When selecting a celebrity endorser it should go without saying that you need to select a person who matches the goals of your product or company and its brand message. Too often I see brands using individuals that do not match the demographics or targeted consumer. Why is that? I think many times companies are just so caught up in using a celebrity they tend to overlook what the message is and who it ultimately needs to reach. In the case of a large company, it is safe to say they have conducted extensive research to make sure the fit is correct for the company. However, things can and do backfire. The most recent example of that would be McDonald's and Kobe. Here is a situation that when the relationship started it was the perfect match, at least on paper. In one fleeting moment the well thought out strategic plan turned into a media nightmare for both McDonald's and Kobe. His guilt or innocence didn't matter - the damage was done. McDonalds quickly and probably correctly choose to sever all ties with the star.

Because you are most likely working on a smaller scale those types of things hopefully will not come into play as chances are you are hiring your celebrity endorser for a much shorter and lower profile promotion. What the Kobe situation does illustrate is the importance of making sure your celebrity endorser is a match and has nothing hiding in the closet that all of sudden could turn into a media mess.

One of the great things about hiring retired athletes or long forgotten TV and movie stars is the fact that they, in most cases, are very eager to get the work and will usually go the extra mile to make sure your promotion is a success. Use a current star and the tide changes quickly. Sometimes they just make so much money that they don't care…and when they don't care it's almost guaranteed that your promotion will experience choppy water. Often times they are hard to work with and instead of you being able to dictate to them what they need to do, they will try and tell you. Like spending a little extra time hanging around after the event - forget it…they are out of there quick. It's too bad because they overlook or forget that without the fan base they would be nothing. It's nice to be a purist but realistically, you have to deal with the overpaid and spoiled celebrity. That's why we work extra hard to find the perfect fit, selecting someone who is not working. When a retired person is positioned correctly it can make your promotion extremely successful. It just takes time to plan…and plan you must.

Over the years we have built a small but reliable stable of celebrity endorsers who have not failed us once. However, when first starting out and matching the celebrity endorser to a brand it is much more difficult to guarantee your results. That's why when the time comes when you seriously want to investigate using a celebrity endorser, use us for FREE to help you make a success of your promotion.

When we consider anyone for a celebrity endorser we always insist that they try and use the product or service themselves. We want them to be able to have first hand knowledge that the product works. In so doing we are able to have them walk into the appearance much more confident than having no prior use or exposure. The deal that we just completed had the celebrity endorser using the product for a month or so before we ever signed a contract. In this particular case it was great because the celebrity endorser was already a user of one of the companies other best selling products. In fact, he had been using this other product for himself and his entire family for the last eight or nine years. Needless to say, the celebrity endorser was already sold on one of the companies other products so he went into the promotion with a good positive attitude. Because of that, he has turned out to be not only the celebrity endorser, but he has turned into a true believer, introducing the product to important people that he already knows and feels would benefit from it as he is out traveling the country at various events. Hopefully, you are getting a picture of how we are making this celebrity much more than the picture on the box. We are making him into a walking billboard. Next time he is a guest on a TV show, guess whose shirt and logo he will be wearing. We are planting seeds that we hope to reap the rewards of for a long time. We are also being extremely proactive with the celebrity endorser while at the same time knowing the invisible boundaries from which we can work. At no point do we want to overstep our welcome. We are very tactful in the way we present ideas to the celebrity endorser, as we don't want to ruffle their feathers. We are proactive but very discrete as to how we approach the celebrity endorser with extra duties. Most are willing, but the benefits need to be clearly identified for both parties.

Don't ever make assumptions regarding your customer. It's imperative to know your customer so that you make an intelligent decision as to your celebrity endorser and your brand match. Many who use celebrity endorsers go to great lengths to track down the prospect and then mail them some type of formal plan. We prefer to do things a little different. If we don't know off hand how to reach someone we do a Google search and many times that will give us the information we need to contact the person directly. Yes, many times we will try and make a direct contact, less any agents, and see where that leads us. Sometimes we will get a favorable response or "you need to talk with my agent". We prefer the direct approach and in every instance using that will lead to a better deal. I'm sure this statement will get agents all hot and bothered, but the truth of the matter is many times you can do a deal with a celebrity endorser without an agent. It's important to remember the celebrity endorser loves the color of green. The more green they receive the better they like the deal.