Hip Hop Loses A Legend

Today the city of Los Angeles mourned the death of one the greatest musical rappers the west coast has ever known. Nathaniel D. Hale, known to hip-hop and G-funk lovers as Nate Dogg, passed away Tuesday evening at the age of 41. Although unbeknownst to many fans, friends and even family, Nate suffered subsequent strokes within a ten month period (the most recent occurring in 2008), causing multiple complications and his health to steadily decline.

Hailing from Long Beach, CA, Nate rose to fame as the smooth-voiced hook singer alongside popular rap artists and label mates Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Warren G during the explosion of West Coast hip-hop and gangster rap in the early 1990s, and helped gain tremendous notoriety for Death Row Records. He collaborated with some of the music industry’s biggest names including Tupac, Eminem, and 50 Cent, and also released 3 solo albums of his own. As a “living legend” who had such an incredible impact not only on this side of the nation, but in hip hop communities all over the world, Nate Dogg’s distinct crooning and trademark style will forever live on. With an immense outpouring of love and support already spreading (Snoop Dogg tweeted ‘I will see you again in heaven because you know all doggs to heaven’), we celebrate the life of Nate Dogg and his significant contributions to the ‘G Funk Era.’

Working here in the city that gave birth to the hip hop icon, I respectfully pay tribute and thank Nate Dogg for his incredible, stylistic influence on west coast music, shaping the genre as we know it today.

~Shonte

Sweet Leaf Tea presents “South By Sweet Spot”

It is no secret that South By Southwest (SXSW) is soon approaching, and while for me that just means keeping up with all of the coverage via my computer here in Los Angeles, for Austin-ites and those lucky enough to be attending, it means exposure to amazing music and an all-around great time. As if the music and lively spirit of Austin were not enough, our client Sweet Leaf Tea has decided to sweeten up the deal with a cool interactive campaign called South By Sweet Spot.

Using the popular technology (and fellow Austin-based company) Gowalla, music and tea-lovers can check in at a variety of “Sweet Spots” around Austin throughout the festival to win some exclusive prizes. Upon checking in, users will be notified that they have arrived at a Sweet Spot and will be automatically entered to win a number of cool swag, including: one of 150 limited edition South By Sweet Spot t-shirts, a SWEET care package with teac, a t-shirt and some Stubb’s BBQ sauce and marinade. Three of the Sweet Spots will even enter users to win a Sweet Leaf Tea backyard bbq for them and 20 of their friends! As if this all was not enough, Gowalla will also be tossing out 2,000 virtual cans for pick up across town.

Really fun and user friendly, this is just another way to enjoy SXSW! To enter to win be sure to check out the below Sweet Spots throughout the festival. Also make sure to be on the lookout for the Sweet Leaf Tea roaming van which also happens to be an entry place.

- Sweet Leaf Tea @ Sweet Leaf Tea HQ – 3601 S. Congress Ave. – 3/11-20/2011 – All Day
- Auditorium Shores @ Auditorium Shores – 950 W. Riverside Dr – 3/11-20/2011 – All Day
- Wholefoods @ Wholefoods HQ’s – 525 N. Lamar Blvd – 3/11-20/2011 – All Day
- PureVolume House @ Coppertank Event Center – 504 Trinity St – 3/11-20/2011 – All Day
- Good Capitalist Party @ Union Park – 612 West 6th St – 3/12/2011 – 6:00PM to 9:00PM
- Austinist Presents: Gonna Get Down VI @ the Mohawk – 912 Red River St – 3/16/2011 – 11:00am – 5:30pm
- EventBrite at Empire Auto @ Empire Automotive – 604 East 7th St – 3/16/2011 – 1:00PM – 6:00pm
- Music by the Slice @ Home Slice Pizza – 1415 S. Congress Ave – All Day
- Rumbler Lounge @ Peckerheads – 402 E. 6th St – 3/16-20/2011 – 12:00pm – 8:00pm
- Sweet Leaf Tea Van @ ROAMING – Where ever there’s fun!

Need more info? For constant updates and news on the South By Sweet Spot be sure to keep up with The Sip blog and Sweet Leaf Tea Facebook and Twitter accounts. Make sure to tell them that your favorite LA Public Relations agency sent you

x Monica

SILVER SCREEN TO SINGING SENSATION

As an aspiring LA publicist, it’s always interesting to follow the careers of multi-talented celebrities. The explosion of crossover artists and actors has picked up in recent years. From names like Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce, Will Smith and Jamie Fox, you can see that there is a greater interest by stars to demonstrate their talents in new fields, whether it be singing, acting or even designing. Gwyneth Paltrow is the latest crossover celeb to add singing to her resume and here recent experience has actually been quite impressive.

Besides showing off her vocal chops in her movie Country Strong, Paltrow also performed at the three major award shows: the Country Music Awards, The Grammys (with Cee-Lo Green) and most recently, the Academy Awards. Paltrow has even sung on two episodes of Fox’s hit musical TV show, Glee. Given her recent exposure and success, she is now in talks of signing a record deal.

The question is, will she be successful?

