So last year I spent a short stint as Sr. Marketing Manager for INK Entertainment. We booked Paris Hilton at Cabana and boy did we get an earful from our constituents. Here's my take on the whole thing. And no, we didn't get to see if I was right, because this weekend rained out and we had to shut down Cabana and even Digital Dreams got reduced to one day instead of 2, the weather was so bad.
Man, people be hating on Paris Hilton DJ'ing at Cabana Pool Bar. But here's the rub literally THOUSANDS of comments (yeah, yeah, I know, most of them are negative...so what? That means Paris is controversial, not irrelevant. Irrelevancy kills. Controversy sells.)
Go ahead and Google Paris Hilton. You'll find out what she was eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner yesterday, who she was making out with and what perfume she was wearing. Media is a business and businesses don't waste time covering people no one cares about. I say it again; Paris Hilton is controversial, not irrelevant (well, except to the EDM crowd, but we haveDigital Dreams Festival for you guys that day) lol.
What you're seeing here, far from "the worst booking ever" is a company that's looking to position itself in a non-traditional way, without leaving it's core constituency behind. Sort of like when I threw my Microsoft XBOX ONE TIFF party...that shit trended nationally on Twitter and had a lineup a block long. On a Monday.
Why do you think she was booked during Digi? It's not like she's on the bill there. Why do you think she was booked on a Saturday? Not a Sunday when it would definitely cause an uproar.
Paris has a worldwide billion dollar brand. For INK to grow where Charles wants it, we have to grow beyond the niche we dominate.
The really cool thing, it's not like this is Coke, where you sell one product and fucking with the formula is high risk (anyone remember "new coke"?). There's a reason why Charles had Guv, but also opened La Société. There's a reason he's opening a luxury hotel next year and the new Guv. Growth.
Now I get it, Paris is invading sacred space by wanting to spin EDM, but they are the DJs commanding top dollar...and she's amongst the top earners for a reason. So, keep hating (pleeeease keep hating, hate = promo), but personally, INK is lead by one of the top entrepreneurs this country has ever seen and every entrepreneur knows you have to take calculated risks. For those of you not into Paris...see you at Digi. For everyone else...see you on June 27th ;)
p.s. As a marketing exercise...I'm in love with this booking. It's bold, it's controversial and it's definitely challenging. Personally? I'm looking forward to all the blondes she's gonna bring out. lol.
p.p.s. I STILL don't have a new phone and I have literally hundreds of messages in my FB inbox. Pls be patient.