Various tricks help advertising specialists attract the attention of potential buyers and force them to make a purchase (order a service).
Effective techniques have proven their effectiveness and are used in all areas. Now we will tell you about one of the ways to make advertising as effective as possible.
Celebrity marketing or celebrities in advertising are more actively used abroad, but in our country there are plenty of examples. On television we constantly see advertisements starring famous personalities. This is done for one purpose - increase the impact of your advertising video.
Advertising with celebrities - maximum attractiveness
Get in touch with the Internet famous people is not difficult. It is unlikely that you will be able to establish contact directly, but you can definitely contact a PR agent. You need to choose a famous person correctly, relying not only on your sympathies.
Almost everyone enjoys someone else's popularity. Logos of payment systems and banks are published on exchangers, photographs of stars in some clothes are published in online stores, and so on.
This approach helps to attract more attention. In addition, some people respect the “star choice” and try to imitate their idols.
Almost every book on marketing points out that using celebrities in advertising pays off. The authors of such publications talk about the instincts of fans.
They try to imitate their idols in everything, just as a flock follows its leader. The same Olga Buzova has 6.2 million subscribers on Instagram. This huge audience of fans can be converted into customer status.
- Ksenia Borodina takes 150,000 rubles;
- Alena Vodonaeva takes 80,000 rubles;
- Ksenia Sobchak up to $35,000;
- Anastasia Volochkova takes 80,000 rubles;
- Anna Sedakova takes 350,000 rubles;
- Elena Berkova approximately 100,000 rubles.
The data is constantly changing, perhaps some prices are already outdated, the stars set them themselves. It's beneficial for celebrities, but it's too expensive.
For one post, famous personalities can demand several hundred thousand, or even millions. It all depends on how popular the person is.
Types of star advertising
No one knows exactly how much celebrities get paid for appearing in commercials. We have to negotiate individually. Plus, you don't have to record a video. Advertising may be in other formats.
Popular people play different roles, here are some options: how stars can participate in advertising:
- brand official;
- one of the brand's characters;
- the role of an expert in some field;
- appear in a new image.
There are a lot of variations for creating high-quality advertising with stars. You can invite several stars at once, use their creative works, simply mention their name, post reviews on their behalf (this technique is called Testimonial), and so on.
Explore the Strategy of Celebrity Marketing
What Is Celebrity Marketing?
Famous people have always made excellent salesmen. Presenting a familiar face is one of the fastest and easiest ways for companies to create brand associations in the minds of consumers. When a widely loved actor or a heroic sports figure endorses a product, that product gains immediate credibility. (See also)
Celebrity marketing is a tactic featuring a famous person to offer an endorsement of a product. This famous person might be an actor, musician, athlete, ex-politician or a cartoon character. They do not need to be international superstars; they only need to be familiar to the target audience. For instance, a famous skateboarder might be unknown to the population at large, but beloved in the circle of young men that energy drinks are being marketed to.
A celebrity’s involvement can range from an explicit to an implicit endorsement of a product. Some celebrity marketing campaigns try to suggest that the star uses the product personally and enjoys it. Others simply involve the celebrity in the image of the brand, relying on the celebrity’s reputation rather than their outright endorsement to market a product.
Celebrity marketing has been used across all mediums. Print, television, radio, film and various forms of new media have all been effective outlets for celebrity endorsed products. The key is to match the right celebrity with the right product and place them both in the right ad campaign. If the combination is done well, it can lead to huge profits and an immediate change in the public perception of a company. If it is done poorly, it can ruin a brand overnight.
Successful and Unsuccessful Celebrity Marketing Campaigns
Successful
- Michael Jordan for Hanes – The famous basketball star has endorsed Hanes brand clothing for over a decade. The admiration of the athlete lends an air of respectability and quality to the brand.
- Britney Spears for Pepsi – The pop star was the celebrity face of a famous ad campaign in the late 90s. The singer's worldwide fame and popularity helped to connect Pepsi with a new group of young soda drinkers.
