You might imagine that having a celebrity brand means the celebrity is in control of it. But Elle Macpherson — or as Australians and the rest of the world affectionately call her, The Body — is living proof that if you don’t take control of, and leverage, your own brand then someone else will.
You may know of the Elle Macpherson lingerie brand, I know I do, it was quite luxurious at the time and because it was a well known brand, I regularly purchased a range of fantastic pieces for my collection.
Over time however brand Elle Macpherson seemed to fade into the background. It didn’t grab my attention anymore and other brands seemed to take up both space in the department stores and in my mind.
This is what can happen when you attach your name to a brand rather than taking control of your brand.
You see, Elle was just the celebrity name to a clothing line manufactured by Bendon. That’s it. She had no control over any decision making activities nor how ‘her brand’ was being portrayed.
Even though many women would be flattered by this sort of opportunity, a business woman like Elle realised the power in having control over her own brand. One which she has spent many decades building and developing.
That’s how Elle Macpherson Body came about. A 50/50 partnership between Elle Macpherson and experienced lingerie designer Simon de Winter.
Elle is quoted as saying she was very happy to have control over all aspects of the business, a business which has her name attached to it.
Even though she takes half the risk, Elle also takes home half the profits. And with a well established and credible brand as ‘Elle Macpherson’ I don’t believe there will be any issue for both herself and her new business partner.
So before jumping at an opportunity to put your brand name to a product or service you have no control over, think about the future of your business and whether or not you are leveraging off your hard work or is someone else?
