Reflections on Celebrity Endorsements

Many people automatically associate celebrity endorsements with large, established firms, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Evan Morgenstein, president and CEO of CelebExperts—a U.S. outfit that matches businesses with celebrities keen to offer endorsements—says that more than half of the client enterprises his company serves are small- or medium-sized firms and non-industry leaders.

“The misconception by most is that only the P&Gs, Johnson & Johnsons and Gatorades of the world can afford a celebrity spokesperson, but that isn’t supported by our experience,” Morgenstein told Forbes contributor Susan Gunelius in 2013. Furthermore, just as businesses vary widely in scale and market capitalization, the category of “celebrity” is also broad, encompassing not only A-list actors, musicians, and professional athletes, but also television chefs, local news anchors, authors, and game-show contestants—to list just a few sub-sets.

If you plan to retain the services of a celebrity endorser, the process is not unlike that of hiring a new employee. You need to find the right person for the job—someone who is not only recognizable amongst your target demographic, but whose reputation is also consistent with the brand image you hope to cultivate. Finally, rather than seeking out the most famous individual who will agree to work with you, your overarching priority should be value for money.

Look for genuine enthusiasm (especially if your celebrity is not a professional actor).

It is always better to seek the endorsement of a celebrity who genuinely appreciates what your business has to offer, rather than one who is primarily motivated by the money or a desire for self-promotion. This is important for many reasons, but in particular, celebrities often have large numbers of followers on social media and make frequent public appearances. If your endorser ends up fielding an offhand question about your company, a positive, enthusiastic response would sure beat an indecisive one.

If you’re torn between hiring a highly renowned celebrity who knows little about your business, versus a less distinguished celebrity who loves and is conversant with your company, favour the latter.

Your endorser will be associated with your brand for years to come.

Celebrity endorsement is always a risk-reward proposition. In many well-known cases, celebrity endorsers have become the de facto “face” of particular companies and brands—for instance, consider actress Catherine Zeta-Jones’s relationship with telecom provider T-Mobile, or NASCAR driver Danica Patrick’s association with web domain name purveyor GoDaddy.com.

But business deals of this sort have also gone awry due to celebrity endorsers’ personal or professional struggles. Anheuser Busch (the parent corporation of Michelob Ultra) probably never anticipated that Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France titles would be rescinded because of the cyclist’s doping. Likewise, Nike invested much reputational capital in one of the world’s most gifted athletes, Tiger Woods, producing a memorable and emotionally evocative series of print and television advertisements. Little did Nike’s executives suspect at the time that Woods’s objectionable activities off the golf course had the potential to tarnish their brand image.

Of course, you can’t know everything about the celebrity you hope will endorse your business, but as always, due diligence is important. Has your prospective celebrity endorser ever been credibly accused of wrongdoing? If so, you’ll need to consider how this reflects on your brand before deciding whether to proceed.

Look for potential freebies and “barter” exchanges.

A productive celebrity endorsement can be a huge marketing boon for a business with modest cash flow and little public exposure. But this begs the question of how such a company can possibly afford to remunerate a prospective celebrity endorser.

There are a couple of ways around that obstacle. In some instances, you may have the opportunity to strike a barter deal, like a celebrity endorsement in exchange for a discount or free merchandise. Otherwise, if a celebrity happens to pay you a visit, you can follow up and encourage h/er to share positive testimonials about your business with friends and associates.

To return to the theme with which this post began: Don’t make the mistake of assuming, just because you run a small firm with an unextravagant marketing budget, that the prospect of a celebrity endorsement is entirely out of reach.

Averting Disaster – Do Your Research (Part 1)

I was recently privy to one of the worst branding disasters I’ve ever encountered. The effect on the team launching the product was near catastrophic and hindsight proved just how avoidable it all was. There are a few simple rules to a product launch and I’m hoping that my recent experience can shed a light on how to avoid this problem in the future.

The following story is true. Certain names and details have been altered to protect the privacy and integrity of those involved.

The Product

I work as a digital media consultant responsible for developing content for various companies that choose to market their business on the internet. A well-intentioned individual who runs a website and blog devoted to tea was looking to expand their audience by hosting an online tea conference bringing experts from all over the world to discuss everything concerning tea, called “The Tea Council”. The online conference would be composed of 30 presentations and interviews on various subjects as they relate to tea marketed for free over a one-week period, and available for sale thereafter through the blog and various affiliates for $29.99.

The Team

A tremendous amount of work is involved to put together one of these online conferences for which there are numerous benefits to the consumer. First, during the week of the conference the information is available for free. Second, there is no need to buy a ticket, purchase a flight, or book a hotel room in another city - the entire conference can be enjoyed from one’s bedroom. And finally, the information is available to the consumer in perpetuity. In order to create this product, a whole content team and marketing team need to be assembled to create the product and to put it out to the world. Web space for the “theteacouncil” was purchased and all content and marketing for the conference would be channeled through that space. A single online conference takes a solid 2 to 3 months to put together employing about a dozen individuals all trained in their specific discipline as well as coordinating with a large group of experts who all have a stake in how great the reach is for this conference.

