CHICAGO — Christopher Ferraro is president and CEO of vehicle appearance products company Voodoo Ride, which he co-founded last year with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Ferraro brings experience in the appearance p rod ucts category to the company, having served as president/CEO of VentureBrands, LLC, a marine and automotive surface care company.

Ferraro is a former equity partner and 20-year-veteran of Entertainment Marketing, Inc. (EMI), a top-20 Chicago-based promotional marketing agency. As Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Ferraro played a key role in developing strategic brand marketing and activation programs for numerous Fortune 100 clients. He was instrumental in the day-to-day management and growth of EMI, eventually building the agency to $50 million in gross billings.

Ferraro also served as president of The Affinity Management Group, Inc. an affiliate company of EMI. With more than 400 full-time employees, The Affinity Management Group, Inc. provided critical tactical and strategic management and field logistic services to EMI and agency roster clients.

Ferraro earned a B.A from Wabash College in 1982. Born in Mishawaka, Ind., Ferraro and his wife reside in Chicago .

Join us as Ferraro shares how he came to found the car care products company with racing star Earnhardt, and what he thinks makes Voodoo Ride stand out from the crowd.

Voodoo Ride was founded and launched its first line of products last year. What’s the reception in the marketplace been like thus far?

“To be honest, we were quite overwhelmed at the positive response we received, both from consumer and trade buyer perspectives. Our first exposure to the aftermarket was during Industry Week last November where we had the opportunity to showcase the brand and communicate the Voodoo Ride positioning and platform. Our unique branding and perspective really seemed to resonate with the attendees, both domestically and internationally. In fact, we have not been able to keep up with the interest and inquiries on the brand from international buyers. As a new company, our focus has to be our core domestic market, however we’re excited to know that we have the potential to move the brand across U.S. borders when the time is right.”

As a veteran of the appearance products industry, in what ways do you think Voodoo Ride products differ from the other automotive appearance products on the shelves today?

“I would say that Voodoo Ride has two distinct qualities that make us different than all of our competitors. The first is our product quality, formulation and lineage. Although Voodoo Ride is new to the automotive aftermarket, our products have a successful track record spanning 12 years in sales, research and development to the marine OEM and consumer market place. We’ve formulated our products to withstand the harsh marine environment and meet the particular high standards of both boat builders and boat owners. A few of the competitive brands in our category have marine lines, however they are an offshoot of their automotive business … our approach and history is just the opposite.

“The second major difference is our product philosophy, which again, was born from our marine roots, as we believe in a ‘less is more’ approach. Our p rod ucts are designed for ease-of-use by the consumer, eliminating multiple steps achieving the improved results in far less time and effort. We don’t believe that product quality and ease-of-use are mutually exclusive. The majority of Voodoo Ride products have multiple surface use and applications, creating a value proposition for our consumers, both in terms of time and money. We don’t believe you need to spend all day working on your vehicle in order for it to look like you did.”

Tell us about your history with Voodoo Ride Co-Founder Dale Earnhardt Jr. and how the concept for Voodoo Ride was developed.

“We were introduced to Dale Jr. through some mutual colleagues, who were connected to the boating industry. We were very much interested in launching our flagship product, Mojo, into the automotive aftermarket and provided some samples to Dale Jr. and his crew to use. They absolutely loved the product, so much that they took a keen interest in helping us bring it to market. In lieu of doing a traditional ‘endorsement’ deal, we proposed a structure where Dale Jr. personally would back the product and become an equity shareholder in the company. With the help and guidance of Kelley Earnhardt Elledge (Dale Jr.’s sister and president of JR Motorsports) we structured a deal and launched Voodoo Ride in July 2007. We were extremely excited to have Dale Jr. get behind the company, as he is a world-class athlete and is very particular in what he chooses to support. We believe that says a lot about the Voodoo Ride brand and its potential.”

Visually speaking, Voodoo Ride products look very unique. Were you intending to reach out to a particular consumer demographic with the packaging and product design?

“When we were going through the process of developing our branding and packaging, we were pretty clear on who our core audience would be. That said, we’ve been very surprised at how broad the appeal has become. It seems that the Voodoo Ride ‘attitude’ has cast a wide net of appeal to enthusiast consumers beyond the intended core audience. To us, that was a clear sign and validation of what many people believed to be a major branding risk.”

Aside from visual details, how does Voodoo Ride plan to stand out in the marketplace? How will you reach out to consumers?

“The Voodoo Ride brand was developed with some core principles in mind. First, we wanted to develop a brand that had a significant impact on the consumer, both visually and emotionally, with a unique point of difference in the category. We also wanted to create a brand that has potential as more than just a chemical car care line. Our collective vision was to create and grow Voodoo Ride as a lifestyle products company, offering more to the consumer market in the way of quality, automotive-related appearance and accessory items. As we developed our product line, and created our communication and advertising platforms, we tried to think of Voodoo Ride as a ‘state of mind’ as much as anything else. This philosophy has seemed to resonate in an organic and authentic way, as the interest in the brand has been phenomenal, without the benefit of a mass advertising campaign.”

What does Voodoo Ride have planned for 2008?

“For 2008, our goal is to build a solid foundation with key distribution partners to position the brand for future growth. While we do believe Voodoo Ride has the potential to be a mass enthusiast brand, our approach is to be strategic in how we reach the consumer and build awareness in the marketplace.

“We’re about to launch a television campaign that features Dale Jr., along with some internet advertising on key auto enthusiast sites. We also have some grass roots marketing plans that should organically grow the Voodoo Ride brand at local and regional events around the country. We also have some very interesting Voodoo Ride branded apparel and lifestyle items that will be in the marketplace shortly as well. The initial Voodoo Ride apparel line is currently available on the JR Nation merchandise trailer at Sprint Cup races and is doing extremely well. Based upon that success, we hope to add new Voodoo Ride items and distribution partners throughout 2008.”