When Lois Najarian, the former SVP of media for Epic Records, founded The Door in 2008, Michael Jackson was her first client.
Since then, the New York-based idea shop has worked on various projects for Jackson, both during his life and after he passed away in 2009. During Jackson's life, the firm handled the launch of special edition album Thriller 25, said Najarian.
“When we lost him in 2009, Sony [Music Entertainment] was tasked with creating projects for things the fans would want as keepsakes for Michael,” she explained.
The agency worked with Sony on the release of Michael, which came out in December 2010 and featured music discovered in Jackson's personal archives.
More recently, The Door has worked with Sony on PR for the 25th anniversary of Jackson's Bad album.Jim Parham, VP of global marketing for Sony Music, complimented the team at The Door because “they think like marketers and are creative problem solvers.”
For the Bad 25 project, The Door is managing all media strategy and outreach. It has secured TV programming with ABC and BET, added Parham. He said the agency also worked with the press teams of Sony and ABC to develop the media plan for Spike Lee's Bad 25 documentary, which will air on the network on Thanksgiving night.In addition to broadcast engagement, Najarian said The Door is reaching out to traditional print media, such as The New York Times and Vibe, as well as bloggers such as Perez Hilton.
Since the film launched for an exclusive one-week engagement in Los Angeles and New York on October 19, various publications have reviewed it, including Gawker, The Hollywood Reporter, Time, and The Huffington Post.