It’s no secret that partnering with celebrities and high-profile personalities can exponentially increase the success of a marketing campaign. But, in order to cultivate a trustworthy relationship with consumers, you need more than influence behind your campaign — you need authenticity.
We’re all familiar with influencers — people with large social media followings who can help to inspire their followers to buy the products or services they’re endorsing. Celebrity talent have that same power, but with a few key differences:
1. Celebrities’ online audience is built organically.
Celebrities have built an audience of real people who trust and admire them, and engage with them online in a genuine fashion. Some influencers, however, are more interested in the numbers and focus more on simply growing their following vs. really connecting with their audience.
2. Celebrities collaborate with brands to deliver original content.
Celebrities thoughtfully integrate brand partnerships into their content schedule. They prefer to deliver original, “authentic-to-them” content to ensure sponsored posts reflect their voice and their brand, and resonate with their audience. As a result, this type of collaboration provides brand partners with the opportunity to genuinely connect with their target audiences. Influencers, on the other hand, tend to prefer reposting pre-made content.
3. Celebrities are proud of their collaborations.
Since celebrities are selective with the brands they work with, opting for authenticity, they aim to integrate branded social media content into their organic content. It often becomes a part of their “social story”. It’s not uncommon, however, for influencers to delete sponsored posts once the contract is complete.
The Spotlight Agency is lucky to represent talent who are uniquely positioned to not only provide access to large, engaged audiences, but also the ability to execute 360, multi-platform campaigns. Some of the best projects we have collaborated on have heavily involved our talent as content creators.
For example, Jessica Mulroney’s “5 at 5” series with Metro. As a mom to three young kids, Jessica struggled to find quick, healthy meals for them. She partnered with Metro to offer a digital video series to fill that void. Each video she creates features a fresh recipe with just five ingredients that delivers a healthy and filling meal for the whole family. These five ingredients, of course, can all be found at your local Metro grocery store.
https://youtu.be/bmczZXX-Npk
When building new partnerships with brands, we take on the role of a matchmaker. We know our talent, their values, interests, etc., and align them with brands to help both achieve their promotional goals.
When Joe Fresh came calling, they were looking to create a promotional campaign targeting young, hip moms. We connected them with Jessi Cruickshank, a new mom to twin boys, who not only understood the lives of their target demographic, she lived it. The result was an ongoing partnership that yielded incredibly popular social posts and digital videos. Jessi’s most recent collaboration tied-in with Joe Fresh’s “Free Your Fresh” challenge. They asked her “how do you free your fresh?”, and she answered “by joining the circus” in this short, hilarious video:
Jessi also created Instagram posts where she showcased some of her favourite spring looks, and invited her followers to check out her spring picks from their 2019 collection. Next up, Jessi will work with Joe Fresh to deliver a holiday campaign.
When looking for celebrities to complement your brand strategy and marketing goals, first ask yourself these 10 questions — the answers will help streamline the process and ensure you find the right fit:
- What is your objective?
- Who is your target market?
- What are the key messages?
- When do you want to execute the campaign, and how long is the term?
- Do you require exclusivity with the talent?
- What services are you looking to hire them for (i.e. print campaign, digital campaign, media days, etc.)?
- What content will need to be created (i.e. social posts, digital videos, media segments, etc.)
- How will the content be used and for how long?
- Will there be paid media put behind the content?
- What is the budget?
Plus, get in touch with us! We love brainstorming creative ideas to turn your campaigns from an idea into a reality. Email us at [email protected].
