What’s Howard Stern doing in my power journal? I’ll tell you. The New York Post asked me what my thoughts were on the idea that of Howard Stern as the new judge of “America’s Got Talent.” I think it’s incredibly entertaining and I’d love to see this happen! I find this to be a great move for Howard. He now has a great opportunity to get in front of a family audience, as well as a younger demographic, to show a lighter side.
Wouldn’t you agree?
It feels good to be a part of something that helps others in need.
About two months ago Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Nilofer Merchant, Scott Case, and I (among other marketing and business experts) collectively produced a book called End Malaria that raised over $250,000 in sales and sponsorships for Malaria No More. End Malaria hit the No.1 spot for best selling business book within 24 hours of its release on Amazon worldwide (Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk); all essays in the book share a desire to inspire readers to look within themselves for solutions to their everyday dilemmas and for motivation to realize their desires. Here’s my essay in End Malaria:
Does something look a little off to you? Well, it should. We often see Hershey’s logo on Reese’s packaging, but you don’t see the Hershey’s logo anywhere here. Instead you see Betty Crocker’s signature spoon. What this picture shows you is a great example of what brand extension and licensing looks like; here is Reese’s in the world of dessert mix—a category Betty Crocker is deeply rooted in.
On Shark Tank you often hear us say, “We should license this product out.”
After Forbes’ report about my investment in Sweet (dis)Solve at NFTE’s 2011 Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, I received overwhelming responses from fans and readers. A good portion of the comments were expressions of appreciation, whereas a huge portion were remarks about how they’re glad to see that I’m involved with a program that supports inner-city kids of low-income families. Some people expressed how they felt that it’s unfair that companies often overlook the void to invest in the needed demographic. Their comments made me take a step back to re-evaluate why it’s being said.
Thinking about it, too many criticisms are made about companies who don’t help out the ones who need help, yet no praises are given to them when they do. With that said, allow me to enlighten you with some notable companies who shared the stage with me that night so that we give credit where credit is due and tip our hats off to them, too.
