Newspaper headlines, magazine covers, billboards, radio shoutouts, cover photos, subway ads, brochures ̶ you name it, they’re on it. The lavish lifestyles of the rich and famous are inevitably exposed to the public eye, which means that whatever they’re wearing, wherever they’re going, and whoever they favor, is just as publicized as they are.
Using celebrities to further the reach of your brand has been an age old tradition and, with the digital age, it’s been taken to new heights. Even when consulting with your local creative digital agency, you’ll see their advice is the same: social celebrities play a pivotal role in boosting sales because of their influence, hence they should definitely be included in your most recent content marketing plan.
It Comes With the Territory
Social celebrities are influencers on a much larger scale. From artists like Rihanna to pro sports players like Cristiano Ronaldo, these superstars have been raised in the spotlight. Actors, actresses, directors, vloggers, and even doctors make the cut. Living under a microscope means the public recognizes every little detail of your daily life. With so much attention being put towards their lifestyles, celebrities get offered endorsement deals regularly.
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Attaching your brand to a life in the limelight not only increases awareness, it increases your bottom line. In Johannes Knoll and Jorg Matthes’ study, “The Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsements: A Meta-analysis”, they state:
“As compared with non-celebrity endorsements or no endorsements, celebrity endorsements evoke greater attention, interest, and awareness as well as perceptions more in line with the respective endorser.”
You’re expanding the reach of your brand and building stronger connections with your audience by giving them a face they can connect to. On top of that, you’re also targeting your audience more precisely because every celebrity fits into a specific niche and so do their followers. Let’s say you’re thinking of expansion but don’t know where to begin, or how this new demographic will react. You don’t have to strike a billion dollar deal with LeBron James (unless you’re Nike) or use an expensive creative digital agency, you can start on a smaller social influencer scale.
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YouTube stars are a good bet because you can negotiate a contract with them to sponsor one of their videos, and in turn they advertise your product for you. Generally, vloggers also have great engagement rates with their followers, so all you have to do is scroll down for an honest review. Integrate these digital celebs into your content marketing plan to not only boost your sales, but your engagement as well.
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An example of this kind of relationship would be with Simple Skincare and Jenn Im of Clothesencounters on YouTube. With nearly 2 million subscribers on YouTube and a net worth of $900 thousand she may not compare to the Beyonce’s and Jay-Z’s of the world, but she certainly has clout with her audience. Her work with Simple Skincare has extended over a year now and her subbies are just as tied to the brand as they are to her.
Although Simple Skincare has not released the amount they have made because of celebrities social media influence, you can clearly see the impact it has with her audience by going to her channels. The videos she produced for the skincare company have racked over 400,000 views each! Expand your brand and boost your sales by backing a YouTuber who fits in your industry.
Mirror Image
Brands aren’t just reflected in the individual, the individual also reflects the brand. Many labels choose celebrities for their content marketing plan based on their popular social standing. Let’s take a look at some of the holy alliances that were made in the past couple years with big named brands and celebrities. Here are some celebrity endorsement successful examples:
LeBron James and Nike
In 2016, Nike spent near a whopping $10 billion for their high profile celebrity endorsements, and will no doubt break that record this year. LeBron James was, and continues to be, one of Nike’s most celebrated endorsements because of his decorated career in the NBA. Some shocking celebrity endorsement statistics from this basketball all-star show that in 2012, he earned $15 million from the brand, but Nike made over $100 million from his shoe collection…just in the United States! With his net worth well over $400 million and his iconic shoe brand continuing to prosper, he remains as one of Nike’s invaluable advocates.
Justin Bieber and Calvin Klein
We’ve all seen the singer grow from teen idol to mature artists, and as he’s grown so have his endorsements. His new image as a suave young gentleman who has overcome the challenges of fame piqued the interest of many brands, but in 2014, Calvin Klein turned the Biebs into an underwear model and their key brand ambassador. Since signing, he’s starred in commercials alongside Dutch model Lara Stone and television personality Kendall Jenner for the iconic fashion brand’s #MyCalvins campaign. With the backing of such decorated stars, Calvin Klein outperformed 2016’s first quarter with a 13% rise in sales, which was a $69 million difference from 2015’s first quarter.
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Zendaya and Covergirl
This singer, dancer, actress, and well recognized beauty icon became the face of Covergirl at the beginning of last year. Her traction and celebrity endorsements on social media amass to over 400,000 likes on her Instagram photos, and over 4 million views on a single 30-second clip. Results like this would usually take a creative digital agency months, but with their clout, celebrities command the attention of millions in a couple seconds.
For the Record:
Needless to say that investing in a celebrity endorsement really pays off. From social influence to an increased bottom line, these superstars know how to strut their stuff while advertising yours. Let’s look at the takeaways one more time:
- Social celebrities evoke emotion and pique the interest of your audience
- Influencers don’t have to break your budget, start on a smaller scale!
- The brand reflects the celebrity and the celebrity reflects the brand
- Individual celebrity branding plays into your own
- Get instant impressions with a social post from your favorite celeb
