Consumers are tiring of the “cult of celebrity”
Posted by Tdasilva | Under Marketing Thursday Apr 16, 2009By: Richard Parker, Datamonitor Consumer Markets, Senior Analyst
Consumers are showing signs of fatigue towards celebrity marketing. The cult of celebrity has reached a crossroads – over-exposed celebrities have saturated the market and aging populations mean that the growth audience is shrinking. Marketers must therefore pursue new tactics to avoid the pitfalls associated with celebrity-backed campaigns or celebrity-branded consumer packaged goods.
Within our modern consumer societies, the celebration of fame has witnessed a dramatic upsurge in recent years. Reality TV, celebrity gossip magazines and the Internet as a round-the-clock source of celebrity information have fed consumers’ celebrity hunger. This has converged with entertainment and sport industries eager to feed that hunger, creating a fertile ground for consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketers to convey their messages via the celebrity medium.
However, this explosive phenomenon faces growing challenges. Many consumers are reaching saturation point, suffering from so-called “celebrity fatigue”. Consumer cynicism is piqued by celebrities endorsing too many disparate products, undermining both the individual’s and the brands’ credibility. Falling celebrity brand equity and scandals can directly hit endorsed brands’ fortunes and sometimes (as with Britney Spears’ past relationship with Pepsi) celebrity endorser’s own personal brand strength can overshadow that of the brand they are meant to be endorsing.
Products are emerging as the next generation of celebrities. Apple’s iPod and especially the iPhone have transcended mere product status and become iconic, with globally recognized identities and, indeed, personalities of their own. Richard Parker, Consumer Markets Senior Analyst at Datamonitor, comments: “consumers’ relationships with these celebrity-like branded products are based heavily on participation and interaction, two behaviors that are desired, but rarely achieved by everyday people in their relationships with actual celebrity idols.”
Datamonitor concludes that for celebrity branding to remain effective, marketers must make sure that celebrity campaigns are underpinned by a strong brand message or story – the celebrity can then add value rather than be used to make up for a lack of substance in the actual product. Credibility and authenticity are key: the personality of the celebrity must be in sync with the personality of the brand and the endorsement deal match the product with that celebrity’s particular appeal. Consumers are also increasingly viewing authenticity as a key determinant in their consumption behaviors and thus the most authentic celebrity-marketed brands are those where a celebrity themselves created them. Also, avoiding the craze for so-called “nonebrities”, the reality TV-fuelled breed of celebrity essentially famous for being famous who embody Andy Warhol’s comment that “in the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”, is crucial for brands looking to achieve longevity and avoid looking opportunistic or short-term in their strategic positioning.
Related Research:
The Cult of Celebrity: Exploring the implications for effective consumer packaged goods branding
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This article provides no backup to its central premises, and sounds entirely speculative, based on opinion, and wrong — and doesn’t jive with many larger actual realities.
Apple’s advertising spokesperson – the ‘cool’ Apple guy, vs. the PC nerd — became himself a celebrity thanks to his ad ubiquity — he was used because he represented and synthesized brand attributes with broader buyer audience sensibilities. He was an actor. Now he’s a celebrity, because he’s known.
Sam Waterston is known as a smart champion of and fighter for the underdog and ‘justice’ on Law and Order. He’s a celebrity, known by millions, and his celebrity persona is also leveraged to sell branded financial services. He represents ‘trust’ in the minds of potential buyers, sorely needed by financial service brands today more than ever.
Diane Lane is a celebrated actress and a natural beauty, and her image is used to effectively sell branded skin paroducts.
Billy May, the screaming, bearded carnival-like product demo guy was chosen as an everyman to sell to TV-watching consumers and sells millions in product sales – and has become a celebrity in his own right.
The model Kate Moss has been a successful, long term face for Calvin Kelin and countless other perfume and clothing brands. Why? She’s famous, and famous for her look and rock star behavior.
The list goes on – and on – and it works both ways — celebrities used to sell and iconic people selected to sell who become celebrities. Both have plenty of long livelines and are effective.
When a branded service or product needs to achieve or shift a desired perception or outcome, the use of the right celebrity, character or persona can have very valuable short and longterm ROI — the strategy always has and always will. be effective in the right circumstance. Even if the “celebrity” is a CGi-created lizard with a British accent.