These are the words of entrepreneur Jackie Fast who advises companies to do their homework before hiring a celebrity to promote their products.
One of the most obvious ways to promote your brand is to sign up ‘talent’ and then get them to advertise your products. The term ‘talent’ refers to high-profile personalities who are regularly projected into living rooms up and down the country, whether via a TV screen, magazine or online media.
Sign up one of these individuals and hope that their presence will work wonders for the brands they are meant to promote. However, this does not always work. Just because the ‘talent’ in question may have millions of worshipers, it does not necessarily follow that this particular partnership will add value to a company’s profit and loss account.
Just because a famous person can create brand awareness, this doesn’t always convert into dollars for the company hiring the chosen personality. Fundamentally, any ‘talent-brand’ partnership requires authenticity. Unfortunately, the truth is that most partnerships are wasted, but don’t let that deter you in your bid to grab public awareness for your product.
I have worked with some of the biggest stars in the world, and I can honestly say that not all of them cared about the brand that they were fronting. Yet that didn’t mean the partnership didn’t work.
It simply meant I had to work harder to make it look as though this was a match made in heaven. Start-up businesses do not have huge resources to sign-up well-known personalities. So finding one who really does believe in your brand is critical to your chances of promoting authenticity.
Here are three tips for finding ‘talent’ that cares about your brand:
Align Values: The great thing about social media is that you can see everyone’s likes and dislikes, because they post about it for the world to see. This is no different for celebrities. Look closely at what they do. Would they rather go for a walk in the country or sip champagne at a party? Images tell a story, so try and understand what makes these individuals tick.
Align Content: ‘Talent’ which posts content that may have a connection with your own brand is quite a good starting point. This will make it easier for the celebrity to promote your product on a regular basis ‘ and without them even thinking about it. A similarly styled social media page will add a lot of value to your brand, and save time too.
No Idea Is A Bad Idea: People in entertainment tend to be creative. And this can add value if you are open to their ideas. If your celebrity has an idea, you should champion it. Don’t expect them to be master marketers, because they don’t have the experience. But nurturing their ideas will generate more engagement with them, and will help them to feel part of the brand. ‘Talent’ often gets pulled in so many different directions at once, so capitalise on the limited time you have with them. Make the most of it, because an effective ‘talent partnership’ can truly propel a brand into the public’s consciousness.
One company which is helping start-up brands boost their balance sheets is Sandbox Studios. This venture capitalist business proudly states that they ‘invest to create new opportunities between talent, brands and rights holders.’ Sandbox is an alternative to advertising with Facebook or Google, with brands being forced to think outside the box to acquire new customers ‘ and using ‘talent’ is one solution.
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