Who Are We: Brand Varietal & Digney & CO. Partnership

We Garner Attention Through Our Marketing, Event & Publicity Platforms…

We are ever-evolving as the media world and our clients’ needs do!

Brand Varietal and its sister company Digney & CO. is a full-service Branding and Communications Agency founded and headed today by veteran Hollywood media, public relations and events leader Jerry Digney and respected brand architect Bettina Klinger. BV & D&CO specializes in producing innovative communications campaigns through the development of strong branding, consistent messaging, longstanding media relationships, high-impact press placements and event creation and execution.

The key element to ensuring the success of a brand stands on sustained, high-visibility publicity. BV & D&CO has decades of experience in public relations, focused on high profile figures in entertainment, sports, music, and celebrity legacies, corporate communications, public affairs, consumer branding and marketing, and the nonprofit sector. The agency has assembled a dedicated and loyal team of senior-level industry practitioners, which creates a core base of continuity that clients seek in their agency partner.

BV & D&CO has a demonstrable track record in creating tailored campaigns and programs that are strategic, innovative, and results driven. The agency also maintains exceptional rapport with top-tier journalists, brands, event planners, licensing liaisons, rights clearances houses, archival photo experts and collectors, and movie studios. We have built longstanding relationships with both traditional and digital media, including business, trade, and lifestyle press, social media outlets as well as bloggers, influencers, and podcasters, locally, nationally and internationally.

METHOD-BASED APPROACH

Our team members view campaign strategy as a science with little bit of art. A highly customized, results-driven strategy defines BV & D&CO programs, which can be broken down into four main pillars:

  • Brand Discovery: Our methodology begins with total brand immersion. Information is gathered. It culminates in a proprietorial Same Page Workshop where experts and principals gather to map the brand DNA. This builds a deeper understanding of the brand goals. Identifying new and validating existing targets audiences to business needs and maximizing opportunities for revenue is mapped out for stakeholders. By the end of this phase, a three-dimensional picture of the brand is formed and implementation can commence.

  • Message Development: We conduct a comprehensive communications audit to develop consistency of messaging, language and approach.

  • Strategic Planning: A tactical program is developed with project timelines that chart activities and goals to monitor progress and value delivered, not only from alliances and strategic partnerships but from media placement and engagement.

  • Media Relations Outreach: BV & D&CO’s extensive media contacts are leveraged to secure impactful, qualitative and quantitative exposure in all outlets that furthers the client’s goals.

Our programs are supported by intensive phone, email, and social media outreach.


Our Culture

At Brand Varietal & Digney & Co we promote an entrepreneurial culture that is measured on a performance-based model and supported by a collaborative team. We have a collective open-door policy that reinforces this model while encouraging each practitioner to function independently and conscientiously.  Our talented senior-level colleagues develop and execute impactful forward-thinking campaigns. 

We also are good listeners which envelops client input and diligent execution vis-a-vis an agreed upon engagement and scope of work. This feeds our commitment and is conducive to opening new avenues and delivering branding, imaging, licensing, publicity, events and more. 

We believe our collective backgrounds fuel this work inspiration. This proven history of measurable results accounts for our ability to harness the greatest bandwidth in all of our networks, locally, nationally and internationally across all practices.

Our Commitment to Sustainability

At Brand Varietal & Digney & Co operating sustainably has become a source of competitive advantage, but unlocking its potential relies on building strong stakeholder relationships.

New research reveals large consensus gaps between leaders and stakeholders on sustainability performance. This misalignment obstructs the link between sustainability and profitability. Executives must strengthen their organizations’ sustainability DNA through a three-stage cycle of change: Diagnose, Define, and Develop.

By closing consensus gaps and operating more sustainably, businesses and foundations can deliver greater financial value in tandem with positive environmental and societal impact.

We strive as a company to provide sustainable solutions in line with our research on behalf of our company foundation, so we can enhance our clients goals increasing the value of the public perception of the brands with whom we are entrusted.

