Elvis Presley Enterprises
Elvis Presley Enterprises – put the King at the forefront of merchandising. Where he had sales of over $26 million in the first 6 months.
Hear Elvis Presley Unravelled #80
…..Elvis Presley Enterprises
On Steve Chelmsford’s Mop Tops and The King radio show #658
syndicated on over 100 radio stations around the world.
Broadcast: 19 to 25 July 2024
world-wide schedule
Elvis Presley King of Merchandising
Elvis was a pioneer in merchandising.
In February 1955 Elvis’s second manager, Bob Neal, set up Elvis Presley Enterprises.
In late July 1956 Colonel Tom Parker signed a marketing agreement with businessman Hank Saperstein, for the exclusive right to promote Elvis products. He was very experienced at tie-in products marketing.
The Elvis products were wide ranging and included T-shirts, jeans, magazines, lipstick, guitar, stuffed hound dog, soft drink and even a glow-in-the-dark picture of Elvis. An advertisement for Jet dog food at the time exclaimed – “Even a ‘Hound Dog’ deserves Jet dog food” – 3 cans for 31c. RCA put its marketing muscle behind promoting the Elvis Presley Autograph Victrola gramophone.
18 February 1957, Newsweek reported sales of $26 million in first six months.
1956 – what a great year for Elvis.
Hear the segment again…
Elvis Presley Unravelled #80
Elvis Presley Enterprises
Mop Tops and The King radio show
Twice a month, Derek Shelmerdine contributes the Elvis Presley Unravelled and The Beatles Unravelled segments for Steve Chelmsford’s Mop Tops and The King radio show. The show is dedicated to the lives and times of The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
See the complete list of Derek’s Beatles and Elvis Unravelled segments.
Rock’n’Roll Unravelled – the book
Derek Shelmerdine also wrote Rock’n’Roll Unravelled, the story of rock’n’roll from its roots to late 1970s punk.
Not just the story of the music but also the external factors influencing it, such as the Vietnam War and Civil Rights struggle.
