December 21st, 2011
Want to Market to Kids Via Social Networks? Good Luck With That
Silly Bandz is one of the most successful children’s product launches in recent years. What’s more, the product provided a blueprint for marketers who want to use Facebook to target kids. Silly Bandz’s Facebook Page now has more than 1 million fans, and the product became a runaway hit without any traditional advertising.
November 30th, 2011
American Dreamers
July 1st, 2011
Independence Day
As we head into the holiday weekend I wanted to give you guys a quick update on everything that is happening here in my crazy world so here goes!
The excitement and the buzz is really starting to build for RadRingz, the big follow up product to Sillybandz. Myself and the entire team are working hard everyday on every aspect of this next product from Silly Brandz Global. We soft launched them a few weeks back and the online buzz and attention from celebrities has been so amazing for us already. Everyday we are building on that to deliver a product that follows in line with what we started with Sillybandz. A product that is not only colorful and fun, but has the capacity to connect people that might normally be strangers through conversation and social connection. It’s important to us for our products to have a social component and that means we want to provide a fun and exciting social media experience as well and you’ll notice this more and more as we ramp RadRingz up through the summer and into fall! We are very excited to have the Kardashian RadRingz be our first celebrity RadRingz line and they are hitting stores shelves shortly after this holiday break! BIG things are coming with RadRingz and Silly Brandz Global so stay tuned on all our website (RadRingz.com) and our social media channels! (@RadRingz, Facebook.com/RadRingz)
Other developments include me being welcomed onto the board of a new company titled OWL or Our World Live. I am very very excited for what this company is going to bring to the world and personally think it will revolutionize the live concert business as well as change how you “view” things. I’ve said too much already and will report back when I have more official news on OWL! We’ve also launched the new website for the Verso Group. (VersoGroup.com) Verso Group serves as a parent company to all of my other companies and is also the first company I ever started. That company is my first baby and everything it stands for has always meant so much to.me, so seeing it retooled, shined up, and relaunched is a mesmerizing apex for me.
I am also very honored to have a cover story in the July issue of Inc. Magazine. It’s an incredible magazine with some really intelligent view points and information for the minute to minute business world we live in now and I am totally elated to be featured! I don’t know what’s more astonishing the actual story or all the positive and supportive feedback from those around me. It truly is an amazing time and as we head into the 4th of July holiday weekend I hope it finds you all surrounded by amazing people. Friends and Family. Positive and supportive.
June 6th, 2011
Faster than a speeding Lambo
So it’s been a crazy couple of weeks. We have so much going on and things are really happening with many of the new projects. Let’s take a look since my last blog post.
We just had the grand opening of our newest Marco’s Pizza store in the Northfield Mall in the Denver area. Nick and the team did an amazing job with the build out and the new staff are doing great. Sales have been amazing and all of the stores are on a huge upswing.
We just finished up with the MTV Movie Awards and Dustin and the team crushed it! Tons of great pictures and people went nuts over our latest creation Rad Ringz (wwwradringz.com). We are super excited for the coming months and all of the great styles we have coming out. The Kardashians have been blowing up twitter and FB promoting their new Rad Ringz pack and we have Hello Kitty coming out as well. We are also in negotiations with Lady Gaga so she too can have her very own Rad Ringz style. Super excited about this one as well, RR fit with her demographic so well. The Monsters will LOVE IT!
Things are moving along very well with Our World Live we will be launching the new website (Beta) on the 20th of June. I can’t wait until we can post the new tour dates and all the fun new tricks we have up our sleeves. The technology we are introducing is sick and will be so much fun for music fans worldwide. Look for more details soon!
If you haven’t seen it yet, www.shirtsby.me has finally launched and I am super proud of it. If you are a T-shirt lover like I am this is going to be an amazing website for all. Similar to Threadless but just so much better. If you like any of the shirts you can buy shares in them and the proceeds are shared between the designer/artist, investors and us of course so it’s really a great site to assist the independent artist or graphic designer to have a support structure to get work out there and make money. So whether you buy shares in a specific design of not you get high quality shirts for less than most of the garbage out there and all designs are provided by national, independent artists. Going to be a blast once we get it promoted and out there.
Fun Fun Fun. So this past week I spent a day and a half with CNBC filming an episode of “How I made my Millions”. It was a blast and Bill and his crew were great to work with. Best part of the filming was the last part. We did a parting shot with me doing 185 MPH heading out into the desert in Red Rock Canyon. So sick. The new Lambo is ridic!
I think that’s most of it. Wheeew. Summer is here and things are moving soooo fast but I will do my best to keep everyone caught up on all the craziness in SILLY world. Thanks to Chelsea and all of my great staff for working so hard while we attempt to take over the world…
March 30th, 2011
Article about my recent visit to Webster University
Creator of Silly Bandz tells students to believe in the American dream
Rubber bands were once popular only in the shape of a circle. But Robert Croak, the inventor of Silly Bandz, brought the idea of new shapes to America and created a trend people of all ages could enjoy. The School of Business and Technology (SBT) had the quirky inventor speak for the Walker Speaker Series March 24 in the Library Conference Room.
“I really just thought they were cool and aimed them at high school and elementary kids and hoped they would wear them,” Croak said.
Silly Bandz are bracelets that take different shapes and colors and cost about $4.95 pack. The first pack of the brand was the “pet pack” and after that came the dinosaurs, princesses and rock n’ roll.
Erin King, a senior studio art advertising and marketing communications double major, said she was thrilled Croak came to Webster University.
“We can brag that ‘We are the school that had the Silly Bandz inventor,’” King said.
March 25th, 2011
A nice article about my Pizza Stores
Silly Bandz provides dough for growth of pizza chain
Anyone with a teenager knows about Silly Bandz, the shaped rubber bracelets that generated $200 million in sales in 2010. But you may not know the phenomenon is helping the rapid expansion of the Marco’s Pizza chain in Colorado.
Robert Croak, the Toledo, Ohio-based designer of Silly Bandz, also is a longtime friend and business partner of Nick Costanzo, who purchased the rights to develop Marco’s restaurants in Colorado. Costanzo, who lives in Colorado, handles operations and management of the pizza restaurants, while Croak provides financing and marketing.
Costanzo is set to open his fifth and sixth Marco’s Front Range …
Read more: Silly Bandz provides dough for growth of pizza chain | Denver Business Journal
February 17th, 2011
SillyBrandz on KTLA
February 8th, 2011
E! News coverage of the Kardashian SillyBandz Glam Pack release party at Kitson
February 2nd, 2011
Media Alert
MEDIA ALERT!!
Who: Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian of the hit E! Television series, Keeping Up
With the Kardashians
What: The Kardashian sisters will be at famed LA boutique, Kitson to launch their “Kardashian Glam” pack of Silly Bandz®. The event will be filmed for an episode of the E! Television series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
(more…)
January 27th, 2011
Entrepreneur Magazine features Robert Croak
Robert Croak, founder and CEO of BCP Imports, LLC, the creators of Silly Bandz™, is featured in the December issue of Entrepreneur magazine. In the article we gain a little insight on how the Silly Bandz™ craze was born, and a few key lessons Robert has learned in the process!
Be sure to check it out at http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217709.
Live on Bloomberg TV
Robert discusses the future of Silly Bandz™ and announces new product lines.
