5 Tips On Evaluating A Celebrity Spokesperson
It seems like every category of company is utilizing a celebrity spokesperson these days:
Time Warner has Bobby Flay and Bill Cowher
AT&T has Grant Hill and Gordon Ramsay
SmartWater has Jennifer Aniston
Priceline has William Shatner
GoDaddy has Danica Patrick
Coca-Cola, Sprint and Nationwide make major investments in NASCAR drivers
Oberto Beef Jerky has Richard Sherman
Pizza Hut has Blake Shelton and Papa Johns has Peyton Manning
And the list goes on and on and on….
Here are 5 things to always consider:
1. Are you prepared to pay the price?
a. Talent fees: Most potential corporate clients that contact us through our CelebExperts website have NO idea what a Celebrity of the notoriety of those listed above would cost. In fact, it is shocking the lack of knowledge of the marketplace. Good for me, not great for my customers. They have absolute STICKER SHOCK, when I tell them that a Peyton Manning or a Bobby Flay for a full on endorsement will be over $500,000 and could be way north of that depending on how many service days you need. So understand the reality of what your budget will buy you!
2. Polling and Analytics:
If you are going to spend over $100,000 on your Celebrity endorsement, it is IMPERATIVE you invest in a strong data platform to confirm and prove your “gut feeling” about the celebrity spokesperson you covet! Don’t gamble with the house money is what we say! We work exclusively with a world-class polling company that can break down your demographic and go way beyond that helping to define Brand Attributes and which Celebrity best exemplifies the brand and its message.
3. Look Beyond The Obvious!
We often create a Proof Of Concept model for our clients to immerse their thoughts about who would be the perfect spokesperson if money was no issue. We have great experience in moving clients from who they thought was the perfect spokesperson to who was the best for their brand based on many factors.
4. Have a Vision For Who Is Trending… Tomorrow not just Today!
We often discuss how hiring a celebrity spokesperson is more science than guessing. An example of this would be evaluating 2 Celebrity Chefs for a CPG opportunity:
Celebrity Chef #1 has the following:
* A hot new restaurant
* 243,000 Twitter followers
* 3 Cookbooks with the last one published in 2013
Celebrity Chef #2 has the following:
* Worked under Gordon Ramsay
* Just got a TV show on the Food Network
* Has their 1st Cookbook coming out in 2015
Who would you pick? I am going with Celebrity Chef #2 every day!
Why? Because they are up and coming, great association with one of the top lifestyle celebrities in the world in Gordon Ramsay and they will have a TV platform which always outweighs a social media following in this regard!
5. Is your external Agency and Internal employees capable of getting an ROI on your investment?
Isn’t this the toughest question of them all? You are paying your PR agency a large retainer, you have lots of internal Marcom employees in the room. Who is in charge? Where is the strategic execution coming from and who is putting the boots on the ground to get this done? If your PR firm pitches you on a Satellite Media Tour, magazine desk sides and some local NYC TV interviews with your celebrity spokesperson as the activation, FIRE THEM! I mean, this is a good tactic if it is integrated as part of a much larger strategy!
To better understand your options when you have a budget from $10,000 to $1m+, contact me at or call me at (919)459-5426. CelebExperts can assist in evaluating your situation if you are a crowdfunded company all the way to a Fortune 100. Contact me now for a free evaluation!
