Many of you have asked me about Paris Hilton speaking on Personal Branding. Being a huge Personal Branding evangelist, I thought i would share the situation with everyone.
Background on Paris:
Paris Hilton has been one of the hottest and well known celebrities in the past year. She has been written about by almost every magazine, newspaper and stars in her own TV show. Her brand consists of her being a model, actress, recording artist and now businesswoman. She actually rose to fame when an amateur sex video of her and her boyfriend surfaced on the internet. She is set to inherit millions of dollars from her father, real estate mogul Richard Hilton.
The Offer:
This week Paris was offered the sum of $1 million dollars by The Learning Annex to teach a one-hour class on “How to Build Your Brand.” If the offer is accepted, she will be the second highest paid speaker by the company, next to Donald Trump, who was paid $1.5 million in the past. “We just sent over the offer to her this morning, and I think there’s a good chance she’d do it.” – President Bill Zanker
My Thoughts:
When I first heard this news, my preliminary thoughts were that she is a poor example of branding because of all her scandals. The Hilton Hotel franchise reflects the Brand of Richard Hilton and family. His last name, as with Paris’s is reflected in the corporate brand name, so their Personal Brands are the faces of the corporate entity. Saying this, it’s only natural that the fact that Paris went to jail would severely tarnish the perception of the Hilton franchise. For instance, if you are planning your next trip, would you stay in a Hilton Hotel, after hearing everything about Paris? Her antics would repel most people from even debating a stay in a Hilton Hotel.
My second thoughts are that Paris was only known as a wealthy Hilton until she broke into the media with her partying routines, video and all her other attempts to make a name for herself. She has in fact build a reputation out of using her last name and building a her own unique brand off of it. The problem is that his new brand isn’t acceptable by the public. To pay Paris $1 million is the Learning Annex’s attempt to get media attention and in my opinion I don’t think that Paris could handle teaching a class on this subject.