Unsuccessful
- OJ Simpson for Hertz – The football star endorsed Hertz Rent-A-Car throughout the 1980s. When he was accused of murder in the early 90s, the advertiser quickly severed their relationship with him.
- Tiger Woods for Nike – Woods had been an iconic speaker for the brand for years. Following the public meltdown of his marriage, Woods appeared in a now famous spot featuring a voice over from his deceased father. The ad was extremely unpopular and is widely considered one of the least effective ads of all time.
Who Employs Celebrity Marketing?
Celebrity marketing can be a viable advertising strategy for companies both large and small and across all industries. Up to 15% of all advertisements that run in America feature a celebrity endorser.
Experience for Marketing Managers
Like almost all jobs, marketing managers get better at what they do as they gain more experience. The advertising world places a high priority on experience and a proven track record of success. Here is a chart of how long current marketing managers had been working in the field before they were promoted to manager.
Companies hoping to work with a celebrity endorser must be willing to pay a premium price for their services. The greatest disadvantage of celebrity marketing is the highest cost of securing celebrity partnerships. Advertising mediums such as TV commercials can be expensive; therefore smaller companies can focus on more affordable options like print ads or autograph-signing events. A company hoping to work with a celebrity must balance risk and reward, both of which can be significant.
There are several reasons that a company might choose to use a celebrity marketing strategy. A new product can easily be introduced to consumers if they feel familiar and comfortable with the famous face endorsing it. Jamie Lee Curtis was hired to support a new line of Dannon yogurt, tying it to her image as a fit and active older woman. A celebrity marketing strategy might also simply be a way to associate a well-known product with a popular famous person. A successful, established brand like Pepsi frequently uses celebrity marketers to help associate their soda with young, attractive, and fun people. (See also)
How is a Celebrity Marketing Plan Developed and Implemented?
The key to a successful celebrity marketing campaign lies in connecting the right celebrity with the right product (See also). The celebrity must be seen by the public as a credible endorser. If their reputation and resume do not reflect the product they advertise the marketing message will appear hollow.
The credibility of the celebrity breaks down into three categories: expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness. A successful celebrity endorser must be seen as an expert in the industry they are endorsing. Celebrity chefs will be more believable selling kitchen knives than motor oil. The celebrity must also be considered trustworthy to the demographic being marketed to. If a celebrity has a checkered past or controversial opinions it can reduce their credibility as a spokesman. Finally, they must be considered attractive to the target demographic. This is more than just physical attractiveness. This extends to respect for the celebrity's achievements and their public character.
Once a celebrity has been chosen there are a number of logistical details to work out. It is important that the terms of a contract are clearly spelled out to protect the interests of both the endorser and the advertiser. The length of the endorsement deal needs to be established and any special conditions that apply to either party need to be agreed upon. An endorsement deal is only signed after lengthy negotiations between agents, lawyers and marketing representatives. Celebrities rarely carry out negotiations themselves.
Selecting a Celebrity Marketer
Marketers use the acronym FRED to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of potential marketing campaigns. The same tools are used to evaluate celebrity spokesmen. Here is how it works.
- Familiarity The more familiar a celebrity is to the widest possible segment of the population, the more affective their ads will be. Relatively unknown celebrities are only used to market niche products and speak to very specific demographics.
- Relevance Marketers strive to create the greatest fit between a product and its celebrity endorser. The celebrity chosen must be seen in the eyes of the public as linked to the product they endorse. The greater the link, the more customers will trust the message being delivered.
- Esteem – The more esteem that a celebrity endorser has, the more that esteem will transfer over to the product they are endorsing. Celebrity marketing is about associating a famous person"s reputation with a product. The better their reputation, the better the product appears.
- Differentiation The advertising market is fierce and it can be difficult to differentiate similar products from each other. Advertisers are always trying to find a message or an image that makes their product seem unique when compared to competitors. Having an esoteric or unexpected celebrity speaker can be a great way to stand out from the crowd.
Careers in Celebrity Marketing
Corporate Marketing Director
What do they do?
