Celebrity Endorsements, Celebrity Influencers and Celebrity Advocates

celebrity endorsements

There are a myriad of ways to utilize a celebrity in a marketing campaign these days.  Celebrity advocates are an age old method of generating interest in a brand or product and as we move into an even more technology driven marketplace, new twists are being added to this time honored tradition.

What is a Celebrity Endorsement?

A celebrity endorsement is a media campaign in which a celebrity is contracted to be the face of a brand.  Said celebrity is lending his or her own popularity and influence to the brand in exchange (usually) for financial compensation. 

Throughout the years, celebrity endorsements have been highly successful in creating demand for products and services.  While celebrity endorsements come with their own pitfalls, time has shown that this can be a remunerative marketing strategy if it is done correctly, with the right endorser.

What is a Celebrity Influencer?

An influencer is considered anyone who has a healthy following in a particular area and is looked to for advice and/or influence in his or her given area.

While an influencer doesn’t necessarily need to be a celebrity in the traditional sense of the word, having a celebrity with a generous following on social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram can help create a rock solid marketing strategy that utilizes the celebrity’s following to create enthusiasm.

What is a celebrity advocate?

A celebrity advocate is a more long term relationship between the brand and the celebrity.  This is when the magic of a celebrity endorsement and celebrity influence creates the holy grail of marketing. The celebrity and the brand become virtually synonymous and both the brand and the celebrity are well thought of and and generate and capture market attention.

How to Capitalize on Celebrity to Build a Brand, Influence and Advocacy

The first thing to do is to identify a celebrity that aligns with the product or service being marketed.  At this stage of the game it is imperative to identify a personality that has a following that closely approximates the demographics of the audience that is being marketed to. 

The next thing is to do some due diligence and ensure that the celebrity or celebrities identified for branding purposes don’t have some reason why they might not be a good candidate to represent the brand.  These reasons might include the likelihood or potential of scandal, advocating for a competitor’s product or perhaps just really not the right man (or woman) for the job.

Once the new face for the brand is identified, a decision should be made about the type of relationship corporate ultimately wants to have with the celebrity.  This doesn’t mean that a lifetime contract needs to be signed on the spot, but if a long term relationship with the celebrity is the objective, this should be discussed up front as a likely prospect. 

It could very well be that the celebrity is not interested in a long-term proposal.  He or she may want to keeps options open for future endorsements and do not want to be contractually bound for the long run to a single product.  However, it is also possible that the celebrity is looking for a more long term prospective relationship and one that proves advantageous to not only the brand, but also to the celebrity.

The prospect of a long term relationship should be cultivated from the start of the endeavor, but should not necessarily be solidified with a legally binding contract from either party at the beginning.

Capitalizing on a Celebrity’s Celebrity

Once the initial contract is signed and the marketing campaign is going forward, there are the traditional celebrity appearances, celebrity posts and celebrity Tweets, ad campaigns and the like. 

At this point it is important that the marketing is focused on legitimacy and authenticity in the campaign with the goal of creating a celebrity influencer for a more mid-term relationship with the celebrity and his or her influence base.  This is where the magic can start to happen; the celebrity starts to become the trusted face of the brand and moves over to not just being a paid endorsers, but someone with more credibility in regards to the brand.

The Transition from “Mere” Celebrity Endorser to Celebrity Influencer

Other than money, what does it take for a celebrity endorsement to to level up to celebrity brand influencer?  Time.  It takes time and a constant campaign that is based on an acceptable reality of the demographic being marketed to. 

Over time, a celebrity has the potential to become the recognizable and trusted face of the brand.  This is the golden sweet spot. At this point, the game becomes maintaining and consolidating gains (while still continuing to create additional market) and coming up with new angles to keep the marketing fresh and alive. This really is the trick at the stage of celebrity endorser.  You don’t want the public to become so accustomed to the face/brand that they tune out, but rather keep the campaigns alive and fresh and new with a angles that aren’t predictable and boring.

The key to this is to persist with the marketing and persist with the celebrity.  It shouldn’t be forgotten that the celebrity may also need a reason and or incentive to continue to influence for the brand.  This may mean renegotiating the contract now that there are proven results, or helping support a celebrity’s favorite cause as a way of currying favor and generating positive public relations for the celebrity, the brand and for charity.

The Holy Grail – Celebrity Advocacy

Assuming that the celebrity and the brand are seeing a mutually beneficially longer term relationship, focus can now be on creating a long, long term relationship in which the celebrity pledges his or her undying love to the product.  Okay, maybe that is pushing it a bit.  The idea is that the company, the celebrity and the brand are now enjoying a relationship that works for all involved; the celebrity really does like, use and advocate the product to his or her fan base, and the company is seeing the benefits of having invested in a celebrity endorsement. 

All the pieces fall together and the marketing gods have smiled upon the brand, the celebrity and the company.  Your celebrity has managed to not create a scandal and instead has continued to enjoy long duration success and admiration. 

Celebrity advocacy can give your product long term credibility, stability and authentic.

Whether you want to create a celebrity endorsement, influence campaign or advocate campaign CelebrityCred.com can help you in securing the right celebrity for your brand.  For more information on navigating the celebrity endorsements, contact CelebrityCred.com at 1(888)359-4521 or visit CelebrityCred.com.

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