It’s a simple truth of our society that people love celebrities. We are highly influenced by things our favorite celebs say, do, wear and even eat. I will admit that I have bought something before because my favorite celebrity said they love it, and I know that I am not the only one. Their influence is the reason why many companies choose to have a brand spokesperson. There are many pros and cons of having a brand spokesperson. Many of them depend on who you select and how you integrate their brand into your company’s brand.
Pros of Having a Brand Spokesperson
Think about the recent Super Bowl commercials, the majority of the advertisements included celebrity appearances, including celebrities such as Drake, Michael B. Jordan, Mila Kunis, Serena Williams, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Nick Jonas, Timothee Chalamet, James Corden, Cardi B, John Travolta, Dolly Parton and so many more. This is a wide variety of celebrities who would capture the interest of the many generations who watch the Super Bowl. These companies were strategic when choosing someone to represent them. Be very particular when choosing a spokesperson and choose one who is admirable to your target audience.
Influential People Build Credibility
When someone sees a person whose opinion they trust promoting a product, they’re likely to buy it. Having an admirable celebrity who has a good reputation promote your product is the best customer satisfaction review your brand can earn. It builds trust with your consumer that you’re selling a product or service. It will also reassure the consumer that they are buying the top product in the market.
Gain Awareness
A notable celebrity appearance in an ad campaign will make your commercial stand out in people’s minds. Many companies used celebrities in their Super Bowl commercials because they knew it would capture people’s attention. Even if someone has never heard of your product before and they see a notable spokesperson promoting it, they will remember it and probably talk to their friends about it. A spokesperson is a perfect way to connect your audience to your product and stay in their minds.
A brand spokesperson will also bring awareness to new markets. The spokesperson can relate to people who never considered your product. They can target specific demographics to push your brand in the right direction.
Rejuvenate Your Brand
When your brand is struggling, the perfect way to bring it back to life is with a brand spokesperson. They will be a fresh face to represent your brand and make it seem new again to your consumers. It will not just update your image in current consumers’ heads, it will intrigue new consumers. If they have always overlooked your product and have never given it a chance, they will now see it in a new light and be more interested in trying it out.
On the other hand, if you are new to the market and need a good jumpstart, a brand spokesperson will get you the attention you want. Often, new companies struggle to break into oversaturated markets when people are already loyal to brands. A celebrity will help you gain momentum and break into the market. They will set you apart from the rest and put you a step ahead of the competition.
Strategic Positioning
A crucial part of making the rest of these advantages work for you is to be very strategic with who you choose to represent your brand. You want a face that is recognizable, relevant and values similar ethics as your brand. There was such a wide variety of celebrities in Super Bowl commercials because each company’s advertising had a different demographic and target market. You want your spokesperson to relate to the brand and be a good representation of what you stand for. Bud Light wouldn’t hire an alcoholic to represent them because that would be a terrible PR move, right? Make sure to be very thorough in your research when choosing the right spokesperson. The right person will build credibility, gain awareness and rejuvenate your brand.
Cons of Having a Brand Spokesperson
As with anything, where there are advantages, there are also disadvantages. A brand spokesperson is a great way to promote your brand, but there are aspects to make you wary.
Unreliable Celebrity Images
Now this doesn’t go for all of them, but a lot of the time, celebrities can be very unreliable. When you partner with a celebrity spokesperson, you need to make sure that they have a good reputation and do not have any scandals that could affect your brand. Even if they have a perfect record when they begin working with you, always be on your toes because you never know when they could slip up.
One mistake from the spokesperson could ruin your whole campaign. Everybody makes mistakes, we’re only human. Unfortunately, it’s one of the cons of relying on a celebrity spokesperson to promote your brand. Celebrities also have reputations of their own to uphold, so they also need to be careful of what products they are representing. Partnerships are a two-way street, and both sides need to be respectful of the other.
Overshadowing Your Brand
A risk of hiring a big name to promote your brand is if they are too big for you. The last thing you want is for the celebrity to overshadow your product. Hiring the most famous person possible to represent your brand can benefit you. However, you run the chance of nobody even noticing your product because they are paying attention to the celebrity. A big name can also be an issue if the celebrity is promoting multiple brands at once. It all depends on how the company utilizes the spokesperson and how the spokesperson promotes the product. Make sure to focus on the product or service more than the person in the campaign.
Notability is Expensive
The biggest hesitation that most companies have about hiring a celebrity spokesperson is the cost. Your company needs to decide, is the cost of hiring the celebrity worth the recognition? The expenses will vary depending on how big of a star you choose, and sometimes a smaller celebrity is a better option for your company. They can be more niche, have a less scandalous wrap sheet, and a more private personal life, which offers more stability when maintaining your brand image.
In the Super Bowl commercials, the celebrity spokespeople were internationally known, and the company’s advertising is some of the biggest in the world. Ad spots for the Super Bowl are very pricey because of how many people will see them. If you are spending that much money to advertise, you might as well go the whole mile and get the best celebrity you can to represent you. Although not everyone is Amazon, M&M or Toyota, so make sure to choose someone who is in your range. Don’t spend your whole advertising budget on a spokesperson.
In the end, a spokesperson is a great way to promote your brand. There are many advantages to it, but there are also things to be careful of. If your company follows the right steps when partnering with a celebrity, it will help your brand gain recognition, credibility and can give it new life again. To learn more about Marketing and Advertising visit Burkhart’s website.