A corporate marketing director is responsible for managing all of the marketing efforts related to a product, brand or company. They will supervise and coordinate copywriters, production staff, graphic artists and contract experts. Any decisions involving celebrity marketing will ultimately be approved by the marketing director.
Salaries for Marketing Professionals
Compensation for marketing professionals varies widely depending on levels of experience, the type of company that employs you, and the part of the country you live in. Here are some general guidelines.
- Corporate Marketing Director:
$150,000-$250,000 - Nonprofit Marketing Director:
$45,000-$100,000 - Celebrity Broker– Salaries vary widely across the industry but there is almost unlimited earning potential.
Education/Experience
Marketing directors typically have at least a bachelor's degree in marketing and frequently have advanced degrees in the subject as well. They may have also received complimentary education in the areas of public relations, communications, or business. Jobs as marketing directors are only available after long careers in marketing departments and generally require several years of experience.
Nonprofit Marketing Director
What do they do?
Nonprofit marketing directors have many of the same duties as their corporate counterparts. The major difference is they are selling a message rather than a product. Marketing directors who work in the nonprofit sector have to acknowledge the unique conditions that apply to nonprofits and tailor their marketing strategies accordingly. They will be responsible for any marketing campaign involving celebrity endorsements.
Education/Experience
A degree in marketing is generally required to work as a marketing director of a nonprofit agency. Additional degrees in nonprofit management will also be useful. Employees in the nonprofit sector also commonly have experience in the field they advocate for. For instance, if an organization works to save old growth forests, a background in ecology or environmental law will be helpful even for marketing directors.
Nonprofit marketing departments tend to be significantly smaller than their corporate counterparts. Marketing directors can rise through the ranks more quickly, but will ultimately be personally responsible for more of the marketing duties.
Celebrity Broker
What do they do?
Celebrity brokers act as liaisons between a marketer and a celebrity endorser. They will make connections, negotiate deals, and advise both parties. Brokers have a keen knowledge of marketing, but their expertise lies much more in the world of entertainment. It is important to establish personal relationships with stars and their agents and offer a convenient entry for advertisers hoping to work with celebrities.
Education/Experience
There are a very limited number of jobs for celebrity brokers and it can be a difficult field to break into. A degree in marketing will be helpful, but expertise in entertainment law, talent management, media studies and business will be even more important. The celebrity broker is more of a dealmaker than a creative contributor. The best celebrity brokers are skilled negotiators and shrewd business people.
Attributes and Skills of a Celebrity Marketer
Celebrity marketing requires special skills that make these professionals unique in the field of advertising. First, and foremost, anyone working with celebrities must be able to set aside the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. An endorsement deal is a business deal and it is important that advertisers remain objective even when dealing with dazzling celebrities.
Celebrity marketing also requires a savvy analysis of the media landscape. Advertisers must be able to pinpoint a celebrity's place in the popular culture in order to best pair them with a product or message. Trends in media, current celebrity gossip and upcoming blockbuster films are all things that a successful advertiser has to track.
Finally, marketers who work with celebrity spokesmen have to be exceptional with people and able to deal with the egos of some of the most famous people on earth. Celebrities are famous because of their outsized personalities, but these can strain a business relationship. Keeping both the celebrity and the advertiser happy is crucial for a successful partnership.
How Can Marketing School Help You Succeed in Celebrity Marketing?
Celebrity marketing is a unique mixture of business and creative skill. An ad campaign must grab the attention of customers and accomplish the goals of advertisers. The balance between entertainment and salesmanship is a difficult one to pull off. That is why there are as many failed ad campaigns as successful ones.
The best way to get an introduction into the world of celebrity marketing and all the skills necessary to be successful is to get a degree in marketing. At the undergraduate level, this will be broadly focused and will encompass the principles of marketing across all mediums and industries. Students will get a wide range of education that includes the history, ethics and strategies of marketing. (See also)
At the graduate level, degrees in marketing become more focused. Students can choose to specialize in the areas that interest them most or that will be most relevant to their career goals. This might include performing market research, advanced production techniques, international marketing strategies or consumer psychology. Advanced education is usually necessary to get higher level celebrity marketing jobs.
