Thanks to the intrusive Facebook ads, we can all see the work quality of so-called experts engaged as agents for athletes and celebrities in the field of sponsorships and marketing endorsement.
If you are aiming for success in its fullness, get an agent or an agency with a track record and relevant experience.
Avoid an “expert” that claims his/her expertise in many fields, or who suddenly stops talking about one field and begins helping you or teaching you how to talk about yours. This usually indicates that whatever they were doing before wasn’t working.
I am Gordon Grigg, a management consultant and agent for athletes and celebrities in the field of sponsorships and endorsements. I have a track record and experience and will help you find athletes, celebrities, and companies to increase brand visibility, performance, and profits.
Continue reading this article to learn why hiring me or someone else with extensive experience will help you make great decisions and reach your business goals.
Why do you need an experienced agent for sponsorships and marketing endorsement?
As long as your agent or agency knows your target audience and your campaign goals, you can be successful with good celebrity partners.
A wrong match can have a long-term impact on lowering your brand’s reputation and will cause you a waist of time and money.
There is no guarantee that your celebrity brand advocate will lead you in “creating” your brand, even if the problem is a lousy value match, a scandal-prone celebrity, or anything else unexpected.
But if your agent or agency does the appropriate research and finds an influential person who shares your beliefs and might even buy your products, that person could be the key contributor to the “breakthrough” of your brand that needs to get more customers.
In 1997, when Beckham was a tabloid hunk who was often in the gossip columns with his then-girlfriend Posh Spice, Brylcreem, a hair styling company, gave him a £4 million contract.
Unfortunately, things did go wrong for the hair styling company. Two years later, he shocked the branding team by chopping off his long hair.
Now see the 2014 partnership between Calvin Klein and Justin and Hailey Bieber.
The black-and-white campaign photos got a lot of attention from the media and quickly went viral. Calvin Klein knew what they were doing since the Biebers did have a massive 150 million social media followers and would be sure to deliver the sex appeal the brand was searching for.
Unsurprisingly, the campaign got a lot of attention for weeks and made the brand much more well-known, especially among the young population.
Most customers associate Nespresso with George Clooney,
For this partnership, Nespresso paid Clooney $40 million, which was well spent. Sales increased by 30% in a single year, and Clooney stuck with the company to the end of the contract.
Does the celebrity or athlete marketing endorsement work?
Yes, that is the main reason why so many companies today work and engage well-known celebrities and influencers.
According to Harvard Business School research, “The Economic Value of Celebrity Endorsements,” there is a benefit to a company choosing to sign an endorser, and endorsements are linked to rising sales overall and in comparison to competing brands.
They discovered that an endorsement resulted in a 4% boost in sales.
It is significant to note that 43 out of the 51 brands reported good results from their endorsements. But also some firms saw a loss in sales due to their sponsorships!
So long as they are done properly, celebrity endorsements are effective.
If the athlete is endorsing, it is also important for them to be the better ones. The study has shown that advertising brand returns go up when endorsers do well in their chosen sport.
How to choose the right person for your brand?
Selecting the best person for your brand depends on many aspects, such as:
- Your target audience
- Where does your target audience enjoy engaging
- Your budget limit
- Your goals
- FTC Regulations for Endorsements
Your target audience
Before you work with celebrities, your agent or agency needs to determine if your audience will respond better to a well-known character or a micro-influencer.
To find out if your message is reaching the proper customers, they also need to analyze your potential endorser’s audience. Then, they’ll know it’s time to search elsewhere if a celebrity’s followers don’t seem to fit your ideal client profile.
Where does your target audience enjoy engaging?
Suppose you discover that many of your audience members like a current Netflix series. In this case, your agent or agency should consider collaborating with one of the show’s well-known actors.
The same holds if you represent an outdoor brand and most of your Instagram followers follow a few well-known outdoor influencers.
It will be simpler for agents or agencies to decide if celebrities or artists are a better fit if they have more information about where your customers spend their internet time.
Your budget limit
Celebrities, athletes, and influencers are expensive, but using their content well can be worthwhile.
Knowing how much money you can spend and what kind of return you should expect from an investment is important.
Smaller businesses often do better when they start with micro- and nano-influencers before trying out celebrities.
Large companies with unlimited marketing budgets can often do much more with one endorsement from a famous person than with 100 endorsements from less well-known people.
Your goals
If your goal with endorsements is to raise brand awareness, then your agent or agency will work with a big name. Smaller, more engaged audiences perform better if your goal is to increase conversations.
As you look at each campaign, your goals will tell your agent or agency who is the best choice for your brand.
FTC Regulations for Endorsements
If you are a brand builder wanting to pay for endorsements, you must be aware of the legal obligations.
This is not legal advice, because I am not a lawyer. Please study the FTC rules for yourself if you are marketing in the US, or have your legal team read them and advise you appropriately. Also, adhere to local laws if you live or conduct business outside the US.
Conclusion.
Everything is evolving, including consumer purchasing practices. For example, modern buyers would rather hear a recommendation from someone they think of as their favorite than from just anyone.
Marketers are increasingly focusing on celebrity endorsements to strengthen their brands.
Every brand needs endorsements, and everyone who builds a brand must inspire people to publicly and positively discuss a company’s products and the brand itself.
Every company should follow up with people they know who have used their products to request and promote unpaid testimonials.
Paid endorsements are more complex, and more brands should consider them in the future.
Paid endorsements are subject to rules and liabilities. The most crucial thing to remember is that the brand and paid endorser are legally bound to one another; both are responsible if the other makes false claims or omits information necessary for their industry. Therefore, find an experienced agent or agency and only collaborate with dependable and qualified endorsers.
Want to know how to use celebrities and other influential people in your marketing endorsement campaigns?
I’m Gordon Grigg, a life coach and business consultant in Nashville, Tennessee.
As a management consultant and agent for athletes and celebrities in sponsorships and endorsements, I work with people all over the United States.
Call (615) 630-9114, or
Email me at gordon@gordongrigg.com to reach me.
Disclaimer: All brands belong to their respective owners.
