R&R Partners: Build the Brand, Protect the Brand

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino. If you haven’t heard that name at least once in the last year, you must be living under a rock. “The Situation” has gained reality-star fame through MTV’s love-it-or-hate-it show, Jersey Shore, which created an upheaval in pop culture when it first began airing last year. Along with securing a second season of Jersey Shore, “The Situation” is now doing celebrity appearances and just completed a stint on Dancing with the Stars to prolong his 15 minutes of fame. When I first saw Jersey Shore, I was horrified. But now, like many others, I’m admittedly a fan. Even more than just a fan, I’m an admirer. I’m amazed at how someone like “The Situation” has taken this opportunity and snowballed it into an estimated $5 million in earnings this year. Most recently, he’s partnered with Apple to create an iPhone app that features a “GTL” finder (which locates gyms, tanning salons and laundry facilities), a workout routine, and a “grenade dodger” game. The app has become one of Apple’s top-10-grossing entertainment apps. Protein-enhanced vodka (I guess there is such a thing) and fitness DVDs are next on the list. The point of all this? Branding. “The Situation” has created a brand for himself … a brand that has become very recognizable and defines who Mike Sorrentino is. As stated in a recent Fast Company article, “To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You. Along the way, if you’re really smart, you figure out what it takes to create a distinctive role for yourself – you create a message and a strategy to promote the brand called You.” “The Situation” may be a self-proclaimed Jersey Shore “guido,” but he’s figured out how to do something that so many companies just can’t seem to get right. Now that deserves a fist pump.