I’m not a Lady GaGa fan. In general, I don’t follow royalty and the few times I have heard her music have been quite by accident. And yet, there she was when I flipped on my laptop this morning, in a featured link of the Yahoo! homepage, something about how once again, she managed to cause a stir during her entrance at the VMA’s.

Frankly, you have to hand it to her: she’s really, really good at this. Time and time again, she makes a splash in the press and on the web with what she wears.  Occasionally, that’s for brazen undressing but far more often, it’s for outlandish fashions, attention-getting masks and dresses and get ups of the kind one rarely sees outside a Mummers Parade…

Admittedly, we live in times when new technology and access is forcing redefinition in the news industry (“Are bloggers journalists?” “Is gossip/opinion/reaction news?” “Do sources matter?”), and yet somehow, this woman has thrived through that journalistic uncertainty, demanding and receiving consistent attention–the kind of attention that translates into album and ticket sales.

Not because she’s drop dead gorgeous.

Not because she’s deeply-funded.

Simply because she uses creativity to make herself interesting.  Particularly during awards shows when dozens of camera crews are looking for anything noteworthy.

A lot of brands could take a lesson there.  It’s amazing what a stir creative new packaging can cause…

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By Dennis Ryan, CCO, Element 79

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