Outstanding Small Consultancy
CIPR PRide Midlands Awards 2009
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The power of celebrity in PR
11th August 2010. Posted by Ruth Pipkin. Trackback
The ‘celebrity’ phenomenon has long-since been a part of society and as the influence of the media has risen, so too has the role of the celebrity. Over the past century, celebs have become a part of day-to-day life and with this rise in popularity comes a rise in their influence.
Celebrity endorsements have been a PR tactic for organisations and brands for years, dating back to Pope Leo XIII who publicly endorsed Mariani wine… which was later found to have cocaine in. See, celebs and scandal has always gone hand-in-hand!
Society has become increasingly obsessed with ‘celebrity’ over the past decade, which has resulted in over half a million women rushing to their nearest newsagent to pick up a copy of Closer each week. But gone are the days when consumers ask, “What jeans should I buy?”, instead they are asking, “How can I look like Victoria Beckham and where are her jeans from?” This celebrity connection is what helps brands survive in what is now a saturated consumer market.
This connection came to the fore when Anna Wintour became Editor of US Vogue and stopped using models as the monthly cover girl, replacing them with actresses, singers, presenters and even politicians. This also brought about the trend of ‘strategically donating’ products to celebrities based on who is most likely to get papped. The wardrobes of celebrities like Cheryl Cole and Alexa Chung are lined with these gifts and the pages of magazines like Grazia are filled with pictures of them wearing them. Which all leads to the important part – getting customers to buy these products and, in turn, supporting the economy.
This, of course, extends way beyond the fashion industry, with consumer products across the board picking up on celebrity partnerships. Notable successes include Lewis Hamilton for Honda, Jamie Oliver for Sainsbury’s and Gordon Ramsay fronting Gordon’s Gin. These endorsements are also opening new doors for celebrities; Victoria Beckham has been appointed Creative Director for the limited edition Range Rover Evoque and Stella McCartney’s long-standing relationship with Adidas now has her designing uniforms for British Olympic and Paralympic teams as the Creative Director for the 2012 Olympics.
Over the past few years Rewired has been lucky enough to work on some fantastic campaigns that have enlisted the help of celebrities… some of which you will have seen appearing on our homepage.
Back in October 2009, we event-managed the Royal Television Society Midlands Awards at Town Hall Birmingham. We secured Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Myleene Klass as hosts, and they helped completely invigorate the event. Robert Lindsay – also known as the Dad in ‘My Family’ – attended as Guest of Honour, receiving the prestigious Baird Medal.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget standing outside Town Hall with Robert and his wife after the fire alarm had all guests evacuated… that definitely gets a chapter in my autobiography!
Through Style Birmingham we have also worked with some fantastic celebrities; the recent photo shoot we did with Jamelia was amazing. She is a brummie through and through, and was so lovely to work with. The final pictures, which were taking by celebrity photographer Richard Grassie, received lots of press interest too.
The celebrity fun isn’t about to stop anytime soon either; in just a few weeks we’ll be spending three days with George Lamb at Style Birmingham Live. He came to Birmingham last month for the launch and he was so uber-cool… no wonder everyone in TV land loves him. I’m looking forward to working with him again for the event, as it means three days of fantastic fashion, hot models and a very suave host!
So, it just proves that on any level; whether a host of an event, the star of a photo shoot or an official brand ambassador; celebrities can help to sell. But I personally think securing a celeb isn’t a sure-fire way to guarantee success in a PR campaign; very few celebrities can sell a product that isn’t worth buying. Many products, brands and organisations have launched successful campaigns based solely on the product and creativity. Apple, in particular, is one brand that has become a worldwide success without using any of the faces seen on the cover of magazines. The aspirational values of their products have created a ‘buzz’ amongst consumers and this is what has led to a bigger stack of press cuttings than any PR could ever wish for. It is what has also led me to make the big move from Blackberry to iPhone… I’m currently addicted to Angry Birds, like the rest of the population.
Likewise, as social media takes a leading role in today’s PR scene, brands are working to create exciting and innovative campaigns. The recent viral campaign by Old Spice saw actor Isaiah Mustafa starring as Mr Old Spice in tongue-and-cheek videos that caused a stir across the internet.
However, I’m relatively sure that celebrities will remain a key tactic in PR for years to come, so lets see who’s next in the Rewired Hall of Fame… (I’m hoping for Jude Law!)