Oprah is to Weight Watchers as Michael Jordan is to Nike, and as Jennifer Garner is to Capital One.
See a theme? These are all celebrities and brands the public are likely to associate with one another. One of the easiest, fastest and most effective ways to create brand recognition in the minds of consumers is to hire a familiar face. Marketers know this.
Even better is when brands can create an emotional connection between the heart of the targeted consumer and the soul of the brand. This connection is the reason why customers can have the capacity to care about your brand beyond its rational attributes; the emotional response to a brand is more “psychological than logical, more unconscious than conscious.”
Here are three reasons why brands use celebrities to endorse their products:
Street Cred
A testimonial or endorsement from a celebrity adds credibility to a product. Purchasers often take on the attitude that “if the product is good enough for a celebrity, it’s good enough for me,” which is often the impetus behind advertisements for skin creams, hair products, makeup and even clothes. I mean, who doesn’t want soft, bouncy hair, perfect skin, and the most stylish clothes?
Speaking of grooming companies, consider the impact that Gillette has with its ad campaign targeting women in 2013. This company took it to the next level using women representatives. The razor company chose three well-known female models to promote their Fusion ProGlide Styler in 2013. It was a first for Gillette, a company known for using male spokespeople.
However, this campaign also had an impact on male consumers. Since many men care about a woman’s opinion when it comes to grooming, the ads could be considered effective because now guys have a better understanding of women’s preferences on body hair.
The fact that sexy models were saying it, seals the deal even more. According to an article in Forbes, “when a celebrity signs an endorsement deal with a product, an element of legitimacy is suddenly present in the company, simply because of the power of the name backing it up.” Endorsements from celebrities can clearly have a dramatic impact on brand perception.
American Idol
We are obsessed with celebrities in our culture. Whether we love or hate them, they serve as “both an object of worship and of disgust, simultaneously representing what we strive to be and yet what we dislike like most about ourselves and, by extension, society,” writes college student Nora Turriago.
Put another way, when we see famous people in advertisements promoting a new product, consumers are, directly or even subliminally, prompted to buy that product.
The effect of an advertising or marketing campaign is magnified by celebrity status. If a picture is indeed worth a thousand words, regular-ol’ event organizers may need to up the ante by putting a recognizable speaker or familiar face at the forefront of their campaign.
Sports celebrities are a whole other level of rockstar, often times the key to a brand’s marketing success. Early in the days of former NBA star Michael Jordan’s career, Nike worked to associate Jordan’s image with their brand by singing him a $2.5 million five-year contract in 1984. He not only has gone down in the books as one of the best basketball players of all time, his name is synonymous with Nike.
This particular alliance is an early example of strategy that paid off for Nike. Fans and athletes alike consider Nike to be an aspirational brand, and possess an emotional affinity thanks to the brand’s relationship with certain professional athletes.
Wider Reach
Looking for another way brands can cast a wider net to capture a larger audience? An open source branding strategy is the answer, which is largely controlled by customers or users.
“The open source branding strategy is a unique twist on brand development,” writes Zang Marketing Manager Alex Misevski .“ As Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit says: “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.”
“Nike is the master of marketing, always pushing the boundaries and limits of what’s possible. The company’s move toward open source branding is strategic”, Misevski said. Since 2006, Nike has developed fourteen iOS applications that have captured a very active user base.
This form of marketing on the tech industry front doesn’t even take into account the countless number of famous faces that have been associated with the sports apparel giant.
Of course, when brands choose to use celebrities it could always backfire due to celebrity “mistakes” that lead to negative perceptions. Think Tiger Woods and Jared from Subway. Think about the risks as you build your brand.
