EPE Unveils "Elvis Is" Branding Campaign for 2006/2007

Here is the press release from Elvis Presley Enterprises on the unveiling of the 2006 advertising, marketing and licencing branding campaign.

Elvis is the king. Elvis is sexy. Elvis is Rock & Roll...Elvis is a lot of things to a lot of people but basically, Elvis just IS.

Fifty years since Elvis Presley’s career exploded into the mainstream culture of America and almost 29 years since his death, Elvis Presley Enterprises announced its latest advertising, marketing and licensing branding campaign: Elvis Is

The Elvis Is branding will begin in August of 2006 and will be in place for 18 months.

As with the most recent campaign proclaiming Elvis Lives, the new logo and statement will be utilized by EPE online on Elvis.com, on billboards, banners and merchandise and as the branding for the summer 2006 tourism campaign. This will include print travel ads in People, Better Homes and Gardens, Reader’s Digest and many others.

The campaign evolved while the EPE licensing, marketing and communications team was developing their new branding campaign, and could not find the appropriate word to complete the statement, "Elvis is…" Ultimately, it was decided to let licensees complete the sentence for themselves or let it stand alone, and to utilize the phrase for all marketing and communications efforts, allowing the consumer to complete the sentence.

In addition to being used on a wide range of licensed products, the Elvis Is campaign will also appear in EPE and Graceland’s marketing and PR efforts. "When Elvis fans all around the world see our branding online, in ads, on billboards and other places, they are thrilled that they can also find merchandise featuring those same designs," said Carol Butler, Director of Worldwide Licensing for EPE. "We witnessed that with our current campaign Elvis Lives, and anticipate the same consumer reaction to Elvis Is. The response from our licensees has already been very enthusiastic."

The graphic for the branding was chosen after extensive research and focus groups with Graceland visitors, and features a classic Elvis illustration with a pop, modern feel. It was designed by Memphis award-winning graphic designer Billy Riley, owner of Combustion Design.

The Elvis Is campaign will be used by EPE to support their branding strategy, which is to establish and build business relationships that enable them to provide Elvis's millions of current and future fans around the world with products and services that allow them to experience Elvis in music, movies, pop culture, online and in other forms of entertainment and merchandise.

Elvis continues to be the most recognized name in entertainment and the top-seller of number one records, movies and memorabilia today. Forbes magazine once again recently named him the most successful and highest earning deceased artist, and over 600,000 people visit Graceland annually.

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EPE, Inc.

Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. is based in Memphis, with additional offices in Los Angeles. In addition to Graceland and its related attractions in Memphis, including the Heartbreak Hotel, EPE is aggressively involved in a worldwide licensing program, merchandising, music publishing, and television, film, video and internet projects. For more information on EPE and Graceland, visit elvis.com. EPE is a subsidiary of CKX, Inc., a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ National Market System (NMS) under the ticker symbol CKXE.

CKX, Inc.

CKX, Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE), a company controlled by Robert F.X. Sillerman and affiliates, is engaged in the ownership, development and commercial utilization of entertainment content. To date, the Company has focused on acquiring globally recognized entertainment content and related assets, including the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley; the operations of Graceland; the rights to the name, image and likeness of Muhammad Ali; and proprietary rights to the IDOLS television brand, including the American Idol series in the United States and local adaptations of the IDOLS television show format which, collectively, air in over 100 countries around the world. CKX plans to continue to make strategic acquisitions of, or partner or align with, companies or individuals that control various forms of established entertainment content, which may include intellectual property rights in music, film, television programming, written works and characters, rights to names, images and likenesses, video games, corporate brands and other related assets. For more information about CKX, Inc., visit its corporate website at www.ckx.com.