5W Public Relations Adds Marketing Guru Steve Rifkind and Unique Auto Sports to Entertainment Roster

5W Public Relations today announced the addition of two highly respected entrepreneurs as clients to its entertainment division – marketer and music industry executive Steve Rifkind (www.steverifkind.com) and Will Castro’s Unique Auto Sports (www.uniqueautosport.com).  Steve Rifkind was recently named Advertising Age’s 2007 Entertainment Marketer of The Year and is acknowledged as the creator of the “Street Team”.  Unique Auto Sports is one of the premier car customizing shops in the United States and caters to both celebrities and car enthusiasts.  5W Public Relations will provide strategic counsel, media relations and brand building within the business and entertainment communities for both Rifkind and Unique Auto Sports. 

“5W looks forward to working with Steve Rifkind and Will Castro, two incredibly esteemed entrepreneurs,” said Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W Public Relations.  “Steve Rifkind is a legend in the entertainment industry and Will Castro is pioneering today’s car culture.  We anticipate a long fruitful relationship with both of these industry leaders and will continue to help build their brands to the next level.”

Steve Rifkind

Steve Rifkind provides 25 years of marketing and record label experience to his clientele.  The father of the “Street Team”, Rifkind recognized the power and influence of the hip hop culture and was instrumental in bringing hip hop to Madison Avenue.  Rifkind is also founder and CEO of Loud Records and responsible for breaking some of music’s biggest acts including Akon, Wu Tang Clan, Three Six Mafia, Big Pun and Xhibit. 

Unique Auto Sports

Unique Auto Sports is one of the most recognized car customizing shops in the country.  The Long Island-based business built an impeccable relationship with today’s sports and entertainment icons through innovative ideas, out-of-the-box customization and word- of-mouth buzz. Castro’s A-list celebrity clientele includes Lebron James, 50 Cent, Pamela Anderson, Carmelo Anthony, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart from NASCAR, among many others.  Most importantly, Unique Auto Sports is recognized for the first class treatment of its customers. 

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About 5W Public Relations

5W Public Relations (www.5wpr.com), the nation’s fastest growing PR firm for three years (2004-2006), maintains practice areas specializing in technology, corporate, consumer, entertainment, crisis communications, event management and public affairs.  Headquartered in New York with an office in Los Angeles, the firm is known for implementing creative and customized media programs designed to impact a client’s specific business goals and objectives.  Its energetic, fast-paced and focused culture earned the firm a spot on the INC. 500 list in 2007.  5W Public Relations is described by a leading PR trade magazine as “aggressive in a way that clearly resonates with clients looking for a firm staffed with type A-plus personalities, a BS-free approach, and results from Day One.”   The agency boasts a diversified client portfolio second to none, including: Evian Natural Spring Water; IHOP; Anheuser- Busch; NICE Systems; Phillips-Van Heusen; Urban Retail Properties; Patina Restaurant Group; Lifestyles; The Ice Rink at Rockefeller Center; Avenue Stores; The Loews Regency; Vail Resorts; Ahava Skin Care; Weatherproof Garment Company; Gen Art; The Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa; Philippe Chow;  celebrities including Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube; a plethora of publicly traded technology companies; a variety of other global interests, national corporations, high-profile individuals, regional businesses, government agencies and academic institutions.

DIDDY’S DANITY KANE MAKE SPECTACULAR #1 DEBUT

“WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE,” the new album from Bad Boy recording group Danity Kane, has made an explosive arrival atop the SoundScan/Billboard 200 album chart.  This marks the group’s second consecutive #1 chart entry – following their 2006 RIAA platinum-certified, self-titled debut – and gives them the distinction of being the first female group in Billboard chart history to have both their debut and sophomore albums enter the main album chart at #1.  “WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE” also debuts at #1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #1 on SoundScan’s Digital Albums chart.

