Promoting Female Empowerment
Description
Zorianna Kit talks to Jerra Spence founder of Sugar Hooker Entertainment about encouraging female empowerment through business.
Transcript
Promoting Female Empowerment
Jerra Spence: There is so much negativity, negative marketing, and negative reinforcement. We are just out there being the positive reinforcement.
Zorianna Kit: Hi and welcome to Dog and Pony, I am Zorianna Kit. Jerra Spence founder of Sugar Hooker Entertainment represents a female consumer based resistant to mass market girly consumerism. Jerra, welcome!
Jerra Spence: Hi. Thank you.
Zorianna Kit: Let us talk about SHE Sugar Hooker Entertainment.
Jerra Spence: Okay. We are an all girl run, record label, clothing brand and lifestyle brand. We also have an online social network and we promote girl power and health or hobbies. So actually tongue and cheek, we tug up in hooked on sugar— Sugar Hooker and we really just try and talk to our girl audience and fan base about all the opportunities that are out there for them in different ways to go about raising their self- esteem. We think hobbies first.
Zorianna Kit: So, what is the age range of your audience?
Jerra Spence: We’re twelve to twenty four year old girls, not only fans but also participant and also behind the scene that’s in pretty young company.
Zorianna Kit: So then, what gave you the idea to start this?
Jerra Spence: I started out as musician. Around ten years old, I started gigging out. When I went to pursue an audience and a group in a community of girls or guys that support girls in music, I did not see that so I had to start it myself.
Zorianna Kit: How does your company then draw revenue? How do you make money?
Jerra Spence: Well it just started with a logo t-shirt and we sold out off the t-shirts very fast because it says Sugar Hooker and it has multiple meanings and people have the idea of supporting a female run record label.
From there, we landed a spot on the Vans Warped Tour in 2005. And we went out there and sold so much merchandise that we ended up coming home with a clothing company.
Zorianna Kit: Wow! So, that was really your big break, right?
Jerra Spence: Yeah. I would say we are trying to get people more with what they purchase so we are trying to show that you get a community, you get to provoke conversation by wearing this t-shirt, by talking about this important issues, feminism, sugar addiction, food addiction, manipulative marketing. These are all things that can come up from just one concept which is sugar hooker.
Zorianna Kit: Now, do you receive criticism from main stream media outlets?
Jerra Spence: So far so good. Obviously, we are provocative. We try to encourage and provoke conversation because we feel that our society is very sugar down and sweet. And we think that instead of dumbing down, I think it is important to provoke conversation.
Zorianna Kit: So, how do you advertise if you are kind of under the radar and not so main stream?
Jerra Spence: We depend on word of mouth. We do tons of event marketing. For example, the Vans Warped Tour attracts over 500,000 people in two months. We give away dozens of guitars every summer and throughout the year
Zorianna Kit: Through corporate sponsorship?
Jerra Spence: Through corporate sponsorship, yeah. And it is that kind of support that really helps us make through on our mission today.
Zorianna Kit: Why is that so important to you?
Jerra Spence: I do not want girls to think that being a girl is your obstacle. If we can give them not only the courage but the resources for getting a height in life and moving forward and pass this self victimization in the victimization of our society and get into a more self empowering take control of your life, here is a guitar. You want to be in a band, here is a guitar. That is personally important to me.
Zorianna Kit: The women’s movement has come so far and so many doors have been opened. We may have a woman president for the first time in history. How badly is this still needed?
Jerra Spence: I still do think that there is so much negativity, negative marketing, and negative reinforcement. We are just out there being the positive reinforcement. It is really it’s that simple.
Zorianna Kit: Do you wish you had this sight when you were younger?
Jerra Spence: Oh yeah! It would be a dream.
Zorianna Kit: Are you conscious of being role model to your certain extent?
Jerra Spence: I will be the person to support you and say, “Go for it.” I will be the first person. And if somebody needs that and they want to find that they can find that in me, that’s just the kind of person I am. So yeah, I think not necessarily role model but more like a cheerleader.
Zorianna Kit: I think you will make a good mom for a daughter.
Jerra Spence: Oh, thank you.
Zorianna Kit: We are going to play a little game right now called “None of your business.”
Jerra Spence: Okay. Yeah, cool.
Zorianna Kit: So I am going to ask you a series of a question and you can rather answer them or tell me that it is “None of my business” all right?
Jerra Spence: Okay.
Zorianna Kit: How much money do you make in a year?
Jerra Spence: None of your business.
Zorianna Kit: All right, what’s one of your guilty pleasures?
Jerra Spence: Sugar.
Zorianna Kit: Are you a sugar hooker?
Jerra Spence: Yeah, it is bad.
Zorianna Kit: Who is your professional hero?
Jerra Spence: My grandmother is 87 and she still works. She’s got an iPhone. She is amazing. She is my hero.
Zorianna Kit: Before starting Sugar Hooker Entertainment, what did you wish you knew?
Jerra Spence: I think that thing that I am trying to give others. I think I would have loved to have a little bit more of when I first started.
Zorianna Kit: How did you acquire it?
Jerra Spence: Discovering what kind of passionate person I am has given me my own confidence I guess.
Zorianna Kit: Is there anyone out there who does anything remotely similar to Sugar Hooker? And if so, would you consider it competition or just sort of like the more the merrier for the women’s movement?
Jerra Spence: I think there is room out there for everybody and I would love to support BUST Magazine. They have promoted girl culture in the most cool way so I see them actually as role models for me in terms of the lifestyle element and activism.
Zorianna Kit: Thank so much for playing none of your business. Jerra Spence, founder of Sugar Hooker Entertainment, thank you so much for joining us.
Jerra Spence: Thank you.
Zorianna Kit: If you have questions, comments or ideas for guest, please e-mail us at info@dogandpony.com. I am Zorianna Kit thanks for watching.
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