In an attempt to make the successful transition, public relations becomes crucial. In order to come off believable, good marketing and PR efforts help shift audience attitudes to ensure a shining moment in a star’s career. Talent helps too.

Gwyneth Paltrow seems to have the map cover, and we in the office can’t wait to see what she does next.

–Chris

She Was Born This Way

“My mama told me when I was young, ‘We’re all born superstars.’” Well Gaga, I don’t know about myself, but you are definitely the text book definition of a super star. At age 24, this talented NYU graduate has released six songs to the top 40 charts, two of which became number one hits, “Just Dance,” and “Poker Face.”  As a result of the praise, and yes, obsession from young teens and even adults, Lady Gaga has become the iconic pop image of the decade.

Working at a pr agency, my perception of her is slightly different. Quite honestly, she is fascinating. As her presence has strengthened on the music scene, her lyrics, outfits and videos have evolved into foreign works of art, rather than simple entertainment. However, this outrageous behavior is the key driver behind her fan base. Not every star shows up to a press conference in a mask- correction, no star shows up to a press conference in a mask. Gaga challenges the norm, one song at a time.

However, her latest release has pushed these barriers even further, touching on topics of race, ethnicity, gender preference, and the battle of “good” versus “evil”. Characteristic of Gaga’s style, this song’s debut was unorthodox. Not only did radio hosts announce it, but it was played every hour, on the hour during the day it was release. From a publicist’s point of view, this was brilliant.  With this tactic, radio listeners were not only familiar with the song, but they were easily permeated with her catchy lyrics. By the end of the day, dedicated listeners knew all the words and were bopping to the beat in their own headphones, in cars and on treadmills across the country. Regardless of the controversial topics, this is destined to be another hit single.

If you haven’t seen her new video, be sure to check it out here!

~Amanda

The Triumphant Return of Adele and Global Communication

The cover of Adele's latest release, "21"

This week, Adele released her sophomore album 21 to astounding critical acclaim. Her first single from 21, “Rolling in the Deep” has been used religiously in film trailers, television shows, and just as a general blue-eyed soul, girl power anthem. She won the Grammy for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009. Her first album, 19 with the lead single “Chasing Pavements,” a chilling song describing an emotional break-up, got her some attention in America, but it wasn’t enough to carry her to a level of notoriety. After performing on Saturday Night Live, her single and album began to climb up the charts. Her album is on track to sell close to 300,000 copies in its first week, putting her at the top of the Billboard Chart. And to think, she is only 22 years old.

The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Spice Girls are a few of the most famous groups that have been able to find success “across the pond.” Europe is a completely different market for entertainment than the United States. The Beckhams can tell you that! When you think about developing a public relations plan for a client in a different market, it isn’t like pitching to a different region of the country. You are pitching to an entirely different culture. Their audience is in more than a different time zone, they speak a different language and they have different customs.

We discuss business with other countries a lot in my public relations classes, and the entertainment industry is one of the best examples of the expansion of a global society. Public relations agencies spend a fortune training their employees to be able to cross communicate with companies in other countries in an effort to build their brand. Artists (and movie stars) that can translate internationally are the ones that stand to make the most money.

Personally, I think Adele has the opportunity to become a new and exciting presence in the music industry. With all of the techno infused pop music that is floating around, it is nice to see someone with true talent succeeding where others have failed.

Also, get Adele’s new album. It is amazing; maybe even better than her first. If you haven’t heard “Rolling in the Deep” (which means you have been living under a rock) here is the music video. Doesn’t she looks amazing!

@}Taylor

Product Placement Debate

In today’s never-ending struggle to garner press headlines and capture the public’s attention, the need for public relations becomes more important than ever. Companies have less money to shell out to pay for traditional advertising, so you now find different brands going to new lengths to get visibility.

With that, advertisers are now getting more and more clever. Their latest target? Music videos. Product placement in music videos of popular pop artists has become all the craze, sparking a huge debate about whether or not fans should accept such blatant advertising in these precious 3-minute music clips. Lady Gaga and Ke$ha are both frequent perpetrators of using advertising and product placement in their videos and now Britney Spears has come under fire for the same offense.

In the video for Spears’ latest single, “Hold It Against Me,” flashes of her Radiance fragrance, Forever make-up brand, Sony and of course, the Plenty of Fish dating website dominate the screen. For these endorsements however, the starlet earned a reported $500,000, which allowed for a much bigger budget to produce the heavily decorated video. Other artists say advertising ruins the content and for the most part, is downright tacky.

The question now comes up: Is this really good PR for a brand to be shamelessly plastered all over your favorite stars’ music videos, even if it upsets fans? Out of curiosity’s sake I’m sure, Plenty of Fish received a 20 percent upkick in site traffic the next day after Spears’ premiere. Who knows if this tactic actually works?

Still, working at a public relations agency, we’re always pressed with having to come up with new and exciting ways to promote a new brand or client. Consumers are becoming increasingly more savvy and non-creative advertising means or obvious product placement just won’t cut it. A more thoughtful, well-developed public relations campaign is definitely the way to go.

–Chris