GreenLight

This week, we announced that GreenLight has been selected to
represent Dr. King, one of the most recognized and respected leaders of the civil rights movement. This is the first time that Dr. King’s estate has engaged with an external agency to commercially represent rights to his name, image and likeness.

“GreenLight represents many of the world’s greatest icons and we believe that, together with GreenLight, we can extend the reach of Dr. King’s legacy,” said Stephen Rubino, President and CEO for the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr.
“Dr. King is recognized as one of the most influential civil rights activists of all time, but he was also a minister, human rights advocate, dynamic leader, and dedicated family man. Our assignment is to present the totality of the man by creating meaningful partnerships with a variety of global brands.” said David Reeder, Vice President of GreenLight. “His image has become a symbol for freedom, justice and equality and we are honored to represent a man who embodies such enduring values and principles.”

Learn more about Dr. King >>

This week, we announced the acquisition of Norm Marshall Group, a global leader in entertainment marketing and product placement.

Norm Marshall was established in 1979 and has coordinated thousands of iconic placements in some of the industry’s most renowned film and television productions. The agency represents the world’s top brands to the entertainment industry through product placement, promotions, entertainment media outreach and celebrity seeding. Norm Marshall’s roster of clients features the world’s most recognized brands including General Motors, Heineken, Motorola, Puma and Xbox.

“Norm Marshall’s proven success in product placement and entertainment marketing complements GreenLight’s expertise in securing permissions to music, film, celebrity and entertainment content” said David Reeder, Vice President of GreenLight. “ We’ve created a complete end-to-end integrated entertainment solution for our clients.”

Learn more >>

GreenLight released the results of its second Ad Gauge of The X Factor UK finals. The report shows an increase of licensed music and celebrity endorsements from previous years, including:

• 36% of ads featured celebrity endorsements, up 7% from last year
• 53% of ads featured licensed music, up 12% from last year
• Overall, 64% of ads featured celebrity endorsement or licensed music, up 12% from last year’s The X Factor final weekend
• Global brands – from Dior to Nikon and Nintendo – partnered with instantly recognizable intellectual property and celebrities

Contact us to learn more about the report or to discuss music licensing and celebrity endorsement opportunities.

Everyone knows that Einstein was a scientist, a genius and a Nobel Prize winner. It’s no surprise that his popularity spans all cultures and ages.

But did you know that he played the piano and violin to relax? That the eyes of Star Wars’ Yoda were modeled after his? Or that he has over one million fans on Facebook?

Visit our site to discover more entertaining facts, read interesting quotes and enter to win an Einstein telescope and book.

Forbes magazine published the top earning dead celebrities, or delebs, list this week. Legendary icons Albert Einstein, Steve McQueen and Andy Warhol were included in the top 15 list.

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In the same issue, Forbes highlights Elizabeth Taylor as the next big thing in the world of delebs. David Reeder, GreenLight Vice President, was asked about the future of her brand. He believes that the time is now for Taylor’s estate managers to start leveraging her brand. The public usually has to go through a period of figuring out how it wants to remember a celebrity. He believes that time has passed and the commercialization of Taylor’s image could begin.

Read the full article >>

See Forbes top delebs list >>

Last week, Barbour hosted an event to launch their new SoHo location and their new Barbour Steve McQueen™ collection. This collection, which includes t-shirts, button down shirts and jackets, was inspired by the 75th anniversary of the International motorcycle jacket. The event took place at the SoHo location in New York, where Chad McQueen was the guest of honor. When asked by GQ what he thought of the Barbour and Steve McQueen collaboration, here’s what he had to say, “Well, it made sense, because my dad actually wore Barbour. Now they’ve even got me wearing one [laughs]…The collection looks great.”

View the “King of Cool” collection >>

Can you imagine Midnight Cowboy without Harry Nilsson’s version of “Everybody’s Talkin?” Incredibly, this song almost didn’t make the soundtrack. The producers wanted the studio to record “I Just Don’t Know How To Say Good Bye,” but according to the studio group’s guitarist, a disagreement sprung up between the producers and the group’s publisher. So they ended up using Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin”— a song that was similar in mood, sound and melody.
 
Our experts at GreenLight remove the hassles of licensing music, making sure you get the perfect song for your project.

The Edison Test

How knowledgeable are you? Take the Edison Test and find out!

To Edison, it was important to be able to answer a large number of questions from a wide range of topics. So he created a test for employees to measure their ability to memorize a substantial amount of information. He believed the employees who passed the test would be able to make quick business decisions for his company.

Ironically, both Edison’s son, who was a gifted student at MIT, and Albert Einstein failed the exam.

The National Park Service has posted questions for us to test our knowledge.

Take the test >>

Learn more about licensing opportunities on Edison >>

This week, it was announced that Oprah Winfrey and James Earl Jones will receive special Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Oprah will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, given to an individual whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry. James Earl Jones will receive the Honorary Award, given to an individual for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”

On a related note, we recently discovered a connection between two of our iconic clients. Thomas Edison was the first honorary member of the Academy for his contribution to the creation and development of the motion picture —and— Charlie Chaplin signed (below the date October 15, 1929) the official document!

Since the launch of the Einstein Facebook page, people from around the world have been sharing their love and admiration of the Nobel Prize winner. And now we’ve reached a new milestone: more than 1 million fans!

It’s no surprise that such a compelling man would generate an enormous fan base. After all, he’s been named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Century and most recently was found one of the most inspiring people in the world from Ogilvy & Mather’s research survey.

If Einstein were alive today, we’re sure he would this milestone and his community!