How Brand Ambassadors Take A Hands-On Approach To Their Partnerships
We see celebrities endorsing products every day, and know it works. It's a proven fact supported by marketers and their agencies alike with hard data. However there are times when a celebrity goes beyond just endorsing a product and takes an active interest in the company.
While often this includes investing money in the company, like the stars in our celebrity investor blog post, other times the brand will give the celebrity a fair amount of creative control of the campaign. Or at least the perception of control and a big title to go along with it. In this blog, Hollywood Branded examines the new trend of celebrity endorsers becoming Creative Directors of the campaigns they are in and how it positively affects the brand's image.
Wild Turkey And Matthew McConaughey
Just last Monday, Wild Turkey announced a partnership with Matthew McConaughey making him Creative Director of the bourbon company. He will be heading up their "It'll Find You" campaign using storytelling and short films to promote the brand.
McConaughey caught a lot of attention with his celebrity endorsement of Lincoln in a series of odd but wildly popular ads. Not only were the ads widely shared, but were spoofed on everything from Ellen to Saturday Night Live to South Park.
The brand is looking to have the Academy Award-winning actor "supercharge" their marketing strategy and invigorate the brand and it's public perception... and if anyone can do it McConaughey certainly can. With this new position, he joins the list of stars who not only endorse brands but take a creative position with the company.
Lady Gaga And Polaroid
In 2010, Lady Gaga and Polaroid joined in a partnership that gave the avant garde pop star artistic freedom to build a campaign. She made an appearance at the Polaroid booth during the yearly Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas displaying art she made with their cameras and endorsing the brand.
The use of Polaroid was featured in several of Lady Gaga's interviews, magazine articles, photo shoots and even had multiple appearances in her music video for "Telephone" with Beyonce.
Gaga's public persona is very innovative and experimental - which made her a natural fit for the brand. Her fan base, which she refers to as her "Little Monsters" is one of the most loyal... and it is massive. Her partnership and heavy involvement with the brand drew a lot of positive attention and breathed new life into the camera company by going after an artsy and niche audience.
Alicia Keys And BlackBerry
As creative director of BlackBerry for a year, singer Alicia Keys invited users to send in photos to be used in her music video and highlighted the brand's work through BlackBerry Scholars Program for women in science, engineering and similar fields.
Picking someone like Alicia Keys was done in order for the brand to help freshen their image and youthen it to appeal to millennials. She's a widely appealing and talented pop star, yet lacks much of the controversy - and therefore the risk - that comes along with many other famous pop stars.
will.i.am And Intel
Frontman of pop group The Black Eyed Peas took on a collaborative partnership with technology brand Intel back in 2011. As "Director Of Creative Innovation," the singer and innovator took on an invested role in the company, its marketing and its direction.
The star went on tour while Intel cameras followed him using the brand's laptop Ultrabook to communicate with his fans and manage social media while on the road. As a direct competitor to the notoriously hip Apple Macbook, Intel made a good move with will.i.am.
Similar to Lady Gaga (who also worked with Intel in a David Bowie tribute at the Grammys) in his avant garde style, yet completely unique in his own way, will.i.am brought a huge celebrity in to represent the innovations they were making as a company. The partnership has certainly been a success for the brand.
Celebrity Endorsements In The Form Of Creative Directors Are A Bold New Trend
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Are you interested in integrating your brand's product with a celebrity but simply don’t know where to start? There is so much more to product placement and celebrity endorsement partnerships than you may think and it is important to be educated about the key tactics to best fit your brand. Download our Product Placement 101 Infographic today to start learning more!
