My love affair - Cathy Guetta and Raphael Aflalo launch with a whole lotta love in their agency in Cannes and present the brand new Ccossmedia deal with David Guetta

She knows Music…He knows Brands… They will make brands fall in love with music.  Such is the plan of DJ-wife and nightlife icon Cathy Guetta and advertiser Raphael Aflalo. The CrossMedia deal she and David Guetta (2 Grammys, 3 million albums and 20 million singles sold) and HP arranged is a good sign for the future.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? At the same time as Cannes, the unusual couple – she is a dark-skinned beauty with the glam know-how from the South of France, he is a digital media specialist (co-founder of IBASE managing director of OMG – Omnicom Media Group’s digital division from 2009 to 2011) – hosted a very exclusive press conference at the appropriately stylish Hotel Majestic.

Yet, no sight of simple seating areas in the foyer. The aim was to spread that special Guette glitter. Cathy is not known to be a party expert and perfectionist for nothing. Without further ado, the agency motto ‘My love affair’ was born. We were met by a pink dream including round archways, bubbles, lollipops, colourful drinks and costumes in the same palette. And of course charming young people, some of whom were flown in from Ibiza especially for the event.

“I escaped the latent racism that used to reign in the South of France back in the day by taking off into the night.” explains Cathy at the press conference. “Skin colours do not matter in the night, we are all the same in the night. I started out as a simple waiter. I had fun. Then, my path led to Paris. Large. Strange. It was not easy. Finally, she waited at the Bains Douches, the number one club back then. David had a similar experience. He started out as a small DJ. Somehow, we both managed to work our way up.”

In great detail, yet with great charm, Cathy tells us of the whole journey, from the south of France to Paris, early club bookings to what it’s like to own a club, her children, the gigantic event at the Stade de France with 40,000 visitors, her Coca Cola-One-Woman-Deal, airplane charter party tours as well as her ‘F*** me I am famous’ parties and of course, Ibiza, Ibiza, Ibiza.

Now let's get to the bottom of things. The agency’s ultimate goal is to bring together stars and brands and create long-standing partnerships that may turn fans into consumers. As such, David Guetta will promote the brand new HP TouchPad in a campaign that has been created by the My Love Affair agency in Autumn 2011 by means of various marketing activities, a dedicated TV spot, print media and blow ups.

That is the traditional side of things. The campaign also includes content that has been tailored especially to tie in with Guetta’s fanbase, such as exclusive DJ mix offers. The pad will also play a part in the next two videos and generate approximately 100 million viewers thanks to Youtube. Plus TV ratings all over the world of course.

With his 20 million fans on social networks and 1.3 million followers on Youtube, David Guetta is considered one of the most connected artists of our time. The posts and tweets are part of the advertising deal.

Cathy Guetta and Raphael Aflalo, founder of the My Love Affair agency about the proximity of commerce and creation: "This ambitious partnership with HP illustrates one of the key objectives of My Love Affair: creating connections that make sense between a brand and an artist in order to give fans the best in terms of content and events while bringing the brand naturally into the artist's world."

In the first instance, we were quiet surprised by how straight forward the answer turned out – but this is what Cathy has to say about the agency’s approach: “We have been asked over and over again whether we would be interested in a cooperation that turns out to be the opposite of our style and our lifestyle. The goal is to find the right cooperation and plan it on a long-term basis, the same goes for other artists too.”

Olivier Gillet, Marketing Director for HP webOS EMEA, is convinced of the thinking behind the deal: "David Guetta is an international music star. His reputation and his influence on social networks make him a great partner for our brand – he is the perfect embodiment of the values we want to convey with webOS and the HP TouchPad: sharing, community spirit, dynamism and openness."

We will see. And hear. On all channels presumably.
We know marketing.