People identify with rebellion says Paulo Coelho
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Paulo Coelho addressed delegates last week as part of a Communicate conference branded "The Power of Personal Image: Technology, Media and Influence" in The Palace - Burj Dubai Old Town where he spoke about the power of celebrity endorsement, along with the public's identification with rebellion.
Those at the top of the celebrity endorsement game were gathered to expand on the pros and cons of celebrity marketing. And world renowned novelist, Paulo Coelho, who currently endorses HP spoke of his alliance with the brand as well as the role that technology is playing in extending the reach and freedom of communication.
The writer is currently producing a MySpace-led film, based on his latest book The Witch of Portobello. This is an online initiative where readers are divided into 15 narrators/perspectives who interact with the main character in the book by uploading these filmed interactions onto his MySpace page.
Commenting on whether or not celebrities can cause damage to a brand, he said that Paris Hilton's walk of shame into jail clutching one of his books resulted in huge sales of his novels. "I sold a lot of books", he laughed, before touching of the fact that despite Kate Moss and Britney Spears' illegal and disturbing antics, their respective rebellions won them new fans, new endorsement contracts and generally reinforced their following.
"People side with those who show a rebellion" he said.
Also amongst the panelists, industry expert Douglas Palau of BBDO spoke of Pepsi's extravagant example of celebrity marketing, which involves the production of an Arabic-language feature film, "Bahr Al Nujoom" or "Sea of the Stars" starring a number of Arab celebrities. He touched on how the brand has benefited from pop-star endorsement over the years, from Michael Jackson to the Spice Girls and Christina Aguilera and, close to home, Elissa and Amro Diab.
Organized and moderated by Communicate, and sponsored by HP and International Media Production Zone (IMPZ), the conference included speakers representing HP, Pepsi, BBDO, Expression, Unilever and MBC.
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About Mediaquest Corp:
Mediaquest Corp, founded in 1987, headed by Alexandre and Julien Hawari is one of the largest publishing houses within the Middle East operating across three continents and publishing in three languages; English, French and Arabic. The company built its reputation through a portfolio of well regarded business titles including Trends, Saneou Al Hadath, Arabies and Communicate.
Mediaquest Corp is a holding company, which includes Medialeader and Quest communications and is active in both traditional and new media with activities ranging from publishing to TV production and digital communication.
For more information, please contact
Einas Abouhatab
Buchanan Middle East
Email: einas.abouhatab@buchananme.com
Tel: +971 4 369 8560
Mobile: +971 50 9489544
© Press Release 2007
