In a competitive environment where consumers are spoilt for choice, companies are always looking for new ways to get people to notice their brands, and celebrity endorsement is a highly successful and much popular way to grab the attention of your potential consumer base.
If you’re new to the world of celebrity endorsement, here is a five-point checklist to help you make an informed decision.
Consider if your brand needs celebrity endorsement
Celebrities bring a certain value to a brand as they make the brand stand out among a host of others offering similar products. While it is not absolutely essential to hire a celebrity to promote a new launch or to revive an existing product line, most companies are bringing influencers and achievers on board in order to grab their consumers’ attention and to gain a certain positioning in the public’s mind.
If you’d really like your brand to be associated with a certain celebrity, consider how you want to position your brand among the target demographic and then use the services of an experienced agency to get your preferred artist, achiever or celeb on board.
Consider if you need a celebrity endorser or a brand ambassador
Yes, there is a difference between the two. Partnering with an achiever or influencer to promote your product is a paid association. You get into a contract and pay the individual a specific sum to have them promote your offering. On the other hand, a brand ambassador need not always be someone you hired for the job.
Unlike a celebrity endorser, a brand ambassador is an individual who believes in and uses the product and therefore brings greater value to the endorsements. At the same time, a customer who makes a social media post about how much they love your product is also an involuntary ambassador of your brand.
More often than not, it is the luxury consumer brands that are seen appointing brand ambassadors than those that produce mass consumption products.
List down the most important criteria influencing your choice of a celebrity endorser
While you may want the most popular reggae artist to promote your groovy clothing line, they may turn out to be unaffordable, leaving you to look for other, more affordable alternatives. When you are looking to get an influencer on board, consider the factors that must be kept in mind when shortlisting names. Budget is an important criterion, and so is the public image of the celebrity you have in mind.
Can you afford this celebrity for a specified period of time? Does your target audience perceive them in the way that you or your marketing team does? Do they have the fan following your product needs? Are they a good match for the persona of your brand? Ask these questions instead of zeroing in on a celeb just because they are your personal favorite.
Consider if there are any pitfalls to celebrity endorsement
Having a public figure to promote your brand always has that element of risk. Celebs, after all, are humans, and their every action is closely and ruthlessly scrutinized by the public. So if the individual commits a public blunder, the brands they are associated with also suffer a setback. This is a given that brand managers are well aware of, and that is why picking the right celebrity should be done by experts in the field of entertainment marketing.
Choosing a celebrity that’s a wrong fit for your brand is a costly mistake that should be avoided. So don’t be in a rush to hire the most popular public figure in your targeted niche.
Hire a leading PR and publicity agency
Established and reputable marketing firms have a long list of celebrities and influencers on their network that they can get to endorse your brand or event. Engaging the best entertainment marketing firm for your project has several advantages: you get access to the best talent matched with your target customers, the outreach and impact of your marketing campaign is maximized through a high-quality digital campaign, and your brand gets greater recall and presence as an influencer brings a certain level of emotional attachment to the brand.
Another key advantage of entrusting the task to a seasoned PR team is that they will present you with several options keeping in mind the objectives of your marketing campaign and also help you understand why a particular celebrity may or may not be suited to endorse your product.
You must be logged in to post a comment.