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Paris Hilton with Oscar Rodriguez, CEO of Abazias.com 
The "Paris Hilton Watch" Typically, a company selling a luxury product will associate themselves with a high profile, celebrity "ambassador," to help promote a stable, consistent, refined, upscale, classy, etc. brand image... For obvious and well known/well documented reasons, Paris Hilton's name doesn't exactly conjure up any of the aforementioned attributes and characteristics...... In my linked article above, brand expert Ramesh Thomas, mentions the following guidelines for companies looking for a celebrity to help endorse their own brand image: a. "Articulate with clarity on the brand promise (What am I?) and the brand personality (Who am I?). b. Create consensus among the brand team on what the communication objectives for the campaign are. c. Focus on the characteristics the chosen celebrity should possess, in order to provide synergy with the brand to be advertised. d. Overtly establish what the celebrity is going to communicate. Once these criteria are met, endorsements can work as a force multiplier. On the flip side, the greatest danger is that because celebrities already carry a strong brand character, a mismatch could be counterproductive to the brand. It is very tempting to be carried away by the short-term exposure and interest that an endorsement could generate. " If you subscribe to the aforementioned approach, then showcasing Paris Hilton as a quasi "Ambassador" of sorts and in tandem with the sale of any luxury item; be it watches, diamonds, engagement rings, etc... might not be such a great idea. Indeed, Paris Hilton has just been released from her 45 day stint serving time in prison for yet another infraction. It seems even by her standards, she has hit a new low in her imploding life and is the fodder for every tabloid this side of the continent. To be sure, she is getting some amazing press...none of it good. However, the flip side of this equation is the age old expression "no publicity is bad publicity". The fact of the matter is, Paris Hilton is a fashionista and celebrity with huge appeal and a significant fan club to rival her many detractors. An endorsement by Paris, or a market driven focus or initiative, using her as a springboard might have an even greater impact given her newfound...err....social status as an ex con. So while Abazias continues to feature Paris Hilton prominently on its website, I am left wondering again, is it really true, the expression; "there is no such thing as bad publicity"???? Hmm....food for thought.....I guess.