With sales of 236,000, the superstar girl group’s sophomore release surpasses the first week sales of their debut album, a remarkable achievement in today’s marketplace.  It also marks the biggest first week from a female pop or R&B group since Destiny’s Child in 2001, and the largest debut from any female group in any genre since the Dixie Chicks in 2006.  In addition, the album is 2008’s second biggest-selling debut thus far, as well as the year’s top debut from a female artist, besting recent collections from such notables as Janet Jackson, Erykah Badu, and Natasha Bedingfield.  

“This number one is for our fans, everything we do is for them,” said the members of Danity Kane.  “We would like to thank God, our families, Bad Boy, and Atlantic for all their love and continued support.”

            “Over the past few years, I have not only been on a mission to make the bands, I have been on a mission to build careers,” said Bad Boy CEO Sean “Diddy” Combs.  “The triumphant #1 return of Danity Kane is dramatic proof that we are achieving our goal.  With ‘Welcome To The Dollhouse,’ these gifted, beautiful, platinum-selling women have confirmed their enormous talent and undeniable star power. They’ve come into their own with a record displaying the depth, range, quality, and energy that creates devotion and longevity.  Congratulations to Danity Kane for delivering the goods and to the staff of Bad Boy for putting them back on top in such grand style.”

“Damaged,” the album’s first hit single, is blowing up big time at iTunes:  the track’s companion video – directed by Syndrome (Pretty Ricky, Lupe Fiasco, Trey Songz) – is the #1-selling music video, while the single itself has climbed to #6 on the “Top Pop Songs” chart and #11 on the overall “Top Songs” ranking.  A total of four tracks from “WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE” are currently ranking on SoundScan’s Digital Songs chart.

Along with its success at iTunes, “Damaged” is also climbing the airplay charts at a variety of radio formats, including Urban, Rhythmic, and Top 40 outlets nationwide.  In addition, the single’s companion video clip is now in “Big Ten” rotation at MTV, and has just had its “New Joint” premiere on BET.

Danity Kane – the stars of the latest and greatest season of MTV’s smash reality series, Making The Band – were all over the network this past week, celebrating the arrival of “WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE” with visits to such MTV shows as TRL, The Big Ten and Sucka Free.  The album’s online premiere at MTV.com’s “The Leak” was the most popular new release of the year, drawing nearly 600,000 streams in the week preceding release.  Danity Kane also appeared on a recent edition of BET’s 106 & Park, with upcoming TV performances slated for the nationally syndicated Tyra Banks Show and Fox’s The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet (check local listings). 

Perhaps the week’s highlight was Danity Kane’s live performance of “Damaged” on Sunday’s hugely rated season finale of MTV’s Making The Band.  The broadcast also included the official unveiling of “P. Diddy Presents The Making The Band 4 Tour,” a major North American concert tour to be headlined by Danity Kane, and featuring their MTB4 co-stars Day26 and Donnie Klang.  Slated to hit the road in May, a full itinerary and on-sale information will be announced shortly.

Dawn, Aubrey, D. Woods, Shannon, and Aundrea’s sensational popularity was further confirmed by the group’s day-of-release in-store event at New York City’s Best Buy.  The autographing session proved so successful that the Fifth Avenue store had to be closed to accommodate the mass of excited fans in attendance.  Currently featured on the covers of both Right On! and King, Danity Kane is now in the midst of a month-long promo tour, with stops slated for radio stations in major markets across the country through mid-April.

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 “WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE” follows the Making The Band 3-winning group’s blockbuster debut, which made a spectacular #1 debut on the SoundScan/Billboard 200 album chart upon its initial 2006 release.  Fueled by the top 10 smash, “Show Stopper,” the self-titled album went on to achieve RIAA platinum certification for U.S. sales exceeding one million units.

Now, with “WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE,” Danity Kane have more than matched their Cinderella story debut, crafting an irresistible collection of new hits in association with such studio superstars as Danja, Stereotypes, Bryan Michael Cox, and Seven Aurelius.  Among the album’s many shining moments are collaborations with Missy Elliott, Rick Ross, and of course, the one-and-only P. Diddy.  “WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE” is Executive Produced by Bad Boy CEO Sean “Diddy” Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre.

For up-to-the-minute information, please visit www.danitykane.com, www.myspace.com/danitykane, and www.badboyonline.com.