Education is crucial to breaking into the marketing industry. As many as 55% of marketing professionals have at least a bachelor's degree in marketing and 38% have a master's degree. By contrast, just 3% of marketing professionals have only a high school diploma or an associate’s degree. A degree in marketing proves to employers that you have the skills, experience and drive necessary to work on successful ad campaigns.
Unconventional methods of managing consumer preferences (shocking, intrigue, event promotions, etc.) are analyzed in the aspect of “physiological” mechanisms; There are many non-standard creative solutions in the field of creating excitement.
For students, teachers of economic universities, as well as all those interested in marketing problems.
Other celebrities wash their hair with this water or treat themselves with Evian, for example, during pregnancy, which also does not go unnoticed in gossip columns and celebrity stores.
It is clear that for that kind of money, the stars are tied hand and foot by contracts - when paying multimillion-dollar fees, companies producing expensive clothes, shoes, watches and jewelry want to have guarantees that the image they are buying (face, figure, manners, etc.) , will remain for the duration of the contract. That is why separate clauses stipulate such things as appearing in public, including a banal trip to a bakery or for a walk with children, only with makeup and neat clothes. However, many stars have a very obstinate disposition, so it can be difficult to keep them within the bounds of decency even for a lot of money. Companies operating in the luxury and beauty industry are able to forgive their faces a lot - scandals, an eccentric temperament, and even temporary downtime associated with the birth of a child. The only mortal sin is sloppiness. Because of this point, the Revlon brand terminated its contract with Cindy Crawford, saying that due to inattention to its appearance the model reduced the company's profits by 20%.
For the same reason, Christian Dior hastened to part with the French actress Emmanuelle Beart. According to unofficial information, management trademark was shocked to see Bear at a social event without makeup, and immediately broke off all relations with the unglamorous beauty. Bear was only happy about this turn of events. According to her, the obligation to constantly appear in public and look her best was so unbearable that it was not even worth the millions she received under the contract. However, there is another factor that cosmetic companies cannot ignore: time. Five to ten years pass, and the young, successful starlet turns into a mature famous actress and ceases to correspond to the target audience of the advertised brand. Sales are falling, the company decides to change its face. Thus, Revlon broke off relations with the much aged Melanie Griffith, who advertised an anti-aging line, and Lancome did not renew a fantastic 22 million contract with Uma Thurman, despite the success of the film “Kill Bill” and the clearly growing popularity of the actress.”
The domestic experience of using celebrities is not so impressive. But the trends are similar. Stoyanov and Oleynikov from Gorodok managed to increase awareness of Baltimore ketchup to almost 100%, although only 14% of respondents expressed a desire to try this product. But the “cops”, who were then at the peak of their popularity, were “luckier” more. Firstly, they managed to attract the audience’s attention to a new brand - Picador ketchup from the competing company Petrosoyuz - brand knowledge reached 86%. And secondly, just two commercials featuring recognizable characters aired on central TV channels aroused a desire to evaluate the taste qualities of the new brand among 38% of Russians surveyed. But such effectiveness is achieved only if the celebrity “falls” into the target segment of the consumer audience, as, for example, in the case of Alexander Semchev and Tolstyak beer - a joke, of course. Nevertheless, the “right” celebrity adds value to the product. And vice versa. Thus, Anton Makarsky, known from the musical “Notre Dame de Paris” and the TV series “Poor Nastya,” who became the “face” of the Donatto men’s clothing salon, is unlikely to turn out to be a serious “bait” for potential clients of this company, which include wealthy adult men, in contrast from his “authority” among very young girls who do not make purchasing decisions due to lack of funds, taste, and in general they “don’t care” about men’s clothing.
