Decked out in their royal best, little princes and princesses joined Barbie for Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s pink carpet premiere of Barbie Princess Charm School. Hosted by Yummy Mummy’s Erica Ehm, little Barbie lovers came to strut their stuff on the pink carpet and meet their favourite gal pal, Barbie.

Check out these charming photos from the event:

It seems like World Wrestling Entertainment has found a new way to connect with their fans outside of their traditional television programs and PPV shows – they’re laying a smack down with social media, and it’s creating quite a buzz.

While the WWE’s popularity and profits have waned in recent years thanks in part to a fickle fan base and stiff competition from the UFC, they’ve come up with an interesting way to strengthen their brand and add a sense of realism to the scripted spectacle of professional wrestling.  A little context is needed:

Former WWE champion C.M. Punk created a stir at a recent WWE event when he gave a scathing on-air review of the company and the way it operated.  He won the title on the final night he was under contract with the WWE, forfeited it, and promptly left the company.  Or did he?

Fast forward two weeks:  The ousted champ showed up unannounced at a WWE panel at San Diego’s Comic Con.  Armed with a video camera (and an excellent guerrilla marketing strategy), he stormed into the panel and challenged another high profile wrestler to a bout.  But his videographer wasn’t the only one documenting the showdown.  Upon his entrance, seemingly half the room whipped out their smartphones and started rolling.  Within minutes, several different videos were posted on Youtube and Twitter, drawing the eyes of not only the wrestling world, but many old fans who had said “uncle” and quit the WWE a long time ago.

This particular digital strategy was a stroke of genius for the WWE, as it accomplished a few key things:

1)      It added a much needed element of realism to their product, something that’s been called into question over and over again.  They have deliberately taken to not mentioning the former champ’s name in their on-air programming  moving forward, lending credibility to the fact that this isn’t all staged (which in fact it is).  But is it interesting, blurring the lines and drawing eyes? Absolutely.

2)      Using Youtube and Twitter adds another layer for the fan base to engage with the WWE brand.  As a result of this stunt, many of these fans were able to post their videos of the showdown on Twitter and Youtube – the fans were allowed to break the news and add their voices to the narrative. What brand wouldn’t want such an engaged consumer?

3)      It’s  created a great ROI.  No major network television channels involved.  No expensive lights, cameras, and crews needed.  A camera, a compelling character, and an internet connection did the trick.

4)      It created a buzz, plain and simple.  Where will he strike next?  What will he do?  You had better check Twitter as he’s probably already hinting at it now.

You can watch the video here:

This is a great bit of engagement on behalf of the WWE, which highlights the fact that brands need to think outside the box and utilize all communication tools that are at their disposal.  It could even end up saving them from going down for the proverbial ten count…

Step aside Kate Bosworth- Sasha Jackson, the newest surf maven, was in Toronto along with her leading man Ben Milliken to share their rad surf skills and celebrate the release of their new movie Blue Crush 2.

The surfing duo flew in from the beach in L.A. to participate in a full day of interviews with outlets such as Oh So Cosmo! and Much Music, followed by a beach party premiere in Toronto’s entertainment district, and High Road was there.

In ultimate South African surfer style, the beach party was set on a man-made beach in the downtown core, complete with a bonfire, Nando’s barbeque and African dancers. Fans and media scoped out a spot in the sand and joined the cast to enjoy live music from the film and a screening under the stars. There to catch the action, our friends at CP24 were on location to interview the cast.

 In all, the event was a swimming success and an experience the talent and fans won’t soon forget!