“We always say that Elvira has three things: the humor, the spookiness, and the sexy part,” Peterson explains. “That formula told us who Elvira was and what she could sell or not sell. I don’t think there’s another character out there who combines those three elements. Freddy Krueger has the scary part, but he’s not so sexy!”
You might be down, but you’re never out
The on-again, off-again relationship with Coors wasn’t Peterson’s only professional wipeout at the height of Elvira’s initial wave of fame. There was also the network TV pilot that CBS canceled before it aired and the feature film she hoped would launch a franchise, only to see it crater at the box office after the distributor, New World Pictures, went bankrupt before opening day.
While the movie has since become a Halloween favorite—in fact, it screened at the Academy Museum this summer with its star in the house—it remains the one item in Elvira’s closet that Peterson doesn’t own outright, and not for lack of effort. “I do own the merchandising rights to the film,” she says. “The movie itself keeps getting transferred from this company to that company. But we keep trying.”
“Keep trying” is Peterson’s general approach to the ups and downs of brand management. But there was one point in the early 2000s when the Elvira brand was well and truly down—think nearly six feet under. Following her split with Pierson, Peterson found herself without a manager, an agent, or any other infrastructure to help her manage the few opportunities that were still trickling in.
“I was struggling,” she admits, candidly. “I really thought it was the end of the character.”
Enter Scott D. Marcus, Peterson’s current manager and owner of DevlinAgency, who previously oversaw The Simpsons’ licensing program in Europe and Asia for 20th Century Fox. “Cassandra only had one licensing deal when I met her,” Marcus says of the state of the brand when he came on board.
The good news was that the Mistress of the Dark still had minions—lots and lots of minions. Engaging with those devoted fans directly at conventions and on social media became the cornerstone for how Marcus and Peterson rebuilt the Elvira brand for a new era.
And in this new era, Elvira is a “Queen for All Seasons,” not just the spooky one. “We turned her into a lifestyle brand,” Marcus says, pointing to the extensive amount of Elvira-themed Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Pride Month, and summertime merch available on Elvira.com, retail outlets, and fan gatherings like the Yours Cruelly, Elvira XXperience—a 20th-anniversary event celebrating the character’s two decades of Knott’s Scary Farm shows.