IN Lately many famous people have become the “faces” of one or another brand: Chulpan Khamatova and Maria Sharapova – for watch manufacturers; Renata Litvinova and former TV presenter Elena Ishcheeva - intimate soap and hair dye; Anastasia Zavorotnyuk and juice production company; coffee with the participation of Invar Kalnins, etc. Special mention should be made of the “multi-machine operators”. This is the singer Valeria, who advertised Danon yoghurts, Emansi cream, Gloria Jeans clothing, then Ego fur coats and, finally, causing final bewilderment with her “omnivorousness,” the newspaper “Life for the Whole Week.” The multifaceted Fyodor Bondarchuk, who keeps up with everything, knows how to amaze, and not only with his acting and producing abilities. He managed to “check in” in an advertisement for Baltika beer, albeit in Ukraine; in a one-time promotion for the Oriflame cosmetic catalog for Valentine's Day; STS TV channel; "Rosgosstrakh"; Samsung digital video cameras; vodka "Veda" and, at the same time, in the role of the leader of the youth wing of "United Russia", acting as an active fighter against unhealthy addictions. Such flashing on the screen, coupled with an abundant financial harvest, is a good help for the star, and the name is well-known, but for advertisers these are more like “blank shots” due to the potential erosion of the brand image.
In other words, despite the growth rate of our stars’ involvement in the advertising business, there is no reliable information about the commercial performance of the brand promoted with their help. True, with one exception. This is the clothing brand Savage and Ksenia Sobchak, which over the course of a year managed to increase brand awareness in Russia as a whole by more than 2 times, and sales volume by 1.5. This is partly due to the rather interesting video “Escape” with the slogan “Freedom to be yourself”, where Ksenia breaks away from “glamor”, descending from a high floor with the help of “wild” things connected to each other (and this is exactly how it is translated from English name this brand).
The presence of celebrities in advertising communications is one of the most effective ways attracting attention to the brand, increasing its awareness and increasing loyalty among customers. Of course, campaigns with the participation of stars have a number of features. Olga Gramolina, Managing Director of BBDO Group/The Marketing Arm, spoke to the site about the specifics of interaction with celebrities.
The influence of celebrities on brand perception
By attracting public people to advertise their products and services, companies solve several problems. Firstly, it helps to increase the emotional involvement of the audience. Secondly, it is a tool for strengthening, and often even creating and building a certain image of the product. People always transfer personal, reputational characteristics inherent in a celebrity to the advertised brand. Such parallel associations create the necessary image. Therefore, choosing a celebrity is a very painstaking process; Often, in order to make the right decision, it is necessary to be guided by specially conducted research.
The image of a star solves one or another communication problem of the client. This is the embodiment of the language the brand wants to speak to the audience, conveying its values, features and advantages. Any public person has an image and reputation formed in the eyes of the public. Therefore, it is important to “guess” the emotional correspondence between the celebrity and the brand and the overall tone of its communication and positioning.
An example of the successful integration of celebrities into an advertising project is the recent TV commercials for the telecom operator Beeline, created by the creative agency Contrapunto. A series of videos dedicated to mobile internet, in a light humorous form demonstrates the advantages of Beeline over other operators. The main roles are played by actors Alla Mikheeva and Sergei Svetlakov. This is the right choice of celebrities, which meets the expectations of the brand's target audience - young people who most often use the Internet on their smartphones.
How to choose a star
Celebrity advertising that the consumer sees is the end result of a lot of work done, consisting of several stages. As a rule, the client sets the agency the task of selecting suitable candidates based on certain criteria or emotional attributes of the brand. Therefore, first of all, the team needs to make a selection of stars that correspond to both the specified specific conditions and general parameters (it is necessary to take into account the image of a person as a whole, how positive the attitude towards him is from a wide range of the population).
The main task is to select a star for the brand whose image will have the most effective impact on the campaign (brand). Therefore, it is necessary to check in advance whether candidates are involved in any scandals. The star must be harmoniously associated with the brand, people must intuitively understand why and on what basis this particular celebrity was chosen. Numerous ratings and statistical data, which, in particular, are used by The Marketing Arm specialists, help you avoid mistakes at this stage. They have reliable information about what commercial, cultural, and social projects the stars are involved in. This is important to know in order to prevent a possible conflict of interest, taking into account what media space the star will be in at the time of the launch of the brand’s advertising campaign.
