The Marketer's Handbook: Reassessing Marketing Techniques for Modern Business

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

Application: Brand Positioning, Marketing Communication, Value Creation

The Concept

Fame is a very powerful tool open to modern marketers. Actors, musicians, singers, politicians, and even criminals are admired and followed for their public recognition as much as for a particular skill or achievement. Some are even famous for little more than continual appearance in the media; famous for being famous. Alongside favourite TV shows and magazines, these celebrities become a familiar part of day-to-day life. They are intriguing, beguiling, and incredibly valuable as a result. (In 2002, for example, Jennifer Anniston is reported to have earned £21 million, see Pringle, H., 2004.) People feel a sense of warmth toward them and follow their own package of celebrity, magazine, style, and soap opera.

In fact, for many, fame is a route to success and achievement which they think is not open to them through any other means (hence the success of Simon Cowell and shows like “X Factor” or “America’s Got Talent”). Others follow celebrities and celebrity trends very closely as a guide to their own tastes and lifestyles. Aspiration is an important aspect of the fame and celebrity phenomenon. People mimic their favourite film stars or sports heroes because they want to be associated with the success represented by their lifestyles. This is often subliminal, but nevertheless very ...