Brand Perez Hilton: how far can it stretch as he signs up for the MTV European Music Awards?

As we’ve begun the official countdown to the MTV European Music Awards in Liverpool this November, we thought we’d tell you that celebrity blogger Perez Hilton will be hosting a webcast from the event.

Hilton will be interviewing the stars on the red carpet and his presence suggests that the awards will have a bigger online audience than ever this year. Hilton – real name Mario Lavandeira – runs one of the most-visited websites in the world, with one day on the blog last year allegedly attracting 8.82 million page views. His involvement is sure to bring a great deal of American attention to the European awards, which tend to generate much less publicity than the US-centric ones.

Hilton’s distinctive editorial style – drawing silly pictures on celebrity photos, ‘outing’ gay celebrities and developing nicknames for famous folks – has won him both fans and foes all over the world. It has also helped Hilton become a brand in his own right. A man who started his site (its name is a play on that famous ‘it girl’, Paris Hilton, while also referencing Lavandeira’s Latino heritage) posting from a coffee shop now has a media and merchandise empire including:

• What Perez Sez – a TV show on music and entertainment channel VH1
• Radio Perez
• Hot Topic clothing and accessories emblazoned ‘Team Perez’
• A book, Red Carpet Suicide, due out next year
• A rumoured deal with Warner Music to work together on developing and launching new acts

It doesn’t stop there and it’s not all just for the Yankees. When TV channel ITV2 wanted to launch teen series Gossip Girl in the UK, its media plan included getting Hilton to write a bespoke column on the channel’s website.

In fact, Perez Hilton’s cultural heritage is so great that – a little like that other cheeky muckraker Jerry Springer – he has the honour of a musical named after him. You can now go to see Perez Hilton Saves The Universe (or at least the greater Los Angeles area). Hee hee.

Anyway, we’re hoping that at some point we can get our hands on Mr Hilton to ask him all about his business strategy as we think he’s created a very interesting brand. Just how far can Brand Perez stretch? How can he balance his distinctive identity with global expansion and avoid becoming too overexposed and devalued?

For something a little more corporate on the EMAs, check out the blog on Monday for some news about the first pan-European sponsor of the awards….