In addition, it is very important to correctly determine the channels of communication with the target audience. If it's young people, it's obvious that a celebrity has 5 million followers. in social networks- this is a weighty argument when deciding on its choice.
However, it doesn't end there. It is not enough to simply select a star that suits the client’s requirements. There are many legal subtleties and nuances that you need to know about and which, unfortunately, often prevent you from successfully getting things done the first time. For example, there is an opinion that “everyone can contract with celebrities,” but this is not at all true. Sometimes it is necessary to encounter difficulties in practice several times (in work, in communicating with celebrities) before something starts to work out. Russian and international experience, as well as years of hard work, now allow The Marketing Arm to help the client make this entire process as comfortable and transparent as possible.
How to measure campaign effectiveness
The main indicator for the client is sales growth. But do not forget that in modern world No less important are such indicators as “number of views on Youtube”, “number of reposts and likes on social networks”. An undoubted victory can be considered when quotes from advertising cases go viral, as was the case, for example, with Anastasia Volochkova’s phrase “Kiss my pack” in a video for Snickers.
Everyone enjoys participating in something new and exciting. When a person is truly interested in what he is doing, the work process becomes easier. It’s nice when celebrities, in order to relieve tension or fatigue on set, begin to improvise and make the entire crew laugh. This helps you switch gears and quickly record a take “cleanly”. The internal atmosphere between all participants in the work process is very important. And often it depends on the celebrity what the general mood will be.
Indicative in this case was the company IKEA and children's writer Grigory Oster within the framework of the Apartment Research project. For the first time, the famous author of “Bad Advice” wrote a book in collaboration with children. Having found out from the children how and how families live in Russia, IKEA and Grigory Oster presented the book “Apartment Management. Types of families and their habitat" is a guide to the world of children and adults living in different apartments. A pleasant surprise for the creative team was the way the writer communicated with the project participants: he was open to everyone who wanted to talk to him, was cheerful and charged everyone else with his mood.
Undoubtedly, there are categories of stars who are so absorbed in their creativity that no commercial offers can distract them from their main occupation. But in general, advertising has long ceased to be perceived solely as a way to make money. There is already an understanding that the advertising industry, like any other creative activity, needs to be treated carefully - it is a kind of cultural contribution, filled with meanings and images through which companies speak to their audience.
In addition, we must not forget that there is such an important part of the advertising market as social advertising. This is an opportunity to feel involved in something truly useful and meaningful. Thus, The Marketing Arm Team met with the warm support and sincere involvement of the stars in the social project dedicated to the international holiday. Everyone could say “thank you very much” to their mother by changing their patronymic name to mammy name and making greeting card. Russian stars were among the first to support the project, including Yulia Kovalchuk, Dima Bilan, Vladimir Presnyakov, Leonid Agutin, Vlad Lisovets and many others. So, for example, Bilan became Dima Ninovich, and Presnyakov became Vladimir Elenovich.
Specifics of direct work with celebrities
Difficulties can be very different: from the busyness of the star, when the expected shooting days coincide with their main activity, to disagreements in the perception of the creative concept. When preparing a proposal for cooperation, it is necessary to discuss in advance the maximum possible number of conditions, which will avoid any discrepancies in the future.
The most important rule for a manager communicating with a star, a client and an agency is to offer adequate solutions, quickly adapt to changing conditions, and find compromises between capabilities and desires. And for an advertiser who dreams of working with celebrities, it is important to be sincerely interested in the lives of celebrities, to follow the events that happen around them (the release of a new film, theatrical production). You also need to be prepared for the fact that in addition to creative work, there will be quite a lot of routine work, including paperwork.
Situations are different. The main thing is not to lose composure, behave professionally until the end and remember that any issues can be resolved. In the end, the goal is worth the effort, and everyone will remember the vivid advertising campaigns that resulted.