My Role

As the one responsible for designing the content, it was my job to consult with our client on how to make the best use of digital media to communicate the information of an expert with an audience of lay people. An interview is conducted between the conference host and the expert that is recorded and edited, and then turned into a final podcast-type deliverable for the consumer. Those interviews are then transcribed, from which a power point presentation is created. This power point is then turned into a video and is matched with the audio presentation which itself is delivered to the consumer. All in all, for thirty presentations, on my end alone, it was about 100 hours of work.

How It All Broke Down in the Blink of an Eye

We were less than a week away to launch. All the content was in place, all the affiliates were on board, and initial pre-registrations had already taken place. Heavy traffic was already heading to the website and sales were already being made. The client received a cease and desist letter from the owner of a website called “councilonteas.com”. After an initial review from a lawyer, although being reassured that the Council on Teas didn’t have much of a case, legal fees alone would cut significantly into the budget of the conference. The owner of the Council on Teas was also adamant that a deal could not be struck and that the Tea Council was in breach of a trademarked product and would be legally blocked from launching their product, and would face legal repercussions and be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, should they continue with their launch as planned.

 Lesson Learned

A simple Google search would have shown the existence of the Council on Teas company and their website, and the initial decision to launch the conference as “The Tea Council” had to be considered a terrible oversight. Even if the desired web space was available, it would have been preferable to do some initial market research and explore any websites and names that might have even been remotely similar to anything they wanted to launch.

Read on to Part 2 to find out what it took to finally get a completed product completely rebranded and launched.

The Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a dominant factor in the way companies operate. The question facing the number crunchers at a company is whether or not CSR has a tangible benefit for a business or is it just a PR exercise. The answer is probably a combination of both.

The moment a corporation steps outside of its sales mode to support a charitable organization or promote community friendly policies they are, in effect, strengthening their brand. There might not be the kind of immediate payback in sales that would occur after a TV ad or coupon drive, but these kinds of measures go a long way towards fostering that positive image that is so essential for a successful business. There are other factors to consider when developing a Corporate Social Responsibility strategy as it applies to a return on investment.

        Improves efficiency

When a company goes “green” they are essentially adopting eco-friendly policies with regard to things like recycling and energy use. On the CSR front, that company can promote the use of those policies. What they’ll discover is that these environmental changes can have a direct impact on a company’s operating expenses. If they can lower energy costs then the bottom line is improved.

Strengthens brand awareness

Even a national company generating millions in sales can have a positive impact through their CSR campaigns on where it matters most: directly in the communities. This type of giving back can benefit a wide range of local organizations and clubs. It’s also an opportunity to cross promote that charity and a company’s products. For instance, a laundry detergent maker can sponsor a cleanup of a local beach or vacant lot. Along with providing supplies, the company could also hand out commemorative T-shirts and samples of their detergent. That would help a neighborhood and increase awareness of the product.

Boosts staff morale

If a company throws its corporate muscle into a good cause they have the ability to enlist their employees in that cause as well. This often translates into supplying volunteers for a particular event. During these events those same employees will benefit from bonding over the experience. This in turn can help with productivity. In other words, if an employee feels like they are working for a socially responsible company, they will go the extra mile to insure that company’s continued success. Recently it was reported that Microsoft employees have contributed over a billion dollars to the company’s charities. That’s certainly going to make those workers feel great!

Adopting a Social Media Policy for your Company

Social media has changed the way companies do business. There is an extremely positive aspect to this new form of communication. Developing a strong brand identity across various social media platforms allows a company to expand their customer base like never before. Direct messages to millions of consumers can be effectively delivered with a click of the mouse.

On the other hand, that same vast social network can turn against a company if a negative aspect were to go “viral.” The best way for your business to protect itself is to not only understand all the social media platform policies but also to develop a comprehensive social media policy for your employees. Here are some of the basics to social media that will help you deal with your customers online.

 

 

Every social media platform has rules that should be read, understood and followed.

These rules and guidelines cover the expected behavior of the users. If someone on your staff is assigned the task to create Facebook posts or Twitter tweets they need to understand those policies before diving in. Just because they use these networks in their private lives doesn’t mean the same rules apply in the corporate realm.

Essentially, you should strive to always be respectful.

When you open your company up for social media interaction you’re going to find yourself on the receiving end of negative comments. That is just the way it will go. One option would be to scrub those comments as they come in but that can generate even more negative responses on other sites. The best approach is to be proactive. Whenever possible, try to respond to those comments in an affirmative way that puts the company in a positive light. You might not sway the poster’s opinion, but you could be having an impact on all the other readers. Don’t engage in a back and forth defense. State your company’s policy and leave it at that.

Keep company secrets - secret.

This is especially true for the employees. There are many trade secrets and confidential information that a company keeps locked away for good reason. No employee should be sharing that information across the social media network. This aspect of the company is especially important for new staff members to understand. They might not be up to speed on what information can be made public. Make sure every employee knows your company’s “sharing” policy.

Restrict social media at work

As an employer you can’t infringe on your employee’s right to post on a social media network about their private lives. However, you are well within your right to restrict that kind of posting during work hours. Your employees shouldn’t be monitoring Facebook, Twitter, Reddit or Pinterest unless it is work related.

Social media can’t be ignored; it is here to stay. Fortunately, there are many resources and tools at your disposal to keep track of your company’s reputation. Depending on the size of your business you might find yourself hiring staff to exclusively work in the social media realm and that could turn out to be a very smart investment.