The Power of Celebrity Endorsements: Social Media & Star Power
The Power of Celebrity Endorsements: Social Media & Star Power
We hold the following to be true: the world revolves around the sun, and culture revolves around celebrities. Ever since the modern-day mythology of these public figures took root in our society (largely ushered in by the emergence of the entertainment industry), we dubbed these individuals stars and granted them the importance and gravitational pull of their own solar systems.
In today’s cultural landscape, this has never been more obvious. Celebrities are more numerous and more niche than ever, with a public figure or face at the forefront of almost every area of interest, in addition to the elite A-list stars of screen and song. The intersection of celebrity and the ubiquity of social media in our lives means these figures are no longer just favored cinematic stars or the voice behind our newest radio obsession, but have become day-to-day personas in our lives. With the unprecedented access we have to their lives, it feels like we know them. Many people get more updates and information in a day from their favorite celebrities and creators than they do their own friends.
How does this apply to business and brands? Everywhere! That’s the point. It’s almost impossible to launch a product or boost sales and relevance today without a celebrity or creator attached to the campaign.
Let’s take a look at the data that sets the scene for this dynamic —
Worldwide, the average time spent on social media a day is 151 minutes — so 2 and a half hours.
Of the top 25 most followed Instagram accounts, 22 of them belong to celebrities. Only 3 are brands (One of which is Nike, which has served a masterclass in the power of celebrity endorsement and we will touch on later.)
The top 10 most followed X accounts all belong to celebrities.
As of 2018, 72% of people ages 18-24 used social media to follow the lives of celebrities, with older age brackets only lowering slightly.
But what comes of this increased attention?
As our CEO and Founder Jen Proctor put it, “Being on social media enables a talent to show who they truly are and their followers trust their opinion. Before social media, you only knew these celebrities as on the screen, or in the magazines … but now you’re in their living room with them, you’re at their kid’s birthday party with them, you are driving in their car with them. You’re seeing what makeup they’re using, what underwear they’re wearing … all of those things.” She explains that this relationship builds trust in a way that didn’t previously exist. Trust that especially extends to recommendations and products — tangible, accessible ways that an audience member can make their lives more like that of the figure they admire, or even idolize.
When a brand aligns with talent — be it a major star or a niche content creator in a similar space — they are not only gaining an immediate stamp of approval (and one that is necessary in the eyes of consumers), but they’re gaining access to an engaged and high intent audience. Previously, advertisers only had avenues such as TV commercials, billboards, publication ad space, or radio spots to reach consumers. There may have been 29 disinterested people viewing/ watching/ listening to the ad for every 1 interested person. With the data available about the audiences of celebrities and other content creators, brands are able to much more accurately pinpoint the demographics most relevant to their business, and thus promote themselves in a targeted way. For example, a women’s underwear company can align with a celebrity or creator whose audience is 90%+ female.
When you think of some of the most memorable ad campaigns or product launches, they are almost always ones that involve talent. Pepsi’s roster of iconic commercials, Nike’s Jordans, McDonald’s rotating celebrity-curated meals … the same principle that applies to these iconic brands and talent applies to brands and talent of every size/ stage of business. We have worked on projects to connect public figures with campaigns for everything from clothing to eyewear to tech to vehicles. Recently, we brought Big Boi to a digital series from Genius and Cadillac that celebrated the car’s legacy in hip hop music and culture. We’ve also worked with Spin Magazine and Bose Speakers on a project to create content with legacy artists like Ghostface Killah. While these are examples of traditional celebrity talent, our brand work also includes researching and curating influencers and creators with hyper-specific audiences and content creation styles to bring emerging tech campaigns to life.
As our culture progresses in a more celebrity-centric direction and the way we consume media shifts further away from the model that traditional advertising was based off of, it is more important than ever to play by the rules of today’s game. Brands need to find ways to impactfully reach their audiences, or break new horizons into untapped audiences. But what they don’t need is to be intimidated by this. There’s a face for every brand, it’s just a matter of finding them.