What if we all had a little Paris in Us?
November 16, 2009 by Jen Groover
Filed under Career
Can anyone tell me why Paris Hilton is famous? Crazy, over-the-top, Beatles-esque famous.
How did a scantly-known socialite heiress with seemingly no career other than being at the best parties become an icon of an entire generation; changing the rules of fame and celebrity along the way?
The answer is simple yet profound. To fully grasp and embrace it though, you’re going to have to wrap your mind around a few potentially disconcerting truths. 1.) Paris Hilton is not dumb (at least business-wise) by any stretch of the imagination and 2.) She’s an incredible role-model for entrepreneurs.
Whatever Paris Hilton lacks in, she makes up for in spades with a herculean sixth-sense for marketing and branding. And we entrepreneurs need no more evidence than her meteoric success to know that her instincts, when it comes to getting your name out there, are beyond honed.
Oddly enough, it’s the very things that many dislike about Paris Hilton that make her so effective – she’s unabashed, she’s unafraid, and she’s everywhere.
Paris figured out exactly what her brand was when, around the time of the new millennium, the MTV generation began to truly emerge and develop its own identity, trends, and fascinations.
The privileged and somewhat secretive lives of the children of the world’s wealthiest and social elite began to move from the stuff of C-list gossip columns to that of major media outlets as teens and tweens everywhere began to see in these silver-spooners everything that they wanted to be; everything that epitomized success in their minds. Paris, an attractive, VIP club-going, partying hotel-heiress, recognized this trend and within a year’s time she had elevated herself from a Page Six footnote to a cultural obsession. And she did everything right along the way.
• She identified her brand and worked to its strengths.
• She played to the enigmatic nature of her lifestyle/brand so as to maintain a mysterious aura and allure.
• She shamelessly self-promoted at every turn and never flinched when declaring her greatness.
• She put herself out there at every social function and every event realizing that these days there is no such thing as overexposure in marketing. Her partying actually doubled as a potent form of networking.
• She strategically aligned herself with powerful allies in every industry imaginable who raised her star while she, theirs.
Textbook execution of a successful marketing campaign by someone who most consider to be an intellectual black-hole.
I have a saying, “Do not judge, be inspired” and there’s no clearer a case for the application of this mantra than when observing Paris Hilton. And, as entrepreneurs, the benefit of this advice extends far beyond the positive social ramifications. Successful, business-minded people are able to look at just about anything, separate their personal feelings and take a lesson away.
If you’re one of those who believe that Paris Hilton has nothing to offer the world then you must conclude that her rise has been based purely off of her self-promotion and marketing. So, if that is the case…imagine where you could take your own brand if you just found a little of your inner-Paris.
Why Not…
Why not try to find something redeeming in everything in and every person (no matter how seemingly evil) you come across? Learning to identify and focus on all the positives around us will build us into better people as well as stronger entrepreneurs.
Photo Credit: www.flickr.com
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