl Simmons Signature collection, the new brand name that “turns the Sean John business model on its head - selling his birth-name at a markup, instead of the Macy’s sale rack.”
Meanwhile, Def Jam Interactive and Electronic Arts have a feature built into their new video game Def Jam: Icon that allows players to purchase virtual brand name clothing from real life designers as part of their struggle to become hip-hop icons. Don’t expect to see Brooks Brothers or LL Bean in the game, however. Instead look out for clothing from Sean John (natch), Phat Farm and Rocawear.
This happens while hip hop fashion brand Sedgwick & Cedar ‘73 - a name which “represents the actual intersection where hip hop was born in 1973 at 1520 Sedgwick Ave (1st House Party) and Cedar Park (1st Block Party) in the Bronx NY” - is born from a promotional mix tape of some of the hottest up-and-coming emcees.
Expect to see yet more of the Sedgwick & Cedar brand name on your sports screens as well as in your iPod: they just hired sports and entertainment agent Glen Toby to promote their name with major entertainers and athletes and are looking for more co-branding deals with other consumer brands worldwide.
Technorati Tags: Sean Combs, Jay-Z, Madison & Vine, Hip Hop Brands, DMX Authentic, Earl Simmons Signature, Def Jam Icon, Sedgwick & Cedar, Glen Toby
Posted by William Lozito at February 23, 2007 10:53 AM
Posted to Apparel
| Brand Naming
| Branding
| Licensing
| Marketing
| Media and Entertainment
| Product Naming
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.namedevelopment.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3746
Great post. The great thing about branding coming out of the hip-hop / street realm is that the look, feel, smell and touch of the brand is already street tested, ie "thugged", so there is no way around it will have appeal to a core group.
No focus groups needed.
Don't forget about Beyonce, Jay Z's significant other. Beyonce's clothing lines- HouseofDereon.com and Dereon.com are aimed to compete with both the urban fashion brands, as well as more refined couture related brands.