Daria Arkharova, CEO communication agency The Marketing Arm, talks about the features of the celebrity marketing industry in Russia.
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Daria Arkharova, CEO of the communications agency The Marketing Arm
Let me start, perhaps, with a paradox: at the moment, the celebrity marketing market does not exist in Russia. And yet it thrives and develops. How? But this is the most interesting thing.
The fact is that now in our country there are few agencies that officially work with stars. And in the unofficial sphere there is complete confusion. There is no single scheme for working with companies and business ethics as such. It is precisely as a result of the situation in which the majority of the market exists and provides services, ignoring the general rules of the game, that it cannot be said that the market is fully formed.
Whereas in Hollywood, the culture of interaction has developed a long time ago. When an agency approaches a media personality, she understands that this is guaranteed to be a profitable and compelling offer that will have a positive impact on her image. In our country, the majority of celebrities have no idea why this is necessary and what participation in an advertising project can give them.
By example of our activities, we are trying to change the situation, gradually shaping the culture and market of celebrity marketing in Russia - with absolute financial transparency contractual relations and a high level of design expertise. And we do this in the context of the characteristic features and problems of Russian celebrity marketing. I will list the typical ones that our agency encounters and give examples of how my foreign colleagues work in a developed market.
Lack of an open pricing system when concluding a contract
Many countries have open star ratings. The cost of celebrity participation in an advertising campaign directly depends on its position in it. In our country there is not even close to a formed market price list. Every time it all depends on the star.
It’s good if a celebrity has an adequate agent who still monitors the market and understands the prices. And if not, then the media personality, who objectively does not know the pricing, sets an inflated cost, and in this case the agency is at great risk. The process of concluding an agreement turns into a walk through a minefield. Therefore, only the professional expertise of a company that knows how to work in such conditions can help in the matter of prices.
The agency that signed the contract with the star
For example, this is impossible in the Hollywood celebrity marketing market. He operates according to completely different rules and principles. In the USA, the agency is never a signatory to the contract: it conducts all negotiations with the celebrity, negotiates the conditions, options that the star can provide, controls the contract - but it is signed directly between the company and the celebrity.
This is a very important story that helps you avoid resorting to the services of obscure brokers and other third parties. In addition, this is as transparent as possible for the brand: it enters into a contract either with a famous person or with her agent. Information about the transaction is completely official, so it is impossible to suspect someone of receiving illegal money.
In Russia, agencies act as intermediaries between celebrities and clients and are signatories of the contract. Usually it happens like this: a star has a friend Vasya, Vasya has a friend Kolya, and Kolya has a broker Dima, and there is a client who, in principle, is thinking of concluding a contract with the celebrity. And then someone says: “Listen, this is my friend, why do we need an agency or anyone else? I’ll make an agreement with my friend and he’ll sign.” And then a chain reaction begins.
Everyone asks their friends, and each friend adds 10%, or even 30, 40, 50 and 100% for their services. As a result, the amount that the client pays “out of friendship” turns into completely inadequate figures, and at best, half of the client’s money reaches the celebrity. Our agency operates in a legally transparent manner, without intermediaries, and provides brands and celebrities with guarantees of a fair deal.
No offer agreement
In the USA, the contract is always concluded directly. Further negotiations with the star begin only after receiving the so-called firm offer. This is an official document that the brand sends to the celebrity at the very beginning of negotiations.
The offer guarantees to both parties that if the media personality accepts the offer, all conditions will be met, the contract will be signed and the campaign will be launched. This is a very good practice, because in our Russian realities we can come up with an offer to a star, she can accept it, and three days before filming say: “No, I won’t sign the contract, I’ve changed my mind.”
The presence of a branded offer relieves the agency, the brand, and celebrities from risks and benefits all parties.
***
As you can see, celebrity marketing in Russia is still far from perfect. But we are working on it. Ideally, one day brands and stars will sign contracts directly, and companies will only accompany the process. In the meantime, my advice is to choose an agency that can take on all the risks, provide expertise in the field of celebrity selection and ensure legal transparency of the contract.
