August 10, 2011
OPEN Forum Message
Affordably Build Your Brand
FedEx Global Brand Management Director Monica Skipper shares a cost-effective way to build a bigger brand for your small business.
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Rita Tateel - Celebrity Influencer
Everyone knows that when you have a celebrity promoting your product it often equates to instant sales. But what do you do if don’t have millions to fork over in contracts with the celebrity to have them promote your product or service? The trick to getting celebrities to promote your product without busting the bank is to get them liking it. They, like everyone else, wear clothing, dine out, shop at the store, etc. They end up promoting the products they buy, wear, and the diners they frequent just because they use them. A celebrity shows up wearing a particular outfit or carrying a specific handbag, and in the next few days, there are droves of people picking up those same products.
Here are some tips for getting celebrities to promote your business:
- Start by determining which celebrity makes a good fit for your product or service. While you are at it, determine how your product will fit with their interests. You will have more success if you have done your job in matching your product to a particular celebrity, rather than just going after any endorsement.
- Do some homework to find out the best place to reach the particular celebrity. If you can get their home address, great. If you can’t, try to get the best one that will lead to your product landing in their hands. Then, write them a professional letter telling them why you think your product is perfect for them and how they will benefit from it.
- It will probably be difficult to get close to the celebrity and build a relationship with them. Instead, focus on building a relationship with someone that knows, or is associated with, that celebrity. For example, if you can get the celebrity’s hair dresser or personal trainer to use your product, there is a good chance that the celebrity may come in contact with it. If not, it will still get good exposure because people pay attention to what those around celebrities do as well.
- Find out who the celebrity's PR representative is and try to get your product in through that route. To do this, build a relationship with the agent. Start by writing a letter that explains how you think the celebrity is a perfect fit for your product or service and that you would appreciate them using it. Ask for feedback as well. Sometimes just asking for an endorsement is all it takes, so don’t overlook simply asking for it.
- If you get lucky and find that a celebrity was spotted using your product or service, get a picture. Once you have that, be sure to use it by posting it to your website, social media, etc.
Getting a celebrity to promote your business will likely spur some level of success. You may be thinking that it is impossible, or that they only promote businesses in exchange for paychecks. But this isn’t true. They have the products they endorse for money, and they also have those they endorse because they believe in it, like it, and simply want to get the word out about it.
Check your balance, review recent transactions and pay your bill on the go.
Rita Tateel - Celebrity Influencer 9 months ago
Sorry Mike, but MSNBC's "Your Business" piece (see other comment posted) was filled with much more useful information! I've been matching products & brands with celebrities for over 25 years. NEVER send anything to a celebs home if they don't know you! DO go through a PR rep to get products into the hands of celebrities, but be forewarned that unless you know the publicist, the product may never make it to the celeb. DON'T send product to an agent. They get paid based on what their celeb clients make, so unless you have an endorsement fee to offer, it's a waste of time and product. DO gift celebrities directly by hiring a professional firm to do so for you, or signing up as a gift sponsor for one of the Award Show Gift Lounges, but be sure to also DO your research to determine past successes. DO gift the stylists and personal assistants to celebrities through organizations like the Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants (www.acpa-la.com) and New York Celebrity Assistants (www.nycelebrityassistants.org). If they like the product they are likely to influence their boss as well. DO donate product for gift bags given to celebs at charity events. Everyone loves getting gifts, even celebrities. If yours is worthy of a celebrity's attention, you might just see your product in the next issue of People Magazine.Rita Tateel, President, The Celebrity Source, Inc.Past President, Public Relations Society of America, Los Angeles ChapterAdvisor to the Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants