It was February 2009 that Chris Brown was in LAPD custody for his brutal fight with Rihanna after Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy party.  Under two weeks ago, just three years later, Brown accepted a Grammy for R&B Album of the Year.  Part of me wants to commend Brown’s public relations team for creating such a comeback; part of me wants to scold The Recording Academy and society as a whole for awarding a celebrity figure who committed such a heinous crime.  But as many public relations practitioners know, there are times when you must do your best to defend a client with whom you may not agree.  So where does one begin? Continue reading →

After graduating from college in Philadelphia, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a post-graduate degree from a prestigious fashion and design school.  Sparing you all the gory details, suffice to say that the culture shock was extreme, as I was surrounded by stereotypical “Valley girls,” most no older than 18.  But after a few weeks, I realized that these girls weren’t just putting on a show – they knew the art of personal branding, and they knew it well.

Here are the branding lessons I learned while visiting the valley girls: Continue reading →