Some advice for the Olsen twins

By SAMATHA ETTUS
Scripps Howard News Service
13-MAY-04

The Olsen twins have been in the public eye since they were infants. They are long-time celebrities, but did their newly released film, "New York Minute," help them live up to their brand potential?

Just like Pepsi and Kodak, celebrities need to consider their brands. "People brands" are those celebrities who are leaders in their field, with added qualities of talent and charisma.

Rita Rudner is a celebrity. Ellen DeGeneres is a brand. Jason Kidd is a celebrity. Magic Johnson is a brand.

Each week at Celebrity Assets we take a look at a celebrity or two, and see how they are managing their greatest asset _ their personal brand.

This week we look at the Olsen twins _ or Mary-Kate and Ashley, as they now prefer to be known.

The Olsens struck gold when they were just babies, starring as the youngest child on the long-running TV show, "Full House." Since then, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have morphed from "twinfants" into one giant brand. They are worth nearly $1 billion, with more than 75 consumer products, including books and home videos. Yet, as they approach their 18th birthday, the twins are faced with two challenges:

1. How to convert tween fame into adult success.

2. How to limit their risk as their "brand" comes under greater scrutiny.

Let's look at "New York Minute," their debut as leading stars in a feature film. The Olsens had previously flown under the radar with direct-to-video movies. Hollywood waited with baited breath to see if they would make a smooth transition into teen movies and achieve the same success as their peers, Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan.

In preparation for the movie's opening weekend, the twins' faces were splashed across many magazines.

The movie tanked.

How does this happen? Doesn't PR work?

Yes, it does, but this was not a case of faulty public relations, but faulty brand management.

The movie was a huge risk, an attempt to expand the twins' appeal beyond their core tween audience. Turning 18 and maintaining their fan base would have been challenge enough. By making their big-screen debuts at the same time they entered adulthood, they invited unnecessary scrutiny at a challenging time.

They would have been better served by promoting their acceptance to college and lying low until they were firmly grounded in their adult lives.

So, with "New York Minute" set to disappear in seconds, is the Olsen twins' brand dead? No. Their 1998 sitcom, "Two of a Kind," lasted just one season, but this failure had little negative impact on their brand. Likewise, they should recover seamlessly from this latest misstep, with proper attention.

Here are a couple of lessons for the twins:

1. Time your risks intelligently: You current big-screen risk made neither sense nor cents. Each of your products, be it a film or a T-shirt, is an extension of your asset, so each decision must be made with a brand's-eye view.

2. Content is key: Debuting on the big screen with the same content you deliver in your TV shows won't drag your fans off couches and into theaters. Take a cue from Lindsay Lohan, whose current hit movie, "Mean Girls," has exceeded all expectations. It was different and it worked. You have a big brand that was created over 17 years. You don't need to attain movie-star status in New York minute. Rather, take on some smaller roles, and use those to shine.

The Olsens' brand: A$$$ets. (The brand-assets meter ranges from $ to $$$$.)

And remember, the most dependable road to the top is to treat your brand as your greatest asset.

(Samantha Ettus, president of Ettus Media Management, is a leading voice on personality-driven brands. Her first book, "The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do" (Random House), will be published in September. For more information, go to www.theexpertsguideto.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com)