 

Bettina Klinger

Bettina Klinger is a driven, hardworking leader of a cutting edge, seasoned team. She created Brand Varietal to offer brands a well-defined set of professional expertise. Klinger is often referred to as an award-winning retail and marketing pioneer, product innovator and branding expert. Skilled in long-range image & brand planning through multiple distribution channels, Klinger prioritizes emerging, re-positioning, and heritage clients raising brand awareness and creating new revenue funnels. Guiding businesses to discover, define, design, implement and measure ROI is intrinsic to her rules of engagement. From weaving company cultures, or garnering market share through consumer education Klinger is a veteran of co-branding, licensing, and establishing strategic partnerships and alliances to achieve these goals.

The company’s focus is creative identity development, branding, marketing, curating and evolving digital/viral footprint(s). The goal is to raise awareness by elevating a range of brands, products, legacy icons and personalities in today’s marketing landscape. We are skilled in concept development, production and execution for revenue generation. Success in business can hinge on many complex and dynamic factors for existing and emerging brands. Our model effectively discovers insights into behavior and values of a diverse consumer base, elevating authenticity, approachability of the brand, its legacy and message. Our core values are steeped in the productivity of a collaborative, passionate, progressively creative, and strategically thinking team. We work with other talented resources outside of our team for multi-faceted engagements. We tactically execute campaigns across all platforms with consistency in messaging and promotion. The need to empower consumers through target market funnels to emotionally connect with a brand has never been greater or more diverse. This paradigm led to a strategic alliance with noted Hollywood public relations, special events and licensing firm, Digney & CO. Jerry Digney and his EVP Marcia Newberger, well-known leaders in the entertainment industry, focus on a celebrity and high profile client base.

Clients include Kleinfeld Bridal, Invite Health, Gary Cooper Estate, Revlon, Mont Blanc, LVMH, ABC Carpet & Home, Byron Janis, The Food Network, The Cooking Channel, The Park Avenue Diet, Re-branding of Grand Central Terminal, Harney & Sons Teas, Valerie Wilson Travel, Inc., Cooking with Maria Loi, Maria Cooper Janis, Fish's Eddy, The East Hampton Shucker Company, Petit Blue, Murray's Cheese and more.

 

Jerry Digney

Jerry Digney has always been a promoter. He learned his skills from a long line of ballyhoo icons and legendary press agents. Knowing how to get attention for his clients comes naturally.

Digney, a native Bostonian, was the first ever Director of Public Relations for Feld Entertainment, producer-owner of Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice touring productions, where he supervised a staff of marketeers and publicists for a half-dozen or more touring productions.

Digney’s Presidential run for Bozo The Clown revived the character’s popularity with a new generation.Digney later worked with Larry Harmon Pictures, owner of the Bozo the Clown franchise. It was Digney’s idea to enter Bozo in the 1984 presidential race. The Bozo for President campaign resulted in coverage by every major media outlet in America. 

Leaving Harmon’s company shortly after his success with the campaign, Jerry joined one of the industry’s leading public relations firms. Joining Solters/Roskin/Friedman as vice president he quickly became right hand to Lee Solters, a legend among international entertainment publicists. They served as imagemakers and confidants to a virtual show biz Who’s Who from Broadway to Hollywood.

In the ’90s Jerry partnered with Lee Solters to form Solters & Digney.  He worked with the elder statesman of public relations until his death in 2009.

Jerry Digney has long been at the forefront of many memorable chapters in entertainment history. From publicizing two presidential inaugurals and numerous breakthrough films, including “The Graduate,” to promoting major touring shows like Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Circus and long-running installations like Cirque du Soleil, The Beatles.

Jerry Digney conceptualized and led the effort for the USPS to issue the first-ever showbiz-themed postage stamp.

