Brothers Entertainment Merchandising (BEM) was founded by industry veterans bringing together over 70 years of experience. Their expertise in merchandising, marketing and licensing, combined with their customer-centric commitment to service, has created an industry-leading full-service branded entertainment company that represents multiple A-list entertainment properties throughout the world.
Our goal is to be the “go to” merchandising company for the entertainment business.
Working closely with our clients and listening intently to our consumers feedback is key to positioning ourselves to challenge the status quo of current industry standards by formulating innovative brand extension programs, creating proprietary marketing and promotional activities and building merchandising programs for artists that will become a key part of their legacy for years to come.
OUR MISSION
We will be the merchandising company for artists by building them individualized entertainment merchandising revenue and brand-building opportunities. We will not build our own roster at the expense of our exciting clients, we commit to building entertainment-merchandising programs that will follow artists for their entire career no matter where they go. All merchandising decisions and programs are developed with the artist’s career as the number one influencer. The artist is always first at BEM.
Joseph Bongiovi
Co-President/CEO, Brothers Entertainment Merchandising
In October of 2005 Joseph teamed up with a few veterans from the entertainment merchandising and licensing business to form Brothers Entertainment Merchandising (BEM).
Joseph Bongiovi began his career in Entertainment marketing 18 years ago, while working for Great Entertainment Merchandise, a division of PolyGram. As Manager of Tour Production, Joseph was responsible for supervising all aspects of tour merchandising as well as creating merchandising programs for some of music’s biggest stars like Elton John, Sting, Cher, White Zombie and Cypress Hill.
In 1993, Joseph was offered a position at newly formed Sony Signatures, a San Francisco-based music marketing company of Sony Music and Sony Pictures. He worked as Senior Manager of Artist Relations for two years where he signed new talent to their roster, supervised a team of A & R managers as well as negotiated merchandising deals from inception to completion. During this time, Joseph implemented and developed a licensing division at Signatures and was quickly promoted to Director of Licensing and Marketing. Shortly thereafter, he was again promoted, this time to Vice President of Licensing and Marketing.
As Vice President of Licensing and Marketing, Joseph was responsible for the creation and management of global entertainment licensing programs as well as the building and management of a product development division, creative services division, a merchandising and licensing sales division and a corporate sponsorship and endorsement division. He developed worldwide licensing strategies and created extensive multi-level licensing programs for such talent as: KISS, The Beatles, Ozzy Osbourne, Yellow Submarine, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and Madonna. In its first year, Joseph’s division grossed over $4 million and grew to gross over $100 million by the year 2000.
In mid-2000, Joseph was offered the position of Vice President, Tour Sponsorships and Marketing for Clear Channel Entertainment. He was responsible for overseeing the tour sponsorship sales division, negotiating, developing and executing corporate tour alliances. Joseph created brand integration strategies for some of America’s largest companies including Verizon Wireless, Miller, Kodak, Volkswagen, Jaguar, Bally Total Fitness, Polaroid and Samsung Wireless with some of the worlds biggest entertainment properties such as Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, N’Sync, Ozzy Osbourne and many more.
By implementing these programs, Joseph succeeded in expanding the tour sponsorship gross revenues at Clear Channel by 30% the first year with an additional 15% the following year. He was also directly responsible for closing over $12 million in Corporate Alliances deals.
By 2002, Joseph decided to make the big move toward branching out on his own and launched Monarch Entertainment Group, LLC (MEG). MEG is a full-service entertainment marketing company which offers brands multi-level integrated entertainment marketing solutions built from the ground up, ensuring seamless brand integration. MEG helps its clients to expand their target audience by offering impactful, organic entertainment marketing solutions across a broad range of entertainment channels including music, television, film and sports.
Steve Miles
Co-President/CFO, Brothers Entertainment Merchandising
Steve Miles began his career in Entertainment Marketing in 1975 with the Great Southern Company, one of the first entertainment merchandising companies to emerge in the world. Within a year Steve had moved up to assistant tour production and then to head of tour production, in 1980 Steve became the Vice President of Great Southern.
Steve was part of Great Southern from 1975 to 1992, when PolyGram records purchased them. During his time at Great Southern Steve built the company to a $50 million dollar grossing business and helped develop and launch an aggressive entertainment retail event merchandising business as well with acts such as Motley Crew, Bon Jovi, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elton John, White Zombie, No Doubt, Richard Marx, The Bee Gee’s, etc.
In 1995 Steve partnered with the then London based entertainment merchandising company Bravado to open an American office and became President of the American offices. In the years that followed, Bravado went from a little known music merchandising company to the number one company in America grossing well over $100 million annually.
In early 2003 The Sanctuary Group purchased Bravado and the company continued to grow. Steve had signed a two-year deal as president and with the expiring of the contract in September of 2005; Steve again decided it was time to move on.
In September 2005 Joseph Bongiovi contacted Steve Miles and invited him to join him in a new entertainment merchandising company he was launching called Brothers Entertainment Merchandising. Steve accepted and as of October 1st, 2005 Brothers Entertainment Merchandising was launched.
Bradford Andersen
Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Brothers Entertainment Merchandising
Bradford Andersen began his career in Entertainment Merchandising in 1987 while working for The Great Southern Company out of Macon, GA. As an Account Manager in the telemarketing department, Bradford was involved with all aspects wholesale/retail sales orders and operations. A year later, Bradford moved into the Concert Touring Division, where he traveled as a Tour Merchandise Manager for two years managing all aspects of on site venue sales. In 1989 Bradford was transferred from the road into the LA office of The Great Southern Company where he was Manager of Tour Production until 1992. Not feeling he had enough road experience, Bradford decided to devote the next 6 years to touring around the world with various artists as a Tour Manager, Production Manager and Merchandising.
In 1998, Bradford went to work for Bravado International Group a London based Merchandising Company that incorporated in the United States to better serve their client roster. Starting from ground zero, Bradford took on this new position with a determination to help build Bravado’s Touring Division as one of the best in the business, representing major artists including: The Spice Girls, Page & Plant, Depeche Mode, The Who, Iron Maiden and many others. Over the next 7 years, as Vice President of Tour Production, Bradford enabled Bravado’s US Touring Division to grow and become the most respected, profitable and recognized merchandising companies.
During the Summer of 2005, Bradford decided to move on from Bravado to join forces with industry veterans Steven Miles and Joseph Bongiovi to form Brothers Entertainment Merchandising, a full service Entertainment Merchandising Company. Bradford’s position of COO is the backbone of BEM and helps provide the best quality products and services beyond comparison.