Cashing in on Creativity

“Our 2008 revenues are projected in the multimillions of dollars. [Jen cannot disclose the exact amount]. Because of the different licensing deals, the brand values, and the distribution channels that are being executed, the brand sales and value will far exceed that.”

If Your Competition Is Going Right, Turn Left

“While you want to know what everyone in the industry is doing, don’t follow the same steps. Often people go to trade shows. I will probably never go to a trade show, because everyone else is. I have intellectual property and my patent would have gotten knocked right off. My strategy was to get great press and third-party endorsement.”

Viral Marketing: Give It Away and Let the Branding Begin

Right out of the gate, set aside your marketing dollars (i.e., ‘I’m going to give away 100 products to people.’). That’s going to market for you better than any ad space. We went to a swag suite at the ‘Miami Vice’ movie premiere. I got pictures with different celebrities. The next week my bags were in US Weekly saying Paris Hilton has this bag. So get out of the office. Make yourself known.”

Tell Your Story

“Share your source of inspiration—people connect to storytelling more than every other form of sales. So often people will meet me, and they will know the dishwasher story. That’s conversation for people. They’re going to tell the story.”

What’s Next? What Isn’t?

“I have a brand called Leader Girlz. It’s the anti-Barbie, anti-Bratz brand. I want to give girls of this generation a brand they can resonate with. Each doll in the line represents a media mogul, a U.N. ambassador—everything you can be as a woman today. Children learn through play. I also have ‘Hurdle Hoppers,’ products that help parents overcome hurdles through each stage of a child’s infancy. And my book What if …? and Why not …? is due in 2009. It’s a dose of inspiration about a mindset that I’ve adopted to take me to the places that I’ve gone and shares those nuggets of wisdom in anecdotal stories. Also being developed are TV shows to be announced this fall.”

This Featured Lady was profiled by Sandra Sellani, a brand consultant and author in Southern California.

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