Celebrity Endorsement; Is It Worth the Risk?
9th March 2015
Do you work in the event industry?
Have you ever used celebrity endorsement in your events?
Are you planning on using celebrity endorsement in the future?
Celebrity endorsements are an increasingly popular alternative to traditional advertising methods, however the risks associated with this strategy are yet to be explored fully.
Please watch this short video demonstrating the benefits and risks associated with celebrity endorsement. We’d like to hear your thoughts and opinions so please leave a comment below with your views.
Please visit Elebrity’s Twitter Page & Elebrity’s Facebook Page for other interesting articles and debates.
Thank you for visiting our blog and taking the time to watch our video.
Great video! So long as the event planner has done their research beforehand, keeps themselves up to date on social media and has a get out clause in their contract then the pros will definitely outweigh the cons obviously ensuring that the celebrity is the right fit for the event, the audience and the client of course!
Helen, thank you for taking the time to watch and comment on our vlog! We definitely agree with your response especially with regards to research prior to choosing the celebrity. Do you think that social media is a help or hindrance to this process or both?
You are very welcome, I thought it was a great vlog! In regards social media I think both, but what makes a good Event Manager is the ability to exercise good judgement and make informed decisions, whether it’s the celebrity you choose, the venue you select or the suppliers you work with, social media is just one medium of information you can choose and it’s important to keep an open mind.
Glad you liked the vlog! We agree we think good judgement and making informed decisions is a huge part of it, as well as knowing when it might be the right time to end the endorsement to protect a brand or even your own reputation.
An interesting vlog. The question that remains in my mind is this; can you legislate against somebody doing something wrong? I guess the answer is no, but more importantly if you do (or, indeed, can) terminate the contract, what do you do, as you still have customers who are expecting a “celebrity”?!
thank you very much for your feedback and we appreciate you taking the time to watch our vlog. You pose some interesting questions and we agree, it would be very hard to legislate against someone doing something wrong outside the realms of the law. Obviously it would be a real shame if the celebrity was not able to attend the event as customers would feel let down about not seeing them as that is more than likely one of the main reasons they have attended, but we’d hope that an event manager would have a contingency plan in place from the start. They would then be able to refer to this instead of potentially panicking, which could give them alternatives such as another celebrity (if possible), a video from the chosen celebrity apologising for not being at the event and potentially offering the guests another chance to see them (which would have been pre recorded) or offer the attendees a part or full refund depending on if they have a meet and greet with the celebrity for example.
I’ve only ever had a good response to booking artists for my venue but it’s important to know your brand and which celebrities suit it.
I would always advise to have a contingency in place with the management company to send an appropriate replacement if your booked celeb cannot come. Also, don’t panic if they don’t show up when expected, they normally arrive late.
The closest I came to a reputation problem was hosting Dapper Laugh’s a few weeks before his tv show was pulled.
Thank you for your comment Nick!
You raise an interesting point regarding finding a celebrity that suits your brand, it would be interesting to see if there is a set criteria you would follow as an event manager to find this? We’d also suggest having a contingency plan in place but it’s interesting that you suggest that it would be down to the celebrity’s management company to find a replacement not the event manager.
How did you handle the Dapper Laugh’s situation? Did your reputation suffer at all?
Nice vlog and a really interesting subject matter.
For me, the biggest challenge when using celebrities is to make sure they are used strategically and actually have some association with the brand. There is nothing worse than watching an advert or viewing a campaign which has used a Z-list celeb to try and push their product / campaign. I think the public see through this.
However, if for instance, a celebrity is the face of a health campaign and can say “this is close to my heart because….” it appears more authentic. It’s all about relevance – consumers see through anything that is false, and that becomes the biggest liability.
Thanks for taking the time to watch our vlog Heather, we really appreciate your feedback.
We completely agree, if a brand was to use a Z-list celebrity, the celebrity then reflects the standard of the brand, which could discourage potential customers and clients. But as you say, if a celebrity backs a health campaign or similar when you know they have a personal experience it creates empathy and adds value to the promotion or event. As you say, it is completely all about relevance and making sure the chosen celebrity fits the brand or event.
i like the vlog and I like the structure of it . As previous comments have already stated its upto the event planner /co-ordinator to stay ahead of the game and be prepared for most reasonable eventualities . Obviously celebrity endorsement works otherwise it wouldn’t have been around for so long .
Keeping the celebrity well matched to the product /event is crucial and should ensure a success .
Thank you for the comment. As we’ve said before preparation is key in this circumstance as with the nature of events and we believe the event planner should remain positive but be prepared and anticipate the worst case scenario.
Celebrity endorsement has been back dated thousands of years but in the 21st century we face new challenges and opportunities.
Thanks for this vlog, I found it insightful and thought-provoking and covered the ground well. As a Chartered Auditor I am always thinking ‘what could possibly go wrong here’. A key aspect for me is choosing the right celebrity for the right product. Get this wrong and you are potentially facing severe reputational damage for both the event organiser and the client. Get it right and it could run for years, ask Gary Lineker.
Our pleasure, we are pleased you enjoyed it! It is interesting to gain a financial opinion. A key theme that has emerged from our discussion of the blog is the importance of matching the right celebrity to the right brand/ event. You raise a good point that it is not only the clients reputation that can be damaged but also the event organiser.
Great video which explores the pro and cons with a clear and informed approach.
Working in the events industry and seeing the impact the presence of a celebrity can make, I feel the pros outweigh the cons. However, the celebrity needs to be well matched and relevant to the event for maximum impact. It’s also imperative that the event is well run and co-ordinated with clear aims and objectives for having the celebrity presence. This, combined with a planned response in the event of the relationship going wrong, should serve to mitigate some risk.
Thank you for your comment Dominic! You raise a really interesting point that the celebrity should be an integral part of the events aims and objectives and not just a bonus feature if you like. The celebrities role at the event would be redundant if the event manager does not know why they are there or even how best to use them. Do you think an alternative such as a prerecorded message or interview could serve the purpose as well as the actual physical presence of a celebrity?