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Orbit is Sugar lovin with hot giveaway.

Orbit Baby's hot giveaway on lilSugar is on!

Up for the winning is Orbit's new Green Edition Bassinet Pram which is a very exclusive piece. 

The Green Edition Bassinet Pram as we told you a few posts back is Orbit Baby's ingenious eco friendly creation that benefits the Nature Conservancy.   The package works as a Moses basket, as a modern pram on the Orbit Stroller, and as a cradle when used with the Rocker. 

The Green Edition Bassinet Cradle features a fully lined 100% organic cotton certified to Oeko-Tex  and IMO standards interior; and all natural wool exterior. 

Head over to lilSugar.com to enter, or to Orbit Baby to get your own! 

Event Planning: putting together an eco-friendly party

Last night Social Vibe launched their eco friendly and socially conscious brand to the press with a green party at Le Deux in Hollywood.  Attendees included Mena Suvari, Kelly Joy (shown here), Jessica Kinni, and William Romeo. 

The party was perhaps most notable because it benefited the Surfrider Foundation (a grassroots group that helps protect oceans, beaches and surf spots around the world from pollution), and it was eco friendly.

The green party trend isn't new, but it's definitely building steam--especially as we get into the summer months--as a predominant theme for launches and premieres from coast to coast. 

What constitutes an Eco friendly party? Some decorate with sprouted grass and bamboo in pots, offer organic vodka and napkins made from recycled paper, and call it a day.  Others go all out, planning every detail down to the type of dye used in the decorative fabric draped above the room.

The Los Angeles Times recently ran an article about green event planning, based on that list, here are my tips:

Invitations -- Use recycled or tree-free paper and soy-based inks. Or use the web based invitation  service from Pingg.com which allows users to create gorgeous electronic invitations, send them via email, sms, facebook, personal web page, and more.   

Flowers -- Use flowers and plants from local and organic farms. Donate flowers to a worthy cause after the event.  Localharvest.org is a great source for finding local growers. 

Food -- Locally grown organic foods are fresher, pesticide-free and less fuel is burned transporting them. To avoid waste, don't over cater. Send leftovers to a composting program. Again Localharvest.org can help source regionally grown foods.

Beverages -- Use bottled water in biodegradable bottles -- biotaspringwater.com, serve organic wine, and vodka.

Venue -- Outdoor venues use less power for air conditioning and lighting, or choose a Eco friendly hotel or building.   

Favors and goodie bags --  source Eco friendly and organic products such as candles, soaps, services, and other ingenious goodies.  Place in reuseable bags.

For more on event planning information and ideas, please visit our CLPR Events Blog.

Thinking inside the box. Does it Matter?

I came across Matter the other day - a UK based firm that offers boxes of goodies intended to educate the public about brands.

I find this notion intriguing - the idea that periodically a shipment of randomly assembled logo strewn gadgets and toys will show up at my office or home. 

The Matter folks have already started distributing their boxes in the UK and will soon migrate the concept to the US. 

The first box contained a Sony Ericsson Music Monster (shown below) that comes in a clever straw lined box and represents your personal music desires (...hmmmm.  I think I need more definition here). There's also an enamel lapel pin from Stolichnaya; a wristband from Nintendo Wii; a sample of Original Source Mint Shower Gel; a very cool looking Virgin Atlantic calendar; crayon shaped soap from Nissan; pots of Play-Doh from Sony Bravia; and my personal favorite, Cereal Poetry, which is poems on a box of Jordan's Meusli.

The concept of promotional toys and tools with logos on them is certainly not new, (remember those sock puppet dogs from Pets.com a few years back?) what is interesting here is the way Matter is distributing them.  Sign up with them and the boxes, which are sort of like goodie bags that you might get at a function, arrive in your mail.  It's quite ingenious!  Naturally since there's a good screening process in place, only interested recipients will be getting the goods.  As the concept progresses I'm certain that Matter boxes will be assembled according to more important demographics and personal interests.  Can't wait to Matter?  Visit their blog with all sorts of ideas and notes about graphic design.

Schweppe's is bursting; Adida's is Pink

I came across Debbie Millman's very intriguing eponymously named blog this morning and was really knocked out by these two promotional video/ads from Schweppes's and Adidas.  Millman, who is the President of the Design division at Sterling Brands, a brand identity firm in New York, is also a gifted painter.  Her work, and the art of others makes the site interesting and a breath of fresh air.   

Naturally I love the creativity of these videos, the way they get you to think about their products in a new light.  They lift the notion of viral video to a new level and put art into pop culture without being too esoteric.   

Notes on Demi - beauty trend or Pop Fiction?

When I saw these photos of Demi Moore at the premiere of Flawless the other night I was amazed.

She turns 46 this year and  really looks fabulous-with her shiny long hair set against a gorgeous fringed tweed and lambskin Chanel coat.  And even better, she seems really happy.  I think that Ashton is on to something here!

I thought maybe Demi was working a little Bo, a good amount of exercise and yoga, and had some great face care products on her shelf (she is the face of Helena Rubinstein after all).  And maybe she even does a juice fast here and there! 

Then I saw the David Letterman interview. 

Wow, I've been following beauty trends with a keen interest for (err...a really long time now) and even I was startled by Demi's leech story.

Not only did Demi say that she lay on a bed in "someone's house" in Austria and let someone put a leech into her belly button, and body areas further south, but she took a turpentine bath first!  And wants to go back for more!

Now whether Demi's just pulling our leg here is anyone's guess - she's certainly gotten great press coverage with this little story - watch for yourself below and decide.  Something about the way she tells it makes me wonder if this one wasn't conjured up with a little help from Ashton...perhaps as a segment for Kutcher's new show Pop Fiction?   (as was Avril Lavigne's diaper bag buying spree a few weeks back)   

We're pleased to introduce a new client: Lavilin Natural Deodorant Cream

For more information and samples, please contact us at 646/706.7761 or email info@leberpr.com

Branding in a Fishbowl: Makeup artists step up

This article, It's Your Makeup Artist's Autograph I Want, in the New York Times caught my eye.

The story, about the growing celebrity of makeup artists, demonstrates that we're long past Andy Warhol's maxim of everyone having 15 minutes of personal fame... (it's up to at least a half an hour at this point).  This is the era of the personal brand, where the personalities of the people behind the products are just as integral to the marketing of a brand as the product itself. 

Now, it's unclear whether the trend discussed in this story is really a New York and Los Angeles phenomenon, and if women in Kansas and Ohio are also focused in on the doings of Pat McGrath (shown here with a model), but it does further the notion of promoting personality.  With all the blogs, websites, pod-casts and video stations devoted to the minutia of every market segment (cosmetics being carefully documented with each product roll-out and spokes-model hiring) it's easy to see the wave of things to come.   

As a publicist working with consumer brands like beauty, and baby, I have always felt that product comes first.  Package design, market positioning, and product performance are keys to successful branding - however in this day and age a charismatic CEO helps the effort immensely.   Blame it on the paparazzi and our fascination with the doings of celebrities when they're off the clock.  It's gotten to the point that even snaps of Jennifer Aniston at the grocery store have grown tedious.  We now want insight into everyone's personal lives ... there's more and more swimmers inside the fishbowl and fewer of us benignly watching from a safe distance.  Fantastic looks aren't a requirement as they were some years ago for getting ink and airtime.  Being knowledgeable, speaking well on camera, and the ability to tell a joke go just as far these days.

Call it hyper-market-democratization, Fishbowl Marketing, or Deep Branding....it sure livens things up!   

Petunia's Scout Bag, and Orbit Baby on People.com

There's a great slide show today on people.com showing some of the goodies in Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry's baby nursery.

Among the cute  and clever items in the slide show are our client's Orbit Baby and Petunia Pickle Bottom's Scout Bag.

The Scout Bag for Gabriel, is shown here. 

Orbit Baby in People Magazine - Pt 2

Numbers have gone around about how much People did or didn't pay Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony for their twin baby spread - after seeing the images this morning I think that whatever they paid, they got their money's worth. 

With photos of the couple and the babies inside the nursery and around the grounds of their Long Island Estate, the pictorial is a knockout! Certain to set new trends in nursery design and decorating. 

J Lo clearly loves soothing beige set against natural earth tones ... and there is indeed a gorgeous crystal chandelier that reminds of the rooms of Versailles. 

After you peruse these beautiful shots, be sure to flip to page 71 where Halle Berry's baby story is detailed (the first of few). 

A short list of Halle's favorite baby gear is on the page with non other than our client Orbit Baby's fantastic infant stroller-car-seat system front and center.  Interestingly enough, Halle is also known to favor soft creams and beiges in the nursery with luscious soft organic fabrics.  Hmmm, sounds like a trend to me!

Halle picked the Orbit Infant System because she thought the unit is really innovative (it is!) and super attractive (it really is!) and Eco Friendly (it totally is). 

Halle and Gabriel also have the new Green Edition Bassinet and Pram from Orbit which just dropped this week, and Petunia's Scout Bag.

    

Petunia Pickle Bottom on Coveiter

The intrepid bloggers, Julie and Lindsey over at Coveiter do a great job of rounding up clever design and cool graphic trends.

So we were thrilled when they did a post today about our client Petunia's many collections. 

Included in the post are info and images of Petunia's Fawn collection, Scout Bag (the one that Halle and Gabriel have, watch for more on that item), and their super fabulous Cake Bag Collection. 

Hire a publicist - yes! Hire your own paparazzi? Hummm...

Ever look at those paparazzi shots of Britney and Paris and say "hey I'd love it if someone was following me around documenting my every move!"?

Well as the Today Show reports, now you can!  And to be perfectly honest, most of us know that while many of those "surprise" paparazzi shots we see in the magazines may look candid, many are very much staged. 

Petunia's Cosmopolitan Carryall on Boston Globe

The Boston Globe's much loved and well trafficked blog, Stylephile is featuring our client Petunia Pickle Bottom's new Cake bags today.  (We told you about these a few weeks back).

Writer Courtney Hollands loved the Cosmopolitan Carryalls when she first saw them, then realized they were diaper bags!

She writes:

"When I first saw these carryalls with their gorgeous cut velvet exteriors, I had no idea they were  actually diaper bags in disguise. The retro-looking bags have seven exterior pockets and several interior pockets for bottles and other necessities".

To read this and other interesting posts from the Boston Globe staff, visit Stylephile.

Orbit Baby and Petunia Pickle Bottom on Access Hollywood

Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry are probably the most beautiful parents in the world - and little Nahla Ariela Aubry is certain to be a knockout too. 

Access Hollywood did a cute piece on the couple's baby nursery and other gear last night.  Interviewing Pia Lindstrom from LA baby boutique Nomi, the story detailed the cribs and dressers the couple picked out for their homes. 

When it came to tooling little Nahla around, Pia showed the Men's Scout Bag from our client Petunia's fantastic collection for men that Gabriel Aubry picked out.  The bag has all the things that parents need to take babies out, as well as convenient pockets and niches for laptop, cell phone, iPod and all the other goodies and gadgets guys like.

And for a stroller and car seat, our client Orbit Baby was front and center.  Halle mentioned she wanted one a few months back at a press conference with the New York Daily News, and of course we made sure she had one.

The Orbit System is a great pick for the couple since it was designed specifically to be comfortable for both men and women.  The telescoping handles adjust for taller people, and the design was chosen specifically to look great in today's automobiles.  The round SmartHub the system is based on makes it easy to safely place the baby in the car (carrier and all) from any angle, then when Halle and Aubrey have arrived at their destination, they can quickly and easily set the stroller base up and place the baby carrier on the stroller's SmartHub base when they're ready to go for a stroll. 

Much has been made of the clever built in Paparazzi Shield that comes with the Orbit Infant System, but celebs tell us that equally important to them is the way the system swivels so easily when needed.  So when Halle and Aubrey go to a restaurant with Nahla, they can very simply turn the carrier away from windows (and cameras) when they need to.

To watch the video, visit the Access Hollywood site by clicking here.