I often get questions about how to partner up with celebrities and brands for endorsement deals and merchandised products. What better way to answer them than to invite an entrepreneur who not only knows a tonne about celebrity endorsements but runs a business that sells the official Vodka brand for the retired ex-Chicago Bulls NBA star: Dennis Rodman (who has also played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks).

Andreas Johansson comes from the real estate and is actually a luxury holiday property developer. The projects he was involved in enabled him not only build his network of high net worth individuals but also gave him the opportunity to meet and become friends with celebrities through their agents. He decided to make a move into endorsing celebrities and launching products closely associated with celebrities. Three years into the market, Dennis Rodman’s Bad Ass Vodka is still successful, and the man behind it tells us how he started up and how to build a celebrity-branded product.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How a real estate developer built his network and finally started businesses marketed by celebrities and endorsements.
• How to decide who to endorse your product that your audience will resonate with.
• How to determine a good product.

Guest’s Top Tips:

1. Be careful not to get someone who already has a lot of endorsements, chances are, their audience will not care what they endorse next.
2. Think about who the perfect fit for your product is, who can resonate most with your audience.
3. Before getting a celebrity on board, you have to know what you want to get from the partnership.
   • Do you want your product to have a face that people can think of when they see the celebrity?
   • Do you want the celebrity to open doors for you? Maybe attend some events and those sorts.

Parting Advice – The Lightning Round

Future Plans

He has a clothing brand coming up that will be associated with top names.

Hiring People

He hires people according to his gut feeling.

Indispensable Tools

• Manage cash flow
• Manage your employees
• Manage your time

Best Mistake

His best mistake was not finishing high school and deciding not to go back.

Books Or Resources

He is not a reader, he believes that you can learn best with experience.

Key Takeaways (with timestamps)

(7:40) When you try to be on the high end mark, that will be a difficult market.
(10:20) Re-orders are the most important aspects of your business, when they order more, this usually means good business.
(10:40) To create a sustainable demand, you have to mind the follow throughs.
(15:47) You are not going to get a day to day involvement from the celebrity. You have to know what you want even before approaching them.
(21:48) You have to choose the celebrity who can resonate most with your audience.