KISS bassist/vocalist GENE SIMMONS has posted the following message at his official website:

"For those of you tuning in late, we have a marketing entity called Simmons Abramson. Made up of myself and Rich Abramson. We have worked with the largest corporations in America. Among them, IndyCar (Indy Racing League).

We have marketed, branded, positioned... and other big words like gymnasium.

I'm the guy who came up with the I Am Indy campaign that IndyCar began using years ago.

I also co-wrote (with Bag) the song, 'I Am Indy' ("cause I love the way I feel, when I get behind the wheel... I Am Indy").

Needless to say, the I Am Indy campaign and branding was seen all over the place - on TV (ABC, ESPN and elsewhere)... at every IndyCar race (large I Am Indy grass and foliage designs on the racing field)... on stickers, in magazine advertisements, in co-branded ads with Firestone and.... well, all over the place.

The campaign was a ground breaker and an earth shaker!!!

Soon thereafter, we noticed (and so did the marketing world) -- the "personalization of large branded campaigns".

And this has not gone unnoticed by the media, incidentally.

NFL - "I Am The NFL"

Disny - "I Am Disney"

IAMS (pet food) - "I Am Iams"

Jeep (trucks) - "I Am Jeep"

The UN (United Nations) - "I Am Powerful"

C.A.R.E - "I Am Care"

KROQ (radio station) - "I Am KROQ

Wolverine (clothing) - "I Am Wolverine"

It goes further.

I flew down to Arizona to meet the CEO of the University Of Phoenix at their headquarters. (University Of Phoenix is a huge National entity that has an online component, as well as the usual campus component) -- an excellent organization, by the way. And told them point blank, my opinion was that their campaign ("University Of The Mind" and other variations on that theme) didn't work. We wanted them as clients, and they were about to hire Simmons Abramson.

I told them that without the PERSONAL, EMOTIONAL connection, no one would care what you're selling. It doesn't even matter if it makes sense. It only matters if there is an emotional connection... like our I Am Indy campaign.

University Of Phoenix, for whatever reason, chose not to hire Simmons Abramson.

Except for the fact that their entire new campaign, (in print, on billboards, on television) is..... (you guessed it) I Am A Phoenix.

Shame on them for not giving us credit, at least.

Good luck to them, anyhow.

There's more.

Not too long ago, I called up Relativity Media (they fund or co-fund, it seems, almost every major motion picture coming out of Hollywood, and have relationships with every major Hollywood studio). Again. An excellent organization.

I invited CEO Ryan Cavanaugh, and the head of his TV operation.

We met at my home.

At that meeting, and after a long discussion about marketing, branding and (bottom line) maximizing profit potential.... Cavanaugh asked what I thought about their impending buy of Rogue Pictures (at a disclosed price). I opined that it was a great buy on the surface, but couldn't give a deeper comment, since I hadn't seen the books and knew little of the workings of the company.

An hour afterwards, Cavanaugh offered me the Presidency of Rogue Pictures.

I told him at the meeting I would consider it, and that he should come back to me with more detail.

No other discussions were ever held about this subject, and I never heard from Cavanaugh again about the Presidency of Rogue Pictures.

Except for the fact that (after I offered my assessment about a company not simply being a company, but potentially a brand... like DISNEY is a brand... perhaps the only brand of its kind... Disney is a company, but also a brand. They stand for something. Other motion picture companies stand for nothing. There is no "sense" of Paramount, Universal and others. They're simply... names. Not brands.)

And I offered that Rogue could become a brand, if Cavanaugh looked at it differently. Not just as a name place holder, but as something that could become more... I liked the name Rogue, but it needed (you guessed it.... a PERSONAL connection).

I also told him I didn't necessarily feel the I Am branding would work in this case... but something not too distant from that.

The result?

The Rogue branding is - I Am Rogue.

I called Cavanaugh and wished him good luck with Rogue... but also added, simply as a courtesy, I would have appreciated a "thank you, Gene Simmons" notation. And I also offered, that I thought I Am Rogue was the wrong branding for Rogue.... even though it was clear to me the I Am branding came from me.

Cavanaugh said he thought of it years ago.

No worries.

I stand by every word I said.

Bank on it.

I wish him well.

End of story."