How can a brand (corporation, retail product, etc.) connect with its target market?  This is the type of question I tend to ponder at all hours.  Last week, while watching a little late night television, I found a great source in the form of 50 Cent on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.  Yes, that 50 Cent. 

I watched as the rapper came out and began chat with Conan and I literally put my laptop down and was drawn in.  He was engaging, funny, and charismatic to the point that you couldn’t help but like him. (Check out a clip via the good folks at Hulu here. )

Like him and his music or not, he does a great job of taking advantage of every opportunity put in front of him and clearly keeps business on his mind at all times.  In just a couple of minutes he highlights some of his varied business efforts (Vitamin Water to cologne and a no-go on condoms), flashes a million dollar (at least) smile, pokes fun at aspects of his own reputation and shows off how to properly fluff a pillow.  Seriously, he’s a renaissance man.

What can you really take away from 50?

Engage with personality– Not everyone will have a spokesperson (CEO, owner, or PR person) with natural charisma but the approach is still valid.  If you’re reading from a statement that you don’t believe in, it will show and your audience will know it’s phony.  Find a way to let personality come through in the best way possible to highlight the qualities of your speaker.

Have a purpose before you ever speak– As evidenced by his success and constant willingness to take on new ventures, 50 Cent is able to identify a goal for himself and go after it.  This appearance on Conan is to support the launch of his new album and what he did was show a side of himself that will engage a broad audience well beyond his core listeners.  He tailored his message to fit the audience he was speaking to and did it well.

You must have several channels to promote your brand– In digging around after the segment, I took a deeper look at how 50 approaches his own promotion.  It’s easy to see when you visit his site that he is taking full advantage of all the technology available to him to reach out to his fans, and potential fans, and build his own brand.  He blends his image of street tough performer and charming young businessman to reach his goals.  Facebook, Twitter, heavy video use, and contests to support the community all support his actual performance schedule.

If you can take and apply these ideas to your own brand, you may find some great new ways to put some added fun behind your organization.  And if that won’t work, maybe just call 50 Cent directly. If the price is right, he just might be your next spokesperson.