Mark Borkowski - Mark my words - Borkowski Blogs » heat

Celebrity, Brands and Risk

Mark Borkowski — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:53:56 +0000

I’m taking part in a couple of debates in the next few days. First up is Risky Business: Risk and Reputation, an early morning debate on the nature of risk, this Thursday, February 11th, at the Cass Business School. Given the year just gone and the way the financial crisis has played out, it should be an interesting and possibly heated debate – take a look at the article linked here to get some idea of the sort of topics that could come up. I’m appearing alongside some high calibre speakers, including Lord Levene, Philip Booth, Tommy Helsby and John Cridland CBE.

Next up after that is a debate at the University of Westminster on Monday, February 15th on Celebrity Brands: Desire, Dollars and Danger? It’s an equally topical debate, asking if we are near the limit of public interest in celebrities, or if there is no limit, whether celebrities mirror or lead society and if they need or deserve greater protection from the media. Bearing in mind the Tiger Woods case and the more recent John Terry meltdown, we’ll also be discussing what the risks and benefits for brands of associating with celebrities are.

Chewing over the issue with me are Max Clifford, Julian Linley (ex-Heat editor and now creative director of Bauer Media), and the advertising guru Trevor Beattie. The debate will be chaired by Trevor Morris, Visiting Professor of Public Relations at the University of Westminster, and the co-author of ‘PR- A Persuasive Industry?’ It should be a fascinating evening.

The Sleb’s Prayer

adam — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:17:03 +0000

Our publicist which art in Chinawhite
shallowed be our names.
Thy quick-fix come,
thy stunts be run
in Heat as they are on Popbitch.
Give us this day our daily big-ups
and forgive us our coke deals
as we forgive those who report our coke deals to the press.
Lead us not into the Priory
and deliver us from journalists
for thine is the Twitter, the spin-cycle and the story
for fifteen months and forever.

Amen.

Adam Horovitz

Written after hearing that a chain of hotels frequented by celebrities, which are to be featured in a reality show, have asked to use The Fame Formula as a replacement for the Gideon’s Bible – something for the down-at-heel Z Lister to turn to for inspiration.

The Fame Formula: Cooking With Bacon

Mark Borkowski — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:12:14 +0000

The Fame Formula paperback promotional rounds started last night with an interview on BBC Radio 5 on Richard Bacon’s show. It was fun doing it with Boyd Hilton from Heat magazine and Richard was a real pro. It was a good way to start off the promotional rounds. I was pleased that Richard liked the book and enjoyed the sizzling banter, which riffed off yesterday’s blog about rescue plans for Fred Goodwin as well as others.

To find out about more upcoming promotional events for the paperback of The Fame Formula, click here. To buy the paperback, which is available now, click here.