Celebrity clients have included Michael Jackson, BB King, Ray Charles, The Neville Bros, The Rolling Stones, Jackie Gleason, Whoopi Goldberg, Carol Channing, Whitney Houston, Liza Minnelli, Dolly Parton and Bette Midler. Venues and events including Caesars Palace, the Beverly Hills Hotel, Mattel, Universal Studios Tour, 20th Century Fox film studios, the City of Las Vegas and the many legendary Chrysler-sponsored Golf Tournaments and Bob Hope television specials have all relied on Jerry Digney for direction and exposure.

He was the first person to get a female client over 50 on the cover of Playboy magazine and arranged for the Pope (John Paul II) to be made an honorary Harlem Globetrotter.

It was Digney who lobbied for the first show biz-themed U.S. postage stamp featuring Laurel and Hardy. The beginning of an ongoing campaign to feature entertainment icons on postage stamps.

Today the number of media outlets (and opportunities for coverage) is expanded exponentially. For client TCL Chinese Theatre, Digney & Co. has produced over 1 Billion impressions via social media alone. New clients—superstars to be—are emerging from the Internet. All they need is a little ballyhoo.

 

Tor CaraCappa

Tor Caracappa is the Digital Media Director for BV & D&CO, working on social media & websites for a vast array of clients from hollywood legend, Gary Cooper, and his daughter, Maria Cooper Janis to iconic 80's rockers, Twisted Sister as well as, quintessential jazz guitar manufacturers, D'Angelico Guitars and many others.

A native New Yorker, Tor began his career at the Manhattan landmark, Bergdorf Goodman as part of their fabled visual department molding an eye for displaying luxury items in the best possible light. From there he was hand picked by men's designer, John Varvatos to be Creative Director for his budding brand. This included designing stores and showrooms, runway shows and curating all things visual as well as producing monthly events held at the stores for hundreds and sometimes thousands of attendees, oftentimes doubling as the Master of Ceremonies, as well.

These events would at times mean working directly with entertainers such as Willie Nelson and Ringo Star or legendary artists such as Mick Rock or Storm Thorgersen.

As our attention turned more to social media and all things digital, so did his. Leaving his life in fashion behind for a more "virtual" career but still pulling from his experience as a Creative Director, he fully embraced social media and saw it as a creative form of curation, communication and marketing.

Quickly specializing in legacy brands, the creative challenge (fun part) became to not only harness the power of social media and directly interact with already interested fans but to help reach a younger demographic that may not realize they are fans, thereby growing said fan base. All by carefully curating photos and video clips etc. and giving the public something to embrace and engage with on a daily basis.

Drawing once more on his experience as a Creative Director and his experience of working directly with artists, Tor began producing and directing short form videos and photo shoots for D'Angelico Guitars helping to elevate their online presence.

From working with luxury items to working with "A"list artists, Tor has found a way to filter all of that into the digital realm we all continue to experience more and more with each passing day online.

 

James Clifford

James leads creative innovation, concepts and campaigns in line with briefs informed by internal insights and marketing teams.

  • Delivers insightful creative concepts for all integrated customer and consumer marketing campaigns as per briefs from internal stakeholders. Direct and lead team ideation sessions. Deliver all commercial trading requirements to achieve budget.

  • Establishes excellent working relationships across the business and internal stakeholders.

  • Own quality assurance across all deliverables.

  • He ensures that robust workflow process management across the team. Ensures teams meet deadlines.

  • Creates compelling presentation proposals for potential brand collaborations.

  • Supports teams with packaging concepts and development

  • Enables the Email and Trading teams with campaign assets

  • Drives and delivers quality photography and video requirements and outputs.

  • Shares and adopts creative best practice.

  • Responsible for global adaptation with local territory teams (US, AU and EU)

 

Héber Medina

As a designer, Héber believes that design is the problem-solving process of envisioning and executing the best possible experience for an audience. He specializes in print, branding, and logo design. As a creative eye for colors, shapes, typography and print design, he is a valued member of our team.